Hey my awkward friends, I have been keeping true to posting on Thursdays. Yay! Even if it is 11:59 it is still Thursday. I was trying to come up with something simple for this week's post. Translated: I just waited until the last minute. Now I am about to share something I do for RJ when he gets in his moods and doesn't want to eat. Every parent wants to know that their kids are getting what they need nutritionally. Some kids are pickier than others. My son is a carnivore. He will eat all the meat on his plate before he looks at anything else. Sometimes he will eat nothing but meat and rice. I think this is my punishment for trying to make him vegetarian. Here are a couple tricks I have learned to get him to eat something other than meat.
1. The game: Everything is better as a game. If it is a vegetable that I know he likes I will play who eats it first. I will quickly take a vegetable off of his plate and eat it. I make it seem like the most delicious thing in the world. That gets him interested. I grab another one and offer it to him. If he doesn't take then I eat it again. Then I ask him to get a vegetable to see if he will eat it or offer it to me. If he eats it I make a big surprised face and celebrate with him. Then my job is done if he is done. I don't force him to eat. However, I do revisit the food if he wants more later. Now if he offers it to me I continue the game until he decides to take a bite. This does not always work. You have to be really excited about vegetables to make it work in the first place and even then the only may accomplish sometimes is a belly full of vegetables, but the wrong one.
2. The smoothie: I love smoothies. I would rather drink a smoothie or a juice sometimes than eat lunch. That made me think about a way to sneak veg to my toddler. When he gets in his moods and he doesn't want to eat that's fine but he never turns down a drink.
Drink 1: I take a couple tablespoons of oatmeal and blend them into a fine powder before I add any wet ingredients. This makes sure the oats incorporate into the liquid without lumps. I then add half a banana and enough milk to cover both the oats and the banana. I blend until liquefied. This drink does not have the consistency of a smoothie. If too thick add more milk. It should look like formula more or less. He loves this drink and he will drink it all. It should also make enough for the next day as well. Refrigerate the remainder give it a good shake before serving the next day. If you know you can't use it the next day please put it in the freezer so it won't go bad.
Drink 2: My son loves berries. Black, blue, straw, if it's a berry he loves it. So, I keep frozen mixed berries in the house. Well, I love my smoothies too so it is good to keep on hand. In this drink, I add a handful of mixed berries, a handful of spinach, and cover with apple juice. That's it it's so simple. If you are worried about the seeds from the berries you can omit by using a strainer but, that's personal preference RJ doesn't mind. This drink is thicker than the last so use your own judgment to know if it is right for you and your child. You can always dilute with water for a thinner consistency.
These are my tips for the week I hope they help. Until next week my awkward friends.
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