The sorbet must have been a little tart for Mia, letsbehonest, she loves ice cream and doesn't normally push it away!
I must admit that I've turned into "that mom" who goes organic when possible, avoids the normal snack foods (like goldfish), and throws all the fresh fruits and veggies into Mia as possible... and I'm proud of it! Don't go feeling sorry for Mia though, girlfriend has got plenty of loved ones rallying around her trying to sneak her goodies as often as possible! My nephew tried to give Mia chocolate but his mom told him no (because I said it was off limits) and he exclaimed, "I just want her to be happy and have a good life!!" bahaha! Eric loves to give her treats, her grandparents spoil her like it's their full time job and even I love to see her reaction to "nummy nummy" treats! But I do my best to feed her as healthy as possible.
I know all kids are different and we have been blessed with a good eater who doesn't really have texture issues. I'm also a firm believe that kids prefer what they are used to eating, and they develop a "palate" of sorts very early on! We went to a baseball game with friends and they bought their daughter a hot dog. They were shocked to hear that Mia had never tried one so they gave her a piece... and she spit it right back out! My crazy momma heart almost burst with pride, ha ha! I bought her chicken nuggets once from a fast food joint in town... and Mia wouldn't have anything to do with them! I was annoyed with wasting the money so I bit into one... and totally understood why Mia wouldn't eat that crap. Gross! I home cook almost all of our meals so Mia is used to fresh food instead of overly processed stuff, which is obvious when she doesn't touch it. But that's not to say that Mia doesn't eat crap, we are only human here! She loooooves pizza and pasta (a carb lover like her parents!) but she thinks the green smoothies we drink with it are a total treat!
So how do we get Mia to eat the fruits and veggies? She's very used to it since she only ate fresh fruits and veggies once we started her on solids. Now it's just a part of our diet at every meal. Mia is used to seeing spinach cooked into her scrambled eggs. For lunch I give her a plate full of multiple fruits and veggies (as well as the main course) and she eats it right up because she feels like she's in control. If I only give her one or two options, she gets sick of it and won't eat any of it! When I make (Annie's) mac n cheese I add shredded spinach and a grated carrot. It's not that I'm trying to hide her veggies, it's that I want her to be used to eating it in every meal, whether it's mixed in to one dish or a side. The best part? It doesn't bother her and she eats it right up!
Mia is an amazing eater but she definitely has her moments! It's those times that I pull out the big guns... yogurt is one of her very favorite things to eat! I can hide anything in her yogurt and she will eat it up! But I really think we don't have to battle over the good stuff since it's just apart of our every day life. I honestly believe she's just simply used to seeing it so she eats it up! I don't know what I'll do if my next kid can't handle textures or just plain hates to eat... AH!
June 12: How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all
June 19: How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood
June 26: Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime)
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26 comments:
Mixing spinach into annie's is such a good idea! I made a gnocchi dish last night that has arugula mixed into it and Kiernan ate it right down, so my goal is to definitely add those healthy greens to as many things as I can.
"I just want her to have a good life and be happy!" HAHAHA. That's amazing. You can't have a good life and be happy without chocolate? I mean I love chocolate, don't get me wrong, but I don't think I would live an unhappy life without it. Kids! I, too, am blessed with a good eater. Literally, I put broccoli or green beans down in front of Mason and he gobbles them right up. He loves fruit as well and eats grapes, strawberries, blueberries, etc. like there's no tomorrow. Of course, he eats some junk too, but I try to give him that in moderation. A well balanced diet!
I was just thinking about this exact topic this morning! I don't know why. . .
I decided that I want to feed my kids as healthy as possible because they don't understand the consequences for their choices yet. When they're older they can make those choices, but I don't want to be responsible for them! I'll admit that I let Axel eat bites of my ice cream (when we get it at a family party, because I don't buy it) when I never would have let Olivia do that. I knew I would get more relaxed with each child which is why I started out SO strict with Olivia :) My niece is like your nephew, always trying to sneak candy and cookies to my kids.
But when the nurse asked Olivia what her favorite food was and she said "brussel sprouts!" Best moment ever.
