Looking for Meal Ideas for Fussy 17 Month Old- Does Not Want to Eat

I know - my 17 mo old daughter is the same boat too!
It's frustrating because my almost 4 year old was never like this and eats everything!
I do know that the baby wants "control" so I give her choices...and sometimes she'll want to feed herself. Sometimes the older daughter will feed her for me. Just try a variety of stratgies...

If they're hungry - they'll eat. I also leave snacks out for her to munch on throughout the day as well...

Both my kids are small but it's because I'm small/petite too so I'm not worried as long as they're healthy... :D

Boy am I in the same boat! My amazing eater hit 12 months, and everything went downhill. Now, at 14 months, he's the king of throwing food and eating almost nothing!

The stuff that works for us:

-Drinkable yogurt or kefir once a day (lots of calcium and protein, extra calories, and tastes very good!)
-Fresh smoothies- we make ours with frozen strawberries, banana, OJ, plain yogurt, and any other fruit we have around
-cottage cheese (with or without berries)
-cheese sticks and cubes
-cut up pieces of hot dog (you can get organic, nitrate-free at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's), with ketchup.
-toast with butter and jelly
-canned green beans (Gross, right? But it's the only green vegetable he'll eat!)
-sweet potato fries
-Baby mum mums (or another cracker) with hummos on top
-Earth's Best Oatmeal (Lots of vitamins and iron added!)
-Earth's Best Cereal Bars (ditto!)
-Fruit- tons of this! My son would eat only fruit, if he had the choice. So he eats fresh fruit (berries, melon, oranges, pears, bananas, etc), as well as freeze-dried and fruit leather.
-Annie's Mac-n-Cheese, with baby food mixed in (carrots or squash)

No recipes, sorry. We just keep offering other foods, but only a little bit at a time. We've taught him to put his food in a bowl, when he's "all done" so he doesn't throw it all over the floor and room! We try to never make a big deal about him not eating something, and we just give tiny portions now. I'll offer him one piece of a hot dog, and tell him "That's all you get! You don't want any more, right?" Then I'll walk away with the plate, and he'll point and yell for more. So I'll give him one more piece, and repeat the whole thing. He'll eat a whole hot dog this way, rather than take one bite and throw it on the floor.

So that's the big plan at our house. Like you, we're just trying to get him to eat! :)

My daughter is the same age and has the same problem. She likes the following recipe: box of mac & cheese, can of cream of mushroom soup, can of peas, can of tuna. Make the mac & cheese then add everything else and heat to whatever temp you want. She also likes rice so I make a large amount of brown rice and keep it in the fridge, then I just take out whatever amount I want and add to it. Things like spaghetti sauce, mashed up vegetables, even mashed fruits. She also likes yogurt drinks so I give her the YoBaby ones that use whole milk. For breakfast she gets eggs with cheese or vegetables added or oatmeal with fruit addeds. I also still give her some baby food because she is weird about textures and gags a lot, so I mix baby food vegetables into the rice or baby food fruit into her oatmeal. Good luck!

You can also try adding vegetable oil, olive oil or butter to meals such as pasta to add a little fat.

if your doctor isn't worried I wouldn't worry either...if your child throws food take it away and tell her she's all done(if they're throwing food they're not hungry or they're determined not to eat...so just get rid of it...the behavior will stop)...how much does your daughter drink?? I just started to watch my friends 17 month old and she wasn't eating and I realized she was always walking around with a sippy cup...put the sippy cups away!!! Juice/Milk for meals only!!(and when they've eaten half already) water sips when needed throughout the day and you'll see a big increase in appetite...when they drink all the time the tend to feel full...but really all in all it takes the average child something like 30 times before they build a taste for something...I always put a sample of whatever it is on their plates...one piece of veggie/meat....and they are to taste it...now they love the broccoli that used to be scowled at...just keep trying...and remember to make it fun...dips are the best thing in the world to lil' kids ranch dressing, peanut butter, ketchup, cheese....if they can dip it they usually will eat it! good luck!

