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Tonight's dinner, teriyaki salmon with broccolini and glass noodles. There were about 1/3 cup glass noodles being covered by the veggie and meat.
He ate well. On top of that he ate half a Brussels sprout from my plate and 1/4 of a banana, and a few sips of milk from a cup which I think I can offer again before bedtime. I didn't insist he finish, I just nicely asked him to eat 3 broccolini and 3 pieces of salmon before he leaves the table. Confession: I did ask him to eat the two spinach leaves after I took the photo lol
Please don't leave me hanging, I want to see pics
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@yin: message me your
user name!
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This was dd's dinner at 18 months. She ate all of the mashed potatoes and peas, one bite of watermelon, and none of the Cheerios.
Technically the Cheerios were left on her chair from breakfast, I normally give her a handful while I get everything ready to go. The watermelon was leftover in her lunch box from daycare.
I feel like I tend to do larger portions at a meal and go for a variety over the day. So for her lunch I sent half an adult sized yogurt, half a Salisbury steak, and watermelon. Everything came home empty except for the few pieces of watermelon I gave her again for dinner.
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@irene: i would honestly be impressed if my kid ate all of that. it sounds like he is really good at eating different foods!
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This is DS' dinner for tonight. It's mini bowties with homemade meat sauce and parm, local corn, and mangoes. And milk. He's not home yet but the pasta is cooling. The portion is a bit larger on the pasta because he likes spaghetti and because he has ear tube surgery tomorrow and he won't be able to eat for a long time and I'm trying to fill him up.
He will probably want seconds on the mango, nibble on the corn cob and throw it a bunch of times, and finish most of the milk. I hope he eats 3/4 of the pasta. We will probably offer him a frozen yogurt tube or ice cream after dinner (again, surgery). Sometimes he asks for a banana before bedtime and he will get that if he asks.
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Didn't take an after pic, but the kids ate almost half of their bowls. I'll try to get a more accurate dinner photo tomorrow night!
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I meant to do before and afters but dh put their food down before i had the chance and they were hungry today.
Dinner was homemade eggplant parm with super sauce (tomato sauce with every veggie left in the fridge) and Italian sausage. I gave each girl half a sausage and a four square inch piece of eggplant. They demolished the sausage and ate half of the eggplant. Each drank milk (i don't check how much) and had a slice of watermelon for dessert. -
@gingerbebe: how do you like the ezpz? My middle one likes to toss her plates.
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@oliviaoblivia: I was super skeptical but I like it!! We even got the mini ezpz and the bowl that just came out. He can theoretically peel it off if he works at it but if you wet the bottom of the mat is quite hard to budge. DS is 21 months and my husband like refuses to supervise a meal unless that thing is down because he HATES tossed plates.
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Ate a pretty decent bowl of spaghetti and sauce - a favorite - and mostly all of his broccoli.
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DS (3) had half a bowl of macaroni and cheese with tiny chopped brocolli blended into it and a small cup of grapes. He ate most of the macaroni and all of the grapes. I let him eat a few goldfish at the end.
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Tonight's dinner: two pieces of cheddar, vegetable soup, cornbread, and 2% milk. She ate the cheese, all the cornbread, took bikes out of the veggies, and drank most of her milk.
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Here's lunch for my almost four year old - fried potatoes and mushrooms, ham, brie cheese, 3/4 slice of bread, 1/3 of a croissant. We had apple and banana for morning tea and will have vegetables with dinner and I imagine Miss A will eat at least 75% of what's on her lunch plate.
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After: He ate all his pasta, 2 servings of mango, one bite of corn, and most of his milk! And like 3 tablespoons of vanilla ice cream with whipped cream and a little bit of chocolate syrup. And he asked for banana during dinner so he ate 1/3 of one.
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@irene: so it looks like your LO is a great eater! My oldest is super picky and would never ever eat any of that! He would probably starve before even trying a bite. I don't have a picture but LO1 ate a PB&J tonight plus 1 bite of a carrot stick. The bite of carrot was huge for him and I think only the second time since he was a baby that he would even try it. I think DH gave him some peanuts before bed and a glass of milk. LO2 ate 1/2 PB&J and a few carrot sticks, a couple bites of our dinner (curry so it was a little too spicy for him), and a glass of milk. Don't worry, your guy is eating fine!
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@irene: wow he eats a lot! I wouldn't be worried at all.
No pics, but my petite 4 year old usually eats:
Breakfast - 1/2 c cereal or 1 slice of toast with butter/jelly, maaaaybe half a banana. She refuses milk lately but I still offer.