Woohoo for a good eater, that's so awesome!
i hope she continues to be a good eater for you! lex was once upon a time a fan of her veggies. and then the good old age of two hit and now she has opinions of her own and will only eat plain pasta (if she eats at all!). i miss my non-picky eater!!
i hope she continues to be a good eater for you! lex was once upon a time a fan of her veggies. and then the good old age of two hit and now she has opinions of her own and will only eat plain pasta (if she eats at all!). i miss my non-picky eater!!
Love this! We love to put things in yogurt too! Yogurt is a staple food in Palmer's world so we fill it full of little "treats" for her!! Great idea!!
Alycia//Crazily Normal
bahaha, "I just want her to be happy and have a good life!!"
Aria doesn't like over processed crap either. She doesn't like 'kid' foods either, like pizza and pasta. Much to my chagrin...we dont eat too much pasta, but come on kid it is homemade pizza and everything! She loves her veggies though and fruit! I agree, she is use to it she gets a variety of it she loves it.
SO true! They think it's the norm when you make it all the time - they don't know any different when all they eat is healthy stuff!
ooo I'm going to have to try the shredding carrots into macncheese! We add spinach in EVERYTHING and Rae loves it. and if all else fails everything works w/yogurt. Some really weird combos happen with yogurt, but it works ;)
Rae is also almost 17mo and still hasn't had chocolate or hardly any sugary treats & we get judgey eyes all the time for it.
That is so awesome that she prefers the "good stuff" to the "bad stuff". & I do not blame her one bit for spitting out that hot dog - gross! Worst things EVER! Ha! :)
I love your focus on eating good food! I put veggies into things just because as well (man wish I had mentioned that in my post lol) for the same reasons - so its the norm. I mean who doesn't cook spinach into taco meat? :) I hope she stays a good eater! Callie is getting a little pickers as she's getting older but still has really good habits. She too will not touch a chicken nugget and I tried one recenlty and how did I ever eat them!
I think it's wonderful that you're not feeding your child food that isn't healthy! I'm not a mom yet, but I do know that when I do have children, I'm going to try my darndest to make sure and feed them well!
sounds like we are about on the same wavelength. we eat healthy and organic as often as possible. do my kids always love it? no. but they are used to it. and they know if they are hungry they can eat the fruits and veggies or go without. of course they still get PLENTY of treats, but they all love and eat fruits and veggies really well. thankful for that :)
Go Mia!! And go you! I totally agree, they eat what they are used to eating! My husband is a health food freak. So most of our meals are tailored around him. Which is good for all of us, but we are italian so we eat our fair share of pasta. haha! Ace was a struggle but now for the most part all three of mine are good eaters. It is tough sometimes though!
Yay for a good eater!!!! Waverly loves yogurt, too!!! :)
Our little guy is picky and I think I'm to blame really. Mostly because I didn't think outside the box soon enough. We are slowly working in foods but he is one smart cookie and has caught on.
What makes it even worse is, he has a dairy allergy so that's tricky too.
I've been out of blog world for a bit but trying to get back in! What's this link up!? And Mia.. Can't believe she is so big now! I see her on Instagram all the time but it seems like it was just yesterday that she was born! Isn't it so bittersweet!? We are planning Charlee's first birthday party and I don't know if I should be happy or cry! Haha
This was a great post with a lot of great ideas! I have the same issue with the grandparents and other family members who love to feed my little girl the worst things they can find! But your dedication to feeding your little Mia the right foods has obviously paid off, and I think that's awesome :)
loved this! I too try to go organic...not into processed foods...we never eat fast food...blah blah ... with that said treats in moderation is rthe rule at our house...b/c if i offer my kids a cupcake or a fresh bowl of starwberries...they will devour both...so I try to offer the healthy first. Now my youngest is a whole different story...she never eats!!!
That's too funny what he said!!! So cute! I have a feeling I may be this same way!!
"I just want her to be happy!" too funny! :) We always do lots of fruits and veggies too... it's kind of all he'll eat. Most of the time. Though, he's been going through phases right now: loving broccoli one day and refusing it the next. Stinker.
I'm going to do the same thing for my kids. I want to limit the junk food and maximize the healthy food as much as possible. I have terrible eating habits and I don't want to pass them on.
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