My son is in a similar situation. My Dr. told me to give him pediasure. It is like flavored milk (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry) that is packed with nutrients. Also, for some reason my son loves gazpacho which is a soup I make with tomatos, garlic, cucumber, bell pepper, salt, oil and vinegar all mixed in a blender. Not exactly what you would expect a kid to want, but it's healthy and he literally chugs it.

I suggest reading " How to get your kid to eat, but not too much" to help you stop stressing. The problem with stressing is that they feed of it and you end up making the whole situation worse. It is a great read that taught me a lot.

My daughter is also pretty fussy and has always been a twig. Here are some of her favorite meals.

Breakfast
Frozen Fruit with yogurt or a fruit smoothie, French toast, pancakes, veggie omelets or scrambled eggs with cheese.

lunch/dinner
grilled cheese and soup (I don't have time to make soups so I buy Health Valley canned soups)
Avocado sandwiches, chicken or turkey hot dogs with sweet potato fries, Annie's whole wheat mac & cheeses with added frozen veggies, pasta with turkey meatballs.

Good luck I hope this helps!

M. - my son, now 2 1/2, was diagnosed with gurd at 6 weeks so i know all about not eating and being a little under-weight. what i have done recently is to just let him eat whenever he is hungry. he loves those mini blueberry muffins. not the most nutrious things but he has started to gain weight. i also do not throw away what he hasn't eaten immediately. he sometimes comes back and picks alittle more. i though make him sit down at meal time and try and get him to eat with us. i have put up gates in the kitchen so when he constantly gets up from the table he can't go far, gets bored and sits back down again. also, try not to give your daughter too much to drink before meals so she's not full on that. remember it doesn't take much for these little guys to maintain their weight. maybe try and let her feed herself some jarred baby food. at least you'll get some meat and veggie in her. i'm sure she will be fine!

hi,

unfortunately, i don't have suggestions, but wanted you to know we're having the same challenges as you with our 13 month old. she was labeled as "failure to thrive" at her 12 month visit, and we go back in a month to check out her weight and growth.
all i know is i can't force her to eat, and no way will she let us feed her!! sometimes she'll eat pieces of cheese, sweet potato fries, oatmeal or french toast on whole wheat bread. other than that, most goes on the floor and am not sure how to stop her.

i'm just happy she still breastfeeds so i know she gets some good nutrition.
good luck!

HI
My son who is 3.5 years old is also in the 5%, and he is tall but skinny. He was also a very picky eater. He loved yogurt and that is about it. He did eat pasta (sometimes), and baby food . We gave him everything we eat but nothing seemed to catch his fancy and then finally he started eating ravoli and chiken and Mac and cheese. He loves bagels now and crackers. He is getting better with his eating and it is easier now because he tells me what he wants. He still doesn't eat a lot of it, but I am happy he is eating more. Today I am not as worried as I was in the past. Good luck
PS, He really is healthy.....

