Why won’t my toddler eat?

Stand up if you have no idea how your toddler survives off so few calories per day like mine! I mean, the kid doesn’t always eat. In my 2.5 years of being a mom, though, I’ve picked up a few lessons on getting my son to eat. One of my tricks would probably be considered bad parenting but sometimes you do what you have to do to make it work(read further), am I right? Here are four sure-fire ways I make sure my toddler gets nutrition on a daily basis.

POUCHES

Somewhere along the way, I convinced my son that pureed fruit pouches – are a treat. I’m not quite sure how I did it but I’m so glad I did. We’ve literally tried every organic brand on the market and I have settled on Go-Go Squeeze and Costco(Kirkland) Organic Fruit & Vegetable Pouches. He loves the flavors and I love the organic nutritional ingredients. I can easily toss them into my bag and have him eat them in the car without my having to worry about the possibility of choking in the back seat. They think they’re having a treat while I know he’s getting some nutrition. Win-win!

GRAZING

Okay, so this is a method other moms might judge me for and that is fine with me. I admittedly allow my toddler to get down from the table once while we are eating. It doesn’t happen all of the time but when it does I don’t fret. Then I make him come back every minute or so to take a bite while he plays. It takes forever but I can usually get him to eat a full meal that way. I also leave a plate of finger foods out for a while so he can graze throughout the day. These are habits I know I’ll have to break soon but I’m more concerned about his health and nutrition than I am about his habits at this point.

SUPPLEMENTAL SHAKES

I often try to get my toddler to eat yogurt at breakfast; he doesn’t always eat it, though. So when he doesn’t, I take the yogurt from his untouched bowl, mix it with milk, and add either toddler formula powder or a kids’ protein shake powder he loves (I use KidzShake) and shake it up in a blender bottle. We call it his “milkshake” and he loves it.

SMOOTHIES

There’s nothing more fun than hiding nutrition in a smoothie. I like to add spinach, steamed broccoli, squash, chia seeds, flax seeds, and avocado to fruit smoothies (blueberry, strawberry, and banana is a big hit in our home) and snicker with an evil laugh while he gulps it down. J gets the nutrition he needs and I’m happy because I have a healthy toddler!

I have also found that cutting food such a bread, pancakes and fruit into shapes makes J eat much more. I introduced him to chicken, fish, eggs, and spices at an early age and most of the times he will eat them all without a fuss! He loves rice so I interchange rice and quinoa a lot for him! The best piece of advice I can give other moms is to never give up. Keep trying, yes the waste gets on my nerves sometimes but we have to do what we have to do at the end of the day!

Okay so gimme your tips on me in the comments below. How do you get your toddlers to eat?