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My girlfriend's son is a very picky eater. He is seven years old and only likes to eat chicken nuggets, Takis, Cheez-Its, and Ramen (that I know of); these are obviously not very healthy. I love to cook good, home cooked meals, but getting him to even taste the food I make is beyond my limits. My last meal I made was spinach pasta with shrimp and cheese sauce. This may not be an ideal meal for a seven-year-old, while it was good, he responded with, "It tastes like garbage!".
Just a side note: he had issues with his dad and abuse, so I am very cautious about how I approach him and what I say. He can be running around and laughing for a few minutes and then crying the next, but then back to laughing within an instant.
My girlfriend has asked me to help her get to eat more healthier meals but I feel it should be her that enforces it, and not let him default to the aforementioned food that he will only eat.
Any ideas? I have already asked what he likes to eat, other then the usual, most he will just shake is head no. However, he did eat my home made chicken nuggets.
Kids have evolved to only eat familiar foods and to (usually) prefer salty and sweet foods. The best way to get a kid to eat healthy foods is to start when they are babies.
I know kids who were raised on "raw food" or similar diets who refuse to try anything else (like Chicken Nuggets). They actually hate/fear the taste of fatty/sugary/salty foods. Kids like simplicity, predictability, and stability. Change is bad.
Changing course on a 7-year-old without the support of both parents? Good luck. Might as well give up now and save yourself some heartache.
If his mom is on-board, then only serve or offer healthy options including snacks and desserts. He will eat when he gets hungry enough. Even thought they don't like change, they hate starving more.
To take a kinder, gentler approach, serve simple meals without complex flavors or too much variety in ingredients. Almost no kids tolerate any kind of heat/spice including black pepper.
Compartmentalize starches, vegetables, meats, and dairy in separate bowls or on a tray with dividers. Don't mix. Minimize use of sauces. Examples:
Plain flour, rice, or cauliflower noodles with optional butter, cream, or marinara sauce on the side.
A side of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, brussel sprouts, cabbage, etc. (pick one or more but don't mix)
Tortilla with melted mild cheddar cheese
Peanutbutter toast/bananna/apples/just about anything
Those dried and salted seaweed packets (as a snack)
Fruit for dessert
None of these foods are much fun for adults, but you said "healthier" not "adventurous" or "gourmet"
If you want the child to change and eat what you like to cook without you changing your own habits or preferences, then be honest and say that. (Also, again, good luck with that)
That's what my 3 yo grandson was used to eating, before he came to live with us. At first I indulged him because of the changes he'd been through. I gradually removed those items, replaced with wholesome, home prepared dinners. Needless to say, there was lots of drama, he went to bed without dinner many nights, and my blood pressure rose....welcome to parenting late in life. 2 years later, he readily eats what is put in front of him.
Like the post above stated... "He will eat when he gets hungry enough. Even thought they don't like change, they hate starving more."
My girlfriend's son is a very picky eater. He is seven years old and only likes to eat chicken nuggets, Takis, Cheez-Its, and Ramen (that I know of); these are obviously not very healthy. I love to cook good, home cooked meals, but getting him to even taste the food I make is beyond my limits. My last meal I made was spinach pasta with shrimp and cheese sauce. This may not be an ideal meal for a seven-year-old, while it was good, he responded with, "It tastes like garbage!".
Just a side note: he had issues with his dad and abuse, so I am very cautious about how I approach him and what I say. He can be running around and laughing for a few minutes and then crying the next, but then back to laughing within an instant.
My girlfriend has asked me to help her get to eat more healthier meals but I feel it should be her that enforces it, and not let him default to the aforementioned food that he will only eat.
Any ideas? I have already asked what he likes to eat, other then the usual, most he will just shake is head no. However, he did eat my home made chicken nuggets.
Have you tried having him help you cook? Maybe a bit of hands on will help him widen his food horizons. It can also become a fun bonding experience for the two of you. Start with something you know he likes, like your homemade chicken nuggets.
Skip the peppery or fancy sauces. It's really his mother that should be dealing with his eating. One bite of everything to earn a small dessert. You can bake chicken and make a sauce to drizzle over yours and your GF's while he just gets a plain slice of breast or a leg. You can make salmon cakes and tell him it's your version of a McDonald's hash browns. Butternut mac and cheese. Riced cauliflower in the mashed potatoes. Or, if you want to make something you know he doesn't like, give him a bowl of oatmeal or cream of wheat.
Don't make every meal a battle, but don't make every meal his preferences.
My girlfriend has asked me to help her get to eat more healthier meals but I feel it should be her that enforces it, and not let him default to the aforementioned food that he will only eat.
Firstly, her son needs to be in some kind of therapy, but other than that it needs to be on her to instill that in her child.
That said, my daughter went through this. She knew she couldn't just stop letting them eat the crap food suddenly, so she decided to make her kids try the adult food first before she would set "their" plate of food in front of them. If they made a stink about it and completely refused, they were sent to their rooms for awhile. She knew if they were hungry enough, they will eat what's put in front of them. I don't know how long it took, but she stopped cooking the crap food, and nowadays they all eat what the adults eat, even the 3 year old, because they have no other choice.
Have you tried having him help you cook? Maybe a bit of hands on will help him widen his food horizons. It can also become a fun bonding experience for the two of you. Start with something you know he likes, like your homemade chicken nuggets.
This is a good idea if he likes cooking or the chef. He will very likely want to eat what he has created.
However, it's also likely he won't want to help cook. Worth a shot, though.
I can tell you that lots of kids are picky eaters and they turn out fine. All you can do is not give them access to unhealthy food. Who’s buying the Cheezits and Ramen?
We had one dinner for everybody and they had to at least try it. If they didn’t want to eat they didn’t have to, but that was it. We called it a “no thank you helping”. Each kid could choose one thing they didn’t like and didn’t have to eat. A couple of them chose liver, and one chose eggplant, etc.
Don’t make dinner a battleground. Keep it cheerful. The boy helping you cook is a great idea, and also, you might let him choose a balanced dinner once a week. If he always picks chicken nuggets, so what?
Have you tried having him help you cook? Maybe a bit of hands on will help him widen his food horizons. It can also become a fun bonding experience for the two of you. Start with something you know he likes, like your homemade chicken nuggets.
If he eats it, fine. If he doesn't want it, don't make a thing out of it. Don't cook a separate meal, but don't make it the occasion for a clash of wills, either. He can have a bowl of cereal, or a piece of toast with butter on it. When he gets hungry, he'll eat.
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