Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what’s for dinner? Check out their cute “Quest for Yum!” video and see what happens!
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Save me, Mommy, from the icky food!

 I have two babies. One is ten months and eats like a horse. One is three years old (as of yesterday! WAHHH!) and we’ve had a rough time getting her to eat since she was nine months old.

Libbie would eat anything up until she was nine months. Then, all of a sudden, it was POOF! She hated everything except bananas, bread, and cheese. (And if we’re being honest, that’s nothing but a prescription for chronic constipation.)

Even then, she would still eat almost anything if it were pureed. So every now and then I would pop out the old baby food and make sure she was getting SOME nutrients. I felt guilty about it then.

But … sometimes I still do the same thing to her now. At 3! She thinks those slurpable pouches of baby food are magical for some reason. I think her main issue with fruits and veggies is texture. So if she will happily drink down baby food puree or a yogurt smoothie, I will let her.

Like I said, David will eat basically anything, but I’ve relied heavily on the little baby food pouches for him, too. We are on-the-go so much between church, taking Libbie to school, and just running errands that being able to throw something in his bag is wonderful. The pouches require no spoon, no bowl: just put that thing is his mouth and he will slurp it right down!

The other methods that have worked with Libbie are your age-old techniques: persistence and hiding it.

We serve her what we eat for dinner. We try to make sure there is something she will eat, but we don’t cater to toddler tastebuds at dinnertime. If she doesn’t eat it, she doesn’t get anything else that night. We hear that method works with most kids. Libbie has yet, in over two years of doing this, eaten a pea or piece of broccoli voluntarily. But … we hope.

 So yes, I have stooped to hiding things in other foods. Breads are an excellent place to start. You can puree many things and hide them in muffins or pancakes. Smoothies have started to work for Libbie as well, as she doesn’t dislike the taste of fruits, just the peels and textures, I think. As long as she’s not looking, I can throw some spinach in those smoothies, too!

Grated carrot can go in pasta or pizza sauces. Grated summer squashes work well in there, too, as well as in baked goods.

Making your own jam is a good way to work around this, too. Libbie’s been eating homemade mulberry jam on her PBJs this fall, and homemade jellies or jams are great to stir into yogurt or thin out for a fruity ice-cream topping.  

And, if all else fails, there’s always gummy vitamins.

Whatever you do, don’t give up! Catering to your kids’ desire for ONLY chicken nuggets and french fries will simply create a monster. There ARE ways to get your children to eat healthy that satisfy both your terms and theirs.

(But I have to confess … I pray that my baby, David, will just eat everything. Because I’m not sure I can endure this battle with another kid.)

Do you use tips and tricks to get your babies and toddlers to eat healthier?


I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about Plum Organics, visit their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/PlumOrganics.

All opinions are mine and are not influenced by sponsors. 

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