Protein? I don’t need no stinkin’ protein!
June11
Sabrina rejects most forms of protein. Eggs is the only protein she will eat without a fight most days. Once in awhile beans or chicken nuggets will pass muster. But usually I have to badger her into eating protein. So mommy tries to get creative. What kid doesn’t love mac & cheese with hotdogs? Mine. I made her some macaroni and mixed some cut up hot dogs in it. She carefully removed each piece of hotdog and pushed it to the side. If I slip meat into her scrambled eggs, she will suck the egg off each piece of meat and discard the meat. Look how proud she is of herself – every scrap of macaroni gone and her little pile of meat left.
Perhaps she needs a visit from MizFit to explain the importance of protein.
I think K is heading into Protein Strike Baby as well. Fruit? He’ll eat all day long. Carbs-you bet! Protein? No way! Argh.
And for the record, I heart mac and cheese with hot dogs. And scrambled eggs with hot dogs, too.
Ahh the protein strike! We have this going on too – at least Sabrina eats eggs and the mac and cheese – Doesn’t the cheese sauce count as some form of protein. Ally won’t event eat eggs of any kind of mac n cheese. Go figure…
Sabrina is adorable all proud of herself – that picture is so worth 1000 words!
We have trouble getting Gabbie to eat a lot of meat too. She will eat lunch meat though so we give her a lot of turkey. She used to love hot dogs but not anymore. Sometimes she will eat chicken but normally it is such a small amount that I am not sure it counts. Now you give this girl some broccoli and she will chow it down! I have a veggie and fruit eater here. I suppose it could be worse. Good luck!!!
Yea, protein is pretty much a no go here as well. Anna will eat a couple of bites of a chicken nugget but never a whole one. She will eat baked beans and the meat from sloppy joes though. SHE HATES HOTDOGS! What is a mom to do when the easy meals of hotdogs or cold cuts are out of the question, she cant possibly think I am actually going to COOK every day! LOL
Hang in there, before you know it she will be eating you out of house and home and you will wonder where your picky eater went. HOPEFULLY!
Michelle, I have long wondered if it isn’t something to do with their heritage? It not for string cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt, The Boy would have gotten absolutely no protein in the first three years of his life. He is better now, but to his dad’s dismay is still not a big red meat fan. My husband is old school – meat and potatoes!
Not just a Guatemalan thing. My little Russian does the same thing. He goes through jags of protein no protein. Right now we are in a no. Try more diary, but up the straight apple juice quotient with that one (dairy is a constipator). Also, think of peanut butter as a protein, but I’m not sure at what age kids can start eating peanut butter. We didn’t start until the boy was 2 1/2. And last, look at what she eats in a whole week as opposed to in one day. That took me a while to figure out, but is a big stress saver. She may eat all veg one day, all fruit the next. Then grains then protein. Kids are funny that way.
Good luck.
OMG! You coulda been talkin’ about Sonja!! That girl does the same as Sabrina!! I’m resorting to protein shakes made from egg whites instead of whey!
A little vegetarian in the making – warms my heart. :0)
Have you tried different types of beans? What about tofu – you can saute it, make a tofu scrambler, mix it in with yogurt or apple sauce or wheat germ, etc.
Good luck –
Kerri and Ruby
We went through a period for a few months where Miss G refused all meat. Then, just like that, she was over it and now eats it happily again. But, she’s very picky about the way food looks or feels. If she thinks it looks wrong, she won’t even think about tasting it. And, the worst part? It can’t be on her plate or tray. She puts it up on the table or as far away as she can get it. If it’s not far enough, she has a hissy.
I gave a lot of beans when Gabriella was on her strike.
Who can argue with that sweet smile? We mix tuna into our mac and cheese… yummy (and hard to pick out)!!
Yeah we don’t do meat here either with Madisyn…She will eat hot dogs though, But they are so high in “salt” I think I try not to do many! Madisyn will eat fish sticks, and they say they are a good source about 2 times a week. Try those…
She is so stinking cute…
I think it is a toddler thing that they go meatless for awhile….Madisyn will not eat chicken but she will eat the little Chicken Rings…Trick em!
Until just recently, we’ve had the same problem. Wyatt will be 2 next month.
Hopefully she will get better as she gets older.