Lunch - 4 nuggets, maybe 3 pieces of steamed broccoli
Dinner - 1/3 c rice with seaweed, small bowl of soup, few pieces of veggies
She will usually ask for a snack (fruit, ritz crackers with cream cheese, bowl of cereal with milk) between dinner and bedtime.
She also snacks throughout the day (maybe a yogurt, granola bar, applesauce).
I don't stress too much over how much (or rather how little) she eats. My job is to offer her healthy options and choices; her job is to decide if and how much she will eat. I refuse to make mealtimes a struggle. If she eats, great. If she doesn't, I remind her this is all she will get until the next meal so it's up to her.
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I don't have pics but this is what my LO ate today:
Bfast- 5 silver dollar pancakes (plain) and juice
snack- maybe 1/4 c cheerios and milk (all of a cup)
lunch: 4 frozen chicken tikka samosas (about 1.5 in triangles) + 1/4 c carrots + 1/4c strawberries and more milk (most of a cup)
snack - pouch + handful of veggie straws
dinner - almost all of a full size chicken tamale dipped in tomatillo salsa (which she also drank like a soup lol) and waterTo be fair though-- this was A GREAT eating day. My kiddo will eat endlessly for a week or so then just pick at things for a few weeks and go back and forth.
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I didn't get an after, but she ate 2 bites of the macaroni and cheese, all of the carrots and most of the fruit. None of the peppers. @irene; your son is a good eater. Chill
For size reference, it was 1 whole carrot cut & steamed, 1/2 of a pear, 10 blueberries and 1/2 cup of macaroni and cheese. Whole milk.
LO is 4 and 28lbs so I get having a small child. That said, I'm not going to waste my short time each night with LO stressing and obsessing with food. I just don't see any good long-term relationship with food coming out of any strict obsession.
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Wow I LOVE seeing everyone's pictures, and what everyone is eating and how much the kids are eating!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I really like seeing this because then I can see the problem is not my DS, IT IS ME. I knew it was me but I like to see it from many of you to see that we are within the norm, and it is not a big deal to not finish. Your kids are all eating around the same and are growing bigger than him. Him not growing is not because he isn't eating enough. Ahhh. It is hard to convience my mom and my husband and my in-laws though. I am still the mom who doesn't know how to raise a healthy growing child. But I really appreciate seeing all these.
@Miss Ariel: I wish mine eats mashed potato! That looks really yummy I'd eat it
@gingerbebe: Wow! Your LO did a great job eating all the food and more! That is actually a lot of food. How old is your LO again?
And thank you SOOOO MUCH for your chart earlier. I was looking at it and realized a kid supposed to eat 6-11 portions of carbs a day and only 2 portions of protein. Hmm. Maybe I gave him too much protein and not enough carbs? I always thought he'd get to eat carbs easily because of snacks and crackers and such and I focus a lot of veggies and meat. Maybe I do need to take my mom's suggestion on giving him a big bowl of white rice a day and maybe he'd start growing. According to your chart, for now each day he may get 5-6 servings of protein (1 egg in the morning, 1-2 oz of meat during lunch and dinner) and 6-8 servings of carbs. On the weekends he get even less carbs because we don't even do snacks that often over the weekends.
@yin: Kudos to you and your kids eating very grown up food - honestly mine wouldn't even eat that ! One time I mixed his protein and veggies in his pasta, it was tasty, but he barely touched it and said he didn't like it.
@hellobeeboston: yum!! Love the before and after it makes me feel so much better that it is no big deal to not finish.
@travellingbee: Your LO did a good job eating a good dinner!
@avivoca: Yum! How old is your child again?
@Kemma: Looks so yummy! Did you actually really make fried potatoes and mushrooms? I have never fried anything before.
@skipra: Honestly, mine probably wouldn't eat something that yours will eat! So they are picky in their own ways.
@Mrs. Carrot: Hugs! I know what you mean
And it does sound like your DD eats well too.... just her and my DS are smaller people....@yoursilverlining: Thanks for the pic! It is easy to say and hard to not get obsessed and mad but I will try....
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@irene: I like to boil a 1-2 extra potatoes at dinner then use them for lunches the next day, they're super easy to fry up in butter and oil!
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@irene: DS is 21 months. This was an amazing dinner for him but I sorta planned it because he does love spaghetti and mango. I think he probably had 1/2-2/3 cup of pasta, 2/3 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of mango and like 1 tablespoon of corn. He asked for a bedtime banana so he also had 1.3 bananas this evening. I think he's going into his monthly growth spurt and since he can't eat until late morning tomorrow with his surgery I'm super glad he ate well.
I don't worry about carb intake because I let DS snack and they mostly tend to be carbs or fruit. If you're limiting his carbs because you are, you may just want to throw in an extra starchy snack during the day like a slice of PB toast.