Dear M.,
I am glad to hear you are very conscious of your daughter's eating habits. This is not uncommon for her age. My daughter ranked low as well. Do not pay attention to that chart!! My pediatrician told me my daughters were perfect, even being in the low percentile and that overweight is a problem not underweight. The only reason you should be concerned with her low weight and how it might affect her growth, is in case of failure to thrive. If your doctor is not concerned, than don't worry. Both of my daughters were picky at that age. My oldest, who is 13 is almost taller than me at 5'8 and my youngest, who is 2, eats anything I put in front of her when she is going through a growth spurt.
If she is throwing her food, teach her not to do that with her food by taking it away. If she is throwing it she is not hungry. Limit the amount of juice you give her to one cup a day. She is getting unnecessary calories in her juice instead of other foods and it is filling her up and is not fattening. Give her water instead. I watered down the juice. I had to try different things all the time, but kept offering the same things to her. I like to keep it simple. I eat oatmeal or cereal in the morning, i.e. cheerios, or the quaker instant oatmeal(the kind with half the sugar). She loves to try whatever I am eating. Some mornings her cereal would be finished, other mornings it would go untouched. I let her watch Mickey Mouse or Sesame Street while eating her breakfast, it keeps her mood positive.
For lunch, cheese sandwiches on wheat bread were a favorite and ham and cheese sandwiches. If I have leftover macaroni, I give that to her. She loves spaghetti and macaroni. She also loves cantelope and would eat that no matter if she is hungry or not.(I ate a lot of it while I was pregnant with her). For snacks, instead of goldfish or animal crackers, I give her crakers and cheddar cheese slices with grapes or carrots.
For dinner, I offer to her whatever we are eating. If she doesn't eat it or picks, she is just not hungry. Other times, she cleans her plate. Spaghetti and macaroni are her favorites, so you are not off at all with Chef Boyardee(he had a great idea).
This is a trying period for us as they are learning thier independence and control. The one thing they do have control over is things coming in and (or) going out of thier bodies(you'll see when potty-training time comes). I try to compromise and improvise the best I can to get through this period. Best of luck to you and your daughter.

Try smoothies! You can add anything to a smoothie and pack them up with vegetables, fruit, omega oils and protein. You can find tons of recipes for "fattening" smoothies on the internet and in books - or just use your imaginationa and what you have at home. They can be used as snacks or to replace meals sometimes.

What also works for us is small portions and self feeding. I also make sure to mix new things with the old and tried and I keep offering foods even if they are no hit the first 10 times.

I also find that making a dip: guacamole, home made mayo or just tomato sauce with healthy oils or other healthy but fattening dips make the rest of the meal go down much easier.

Good luck - this phase also will pass.
M.

I give my son french fries at night to fatten him up. He is a picky eater too and I try to give him healthy food during the day. I also find that if he is allowed to feed himself, at least part of the time, he eats more. As far as the fries go, I pan fry them in oil (no salt) and he likes them.

Don't give in to McD's food or Chef BoyRD!! My boy was fussy too. Didn't want to eat his lunch (i.e. chicken breast, carrots and potatoes; pasta w/ butter and parmesean cheese; homemade chicken soup,). He did love his juice and milk. Instead of giving him Cherrios for breakfast, I would give him his chicken soup. The first day was hard, but once hunger really sets in, they have no choice! Also, this might be bad, but I was desperate. I would show him his bottle, he would want it, I would give him a spoon of food, and before he had a chance to spit it out, I had the bottle in his mouth. He had no choice - he drank his juice and swallowed his food in the process. What happened if he didn't eat his lunch for breakfast? I didn't give him a choice. I would say "ok," and then wait, and offer it again, and again until he did. My belef was, if he was sick and if I gave him a choice then he had power. I had to stick to my guns, he's smart!

My 15 month old son, a former roly poly guy, is now turning in to a picky eater. He has suddenly stopped eating our 2 mealtime staples - bananas and peas. I just bought canned beans and canned chick peas (both at the suggestion of other moms posting to other questions) but haven't tried them yet.
2 things we've recently discovered my son loves:
1) Cream of wheat with brown sugar mixed in. I think he likes it because it's so easy to use the spoon himself for this sticky food.
2) Bertolli classic meals. They are in the freezer dept. You cook them in a skillet. I'm sure they have lots of sodium, but mostly what I smell is the garlic. Who knew a toddler would like garlic? He loves the pork and cavatelli, and also the chicken alfredo.

Try not to worry about it too much if your doctor isn't. My daughter isn't even on the charts ( 20lbs at 21 months) but her dad and I are small so we keep that in mind. OUr daughter is just very high energy and does not want to stop to eat so we now let her eat on the move. She will snack as she plays and we are sure to offer plenty of naturally high fat foods like salmon, avacado, nut butters, bread dipped in olive oil ect. My daughter likes anything she can dip so a waffle in almond butter of yogurt works well. Most importantly we have found we need to keep meals creative as she is much more likely to eat something new.
Good Luck!