Yeah – Alex goes on his protein strikes also. Last night DH fixed eggs and toast – Alex ate two pieces of toast, three apple slices, and no eggs.
He does like peanut butter (and yes, we started giving him peanut butter when he was 1 1/2), yogurt (there’s protein in there – right??), and BBQ – especially pork. If I shred a meat and put barbeque sauce on it, he will usually eat it. 🙂
Hi Michelle. I really punt when it comes to this… I read someplace that per day a toddler needs about .55 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So based on that, at about 25 pounds, Emma needs approx 13.75 grams of protein per day. She drinks anywhere from 16 -24 ounces of whole milk per day (whole milk has about 8 grams of protein per glass) and that means that she gets between 16 and 24 grams of protein per day just from milk. Emma is not huge on meat but she will eat 1 – 2 Yobaby yogurts for breakfast, some cheese and a LITTLE chicken and some cheese at lunch and at dinner she will eat cheese on pizza, a little chicken or some burger with cheese. The whole grain bread that Emma likes has 3 grams of protein per slice. You’re doing what you can, mama and sometimes that’s just all that you can do. : )
Have you tried the Barilla plus pastas? Mrs. Fussypants tipped me off to them.
Tastes just like reg spaghetti and macaroni, but each serving has as much protein as a piece of meat (or something like that). Enriched with chickpeas and flax.
It’s the only pasta we eat now, and better for diabetics, too.
I use that PB2 all the time with emma and Ive started (waitforit) PEA PROTEIN (facetime coming monday) which she actually adores.
and the Laughing Cow cheese —-she’s all about the cow.
oooh and the morningstar farms sausages!
ok
Ill wrap it up here 🙂
oooh AND emma will NOT eat the hot dogs hot.
cold.
with those small pretzel rods poked in em like a tooth pick.
I love it. So funny. Love the cute dancing/spinning videos too – and great music! Just for the record, brocolli salad sounds delicious. Made my pregnant mouth water. Just might have to put that on this week’s menu (if I don’t have to run out tonight – currently 9 pm – to get the ingredients)!
Maybe she’s a vegetarian? hehe
Dairy and eggs count. I wouldn’t sweat it. Wes likes Ezekieal Bread which has lots of protien in the form of sprouted grains. They have a cinnamon raisin version that we toast up for him. It’s pretty hearty though so if she won’t do whole wheat, you might be out of luck.
Wes is currently on a raw veggie strike. I have to shred up veggies to get them in his food. We do lots of green eggs. (eggs plus spinach) Today I put chopped broccolli in the mac and cheese and he picked it all out. sigh.
Good tip about the pasta.
Hey – what size does Sabrina wear?????
You know, with Reese I am really relaxed. I give him variety, and some days he eats a ton, others not so much. The girls were the same way, and they still are, really. I sneak protein in. Eggs, (which he only eats half the time now), milk, yogurt (when he will eat it) and no cheese because he won’t even look at it. Some nights he devours chicken and pork, othes it is the root of evil.
I do love how she picked out the hot dogs. Little twerp!! I use the pasta mentioned above and my kids love it. I use it because it has calcium and my girls both refuse to drink milk–always have!!! Even my husband doesn’t know the difference. I also put an extra piece of cheese in the mac and cheese for extra protein and calcium.
Try the “sneaky chef” way, take some tofu and blend it smooth and add it to mac and cheese. It really has no taste, and only changes the texture a bit. I have both of those books (the one by Jessica Seinfeld and the Sneaky Chef) and I think the Sneaky Chef is better. It realy had some good idea for making sure your kids are getting all the nutrition they need when they fight you on it.
Sounds like a big challange. Looks like you got some good tips from others.
Props to the mini-vegetarian!!!!! Try veggie burgers, veggie hot dogs, veggie corn dogs, veggie bacon, veggie chix, etc. Emily still to this day prefers veggie burgers to real hamburger burgers. Don’t forget eggs, peanut butter, legumes, and any bean as excellent sources of protein. Save a cow, eat a grilled cheese!!
Amy
I was also going to suggest trying tofu or edamame. My nephew also didn’t like meat, but loved eating tofu cubes. My sister would saute them a bit or roll them in wheat germ and he loved the edamame. He now eats more meat at 5, but is still not a big fan of it.
Interesting…seamonkey will only EAT protein – they should get together – at least between the two of them the plate would be clean!