We always have rice on hand in the cooker at our house but I try to make it more nutritious. Right now our machine makes a max of 5 cups so I do 3 cups white rice, 1 cup brown, and 1 cup black Japonica (it turns the rice purple). It's still sticky but more nutritious. Sometimes we also swap out more white rice and throw in 1/2 cup of sweet rice. We always have to have it because if DS won't eat, we can usually get him to eat rice in nori.
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T is 15 months. She had 1/4-1/2 cup of blueberries and raspberries. 1 oz turkey, 1-2oz cheese. An applesauce pouch. 2 hours later a blueberry, carrot and pear pouch.
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My LO is almost 3. He's a picky eater with a small appetite and has always been skinny. Tonight he ate 2/3-3/4 bowl of Asian noodles cooked in chicken broth and 1 bite of watermelon. I think he ruined his appetite with 4 Nilla wafers my husband let him have at daycare pick up. He then ate half a bowl of leftover Mac n cheese before bed.
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@irene: awww. Yeah, eating isn't really going to change genetics, if your LO is just on the small side. My older LO has always been on the skinny side but generally eats pretty well (after she turned 1, before that she had a lot of feeding issues). LO 2 is also a really crappy eater and still isn't really eating solids at 10 months, but no one believes me because she is enormous. She drinks about 20 oz of BM a day, and eats maybe 2-5 bites of solids at meal times. But she's 95% for weight. It's crazy to see. She's just a chunky girl, it doesn't matter that she doesn't have a big intake.
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As I said, he eats a smallish dinner every night but by contrast, his lunches are sizable. This is what I packed (he will eat all of it- they said at day care he always eats every bite): whole peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat, banana, baby carrots with ranch, cheese stick, fruit and veggie go go squeeze pouch.
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This turned out to be such a great thread!! I'll try to remember to post too! DD had a fever/cold so her appetite hasn't been great.
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@irene: I don't want to sound completely unsupportive, but I would be incredibly impressed if my 3.5 year old ate that. He currently eats no veggies other than carrots and cucumbers, and wouldn't go near something that looked like what you gave your son. The fact that he ate most of that is pretty amazing.
I know you said you're concerned about his growth, but what does your pediatrician say? Are you or your husband tall? If not, he may just be a smaller child. My 9 month old is on the 5th percentile for height and weight...mainly because I'm 5'1", and my DH is 5'9", so we're not tall people, nor are we overweight. I have a feeling it's just how he's going to be.
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Ds1 is 3.5 (right plate) ate his cheese (grabbed and ate it before I even took the picture) all of his bagel and 1/2 of his brothers. Didn't really touch the sausage and eggs
Ds2 22 months (left plate) ate eggs and sausage and some cheese and some bagel.
I think your son eats well if he eats like the first picture most of the time. My guys are very small for their ages but eat well and the dr doesn't have any concerns. They grow with the curve (percentiles) just below.
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@irene: It is true most kids are picky in their own way! My older LO is 3.5 also tiny and hovers around the 5th percentile. I think he is around 29 lbs. now. This is what he had for lunch - chips & hummus with some strawberries. He ate all except a couple chips and was still hungry so I gave him a small oatmeal raisin cookie and some roasted plantain chips with a glass of milk. It is very unusual for him to eat half that much at lunch!
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He ate all the raspberries, half of the sandwich and one bite of one pepper and spit it out. He also had about 6 ounces of milk.
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Mine will sometimes eat almost as much as me and other times she won't eat barely anything for a meal. I've seen her eat a whole burger (a small one, like the size of a regular mcdonalds hamburger- not a super large one) and 1+ cup of fruit. Sometimes she won't really touch her food except the fruit. Fruit is her favorite so I offer it at every meal so I know she will at least eat something. If she doesn't want anything else I assume she's not hungry.
If she didn't touch it I will leave it out or save it so if she asks for other food after dinner then we will go back and I tell her that she can eat her dinner. Otherwise, if she didn't touch it I will often save it and try again tomorrow (if it's easy to reheat).
she usually refuses veggies except will eat them 1-2x a week at daycare. I give her a vitamin and just relax because I know she's fine. I just try to keep offering. Mine is 2 and no growth issues- 99% for height and 75% for weight (we are also quite tall- both sides of the family).
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@travellingbee: I need to take pics of his lunch too.... I have some on my phone and will post later.... and wow, that's a lot of food your LO finish at lunch
@2PeasinaPod: He actually doesn't eat like that all the time. Like yesterday when he claims he is done he basically ate half the noodles and didn't touch the salmon and broccoli. I just "gently ask" him to eat 3 pieces of broccoli and 3 pieces of salmon (Gently, I promise). Then before you know it he almost finished. There are days he ate a few bites. And a few days go by with him just eating a few bites. Each day. I always say I don't know how he manages to stay alive.
