its beginning to look a lot like Sweden

I mentioned lately that L.D. is getting pickier in his eating habits. He's funny though, in what he will and won't eat. There are some things that are not surprising; for example, he loves the usual toddler diet - anything white and bland. Lots of carbs and cheese. He'd eat cheese sandwhiches and cheese filled tortellini any day of the week. And he's still ok with most vegetables, though not in as large a quantity as he used to eat them. Now its two beans, or two carrots, as opposed to a regular serving. But he's still happy to have us back up the avocado and tomato truck any time of the day. And he loves all fruits, in large amounts. But the real tough ones are protiens and anything in a sauce. He does not like sauce. Oh, the sadness when I set down a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce on it. Our rule is that he has to try one bite (a 'no thank you' helping) to see if he really doesn't like it, or just thinks he doesn't like it. And then, almost every time, there I am at the sink washing the dreaded sauce off his pasta. It's Kamut pasta, so he's still getting a whole grain, I tell myself. And he will make an exception for pesto. So that's good too.   (Hubs and L.D. working up an appetite)

But protein is really tricky. He's just not very interested in meat. And will now only eat the white part of the egg (which kind of works out ok, since the Baby eats the yolk very happily, 'and so betwixt the two of them the lick the platter clean'). But I cannot get that kid to eat chicken. Except for the chicken satay from the Thai place in town. He'll eat a couple of those.   (note the use of both shovels and croquet mallets as the front walkway gets re-bricked)

Anyhow, hubs and I were confering about dinner plans today, when hubs had the bright idea to try meatballs. He'd taken the Little Dude to Ikea a couple of months ago, and remembered that he quite happily ate the meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy that they serve there. Which is another anomaly as he has generally always turned his nose up at potatoes, which I find odd because they fit the toddler menu of bland and white perfectly. However, Ikea cafeteria food does not exactly fit my ideal of a healthy meal. But I figured, if I make it myself I can make it better. 

Et voila! Homemade Ikea food. I know its not the most swank or foodie of food, hardly photo worthy in concept, but I must say, this was actually a darned good meal. I got compliments all around from the little boy and the big one.

So here's how I healthied it up. We had some free range ground beef in the freezer, so I used that for the meatballs. I seasoned them with sage, thyme and a little bit of garlic salt. And I surprised myself. I'll tell you what, those meatballs were good. I'm totally making them again. And then, you know, the mashed potatoes are just mashed potatoes, but I did throw a few cloves of garlic in with the potatoes while they boiled which gives them a little something extra. And we added a side of asparagus (the baby's favourite) Then, in the not-healthy-at-all category, the gravy was just out of a package, and the lingonberry sauce is actually the lingonberry sauce they sell at Ikea. We just happened to have an upopened jar in the pantry which we bought on a whim probably before the Baby was born. Anyhow, the sauce was arguably the Little Dude's favourite part of the meal. "I really, really love it, this sauce part" he declared as he spooned up what is essentially jam with great glee. But the good news is he also ate the meatballs. At least three of them. And some potatoes, with gravy of course, and two beans and two carrots. Because he wasn't allowed to have more lingonberry sauce until he'd eaten them. 

 

Comments

[Becky]

We have the same issue with proteins. Our little guy does LOVE beans, especially black beans, which helps, and quinoa (good source of protein), but for those other occasions, we resort to dipping sauce. Usually just a tiny bit of a teryaki or salsa or appropriate sauce for the meal, he loves the act of dippin' most of all, which usually incurs a few more bits of the protein. But meatballs are strangely always a hit, when nothing else is. maybe it's the more creamy, less chewy texture?

[Sheila]

I was going to suggest beans too! K is 4 and still loves them. Another trick was the 'savoury' pancake. Whole wheat pancakes, lots of tofu bits and some peas or corn thrown in. Fry them up, serve whole or cut into little strips. Eat them warm or room temp when on the run. A real crowd pleaser, although he was a lot younger then...

[finger thumb]

Beans are a good tip. We've got to try working more of them into our diet. We tried a very good lentil soup the other day, and he was sort of tricked into a few bites, but then firmly declared that he did not like it. But I like your savoury pancake with tofu idea a lot Sheila. We eat pancakes for dinner sometimes, so I'll give it a try. I'll bet I can even get chick pea flour or something like that to protein it up.
Oh, and for some reason Becky, my kid is the only toddler in the world that is not interested in dipping sauces. I've made a very conscious effort to keep him away from the childhood trifecta of ketchup/bbq sauce/ranch dressing but he's had tzatziki, hummus and lots of home made dressings offered to him. He'll eat them if he likes what he's dipping into them, but cannot be persuaded to dip stuff in them that he doesn't like already. In other words, we can't use it as an incentive. Also, he really likes putting his hands in the dip, and if left to his own devices will be wrist deep in tzatziki just for the tactile fun of it!