Mine wouldn't eat cucumbers! So they are just picky in their own ways....
Doc has said we have to look at his growth hormones at the 4 year old well visit but he then left for another appointment without saying anything to the nurse. So I am not really sure what's up with that.... I am 5'4" and husband is 5'9". My mom kept saying I grew really fast and much bigger than DS by now. Either he had daddy's genes (he was a small child) or my mom has impaired memory.... which is very possible.
@Aandmklover: no my son doesn't eat like the first pic all the time! Many days he ate like the photo you have (thank you for sharing!). On weekends he can go without lunch. I'd put out lunch, he eats 2 bites and leaves. I kept asking if he's hungry for the following hours, he would say no. Wouldn't even ask for a snack. But on weekdays he finishes his lunch at school (lunch that I packed), I was told.
@skipra: I think mine was around 5% too for height. Sigh... Hugs..... and thanks for sharing the pic!
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@irene: It seems counterintuitive, but I might try getting your kid into sports of some kind. My brother always ate so much better once he was in activities like swim or something. If he was thirsty, here's some milk! If he was starving, here, eat this incredibly fattening thing!
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Ok this is just for fun. Today we went to swimming class, and food truck Wednesdays at a nearby park that I always wanted to check it out. DS picked fish and chips (top image) and we shared. It was so greasy and we threw half of it away. Then he said he wanted pizza and I got a pizza cone (lower image) which he took 2 bites I took 3 bites and we threw away. Gosh. Greasy yucky food makes me so mad even though we had fun ... So greasy that none of us is hungry after we got home.. Even though we only shared a few bites. I can still feel the grease in my veins. There were healthy(ier) options there but hey, he wants fish and chips and he wants pizza. grrr.
@gingerbebe: we tried soccer he is not crazy about it, now we are in swimming class it just cracks me up. While he is brave and all, his face looked like he was in torture chamber lol. Hopefully he grow up and a light bulb goes off like your brother did. How was the tubes surgery for your LO?
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FWIW, I desperately wish my kid would eat as well as yours! Also FWIW, despite my kid being a picky eater (three meals I can count on him finishing: pizza, chicken nuggets, and scrambled eggs), he's continues to be in the 90th+ percentiles for height and weight, no matter his diet. He's just a big kid.
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@lovehoneybee: Good for you for 98%...! It is a better place to be in compared to 5%. And yes I know. Now I think about it, DS told me his friend at school ONLY packs pasta to school. no veggies, no meat, no sauce, just plain pasta. And I know it is true because his mom told me he only eats maybe a total of 10 things in this world.... but he's a whole head taller than my son (he's about 1-2 weeks older than DS). Ahh.
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@irene: this is what my 3.5 year old ate for dinner plus 3 strawberries, a handful of blueberries and a small trader joes ice cream cone. She finished everything but 1 slice of the steak and a tiny bit of noodles. She asked me to help her about half way through.
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@sunny: wow that's a lot of food and a lot of protein! Your LO eats so well! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Here are the lunches I pack for him... The (egg and cheese) sandwiches are today's lunch. These days I was told he usually eats most of the food.
While on the weekends, he doesn't need lunch to survive. I don't know why.
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@irene: I'm not saying this to be snarky, I mean it honestly. I can see why it might piss you off if he doesn't finish because it seems like you put a lot of effort into the meals and making them look nice. Now I'm embarrassed to post my pics. Lol. I just toss stuff on a plate or on his mat, maybe that's why I don't care as much. Lol.
Here is breakfast this morning.
-2 homemade pumpkin oat mini muffins
-About 20 blueberries
-6oz milk-He finished 3/4 of one muffin and 1/4 of another. So I guess one muffin total. Now I know to start with giving him just one. 1) because it may be all he has room for and 2) because having two at a time might have been a distraction for him and he didn't focus on finishing just one. Maybe you to can learn as you go what works and doesn't. Keep track and adjust as you go.
-Almost all the blueberries. He smashed the rest.
-1/2 oz of milk. But to be fair, he drank 5oz of milk right after he woke up, before food.He also ended up asking for a smoothie pouch (the earth's best fruit and yogurt ones) which he had 3/4 of.
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Also want to add that I really like this thread! It's fun seeing what everyone else is feeding their LOs and I like seeing the before and after. Even the descriptions of before and after. I don't stress about my sons food, but it still feels good to see that he's well within the range of normal toddler eating.
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