strange food conbinations

[ethanryan]

hi my 2 year old son has started to become fussy with his food and wants all sorts of wierd meals. tonight he wants jam on toast with meatballs. does anyone elses child go through this and did you give them the food they wanted

[andrea81]

My son had a stomach bug and seemed to go off his food. I started to pander to him cos I was glad he was eating, but in the end I had to be realistic and we all ate the same meals. He soon realised that he wasn't getting 'silly' foods and got stuck in again.

It wasn't as straightforward as that, took a bit of patience!

x

[ethanryan]

he loves meatballs and mash, which i have offered him but he wont eat the mash and wants jam with it instead. i normally let the boys chose what they want for dinner- within reason. yeasterday he wanted ravioli and orange. so i gave him ravioli and chopped an orange in a bowl for after so he mixed it together and ate the lot.
do you think these mixtures of food are actually good for him. his dad says dont worry it all goes down the same way but what would the health visitor say if she seen him eating orange with ravioli

[redcrx]

im sure its just a phase and that he'll soon go back to eating as you do.

I dont see a real problem with it if he is eating a balanced meal as much as possible.

Im not sure i could watch my son mixing food like that but we have had times where hes poured his juice over his dinner and still eaten it

[ethanryan]

it isnt nice watchin him eat it especially as were all up the same table. he also dips his biscuits in his juice

[coco pops]

Ther is nothing wrong with what he is doing no different from an adult having peanut butter and marmite together in a sandwich.

[lou 26]

awww, bless him! theres nothing to worry about and im sure youll find, in time, that hes not fussy about what he eats and willing to try different foods. My daughter at 2 used to love dunking pizza in orange squash!

[ethanryan]

his dad thinks its funny but i just worry that he isnt gettin a balanced diet. maybe its my fault cause of the mad cravings i had when carryin him, it obviously rubbed off on him lol

[Beanmistriss]

He seems to be eating sensible enough food just in mad combinations so probably will be getting a balanced diet, just it's just all mixed up a bit. It's not like he's only eating crisps, jelly and turkey twizzlers. Have you ever tried ravioli and oranges? Maybe its really nice ;)

[ethanryan]

hi beanmistriss no i havnt tried it, and i really dont want to. he does eat the good things, both my sons will not eat crisp or sweets, not because i wont allow it they just wont try them, which is no bad thing. they do love chocolate though!
maybe if i stopped putting his pudding on the table with his dinner he will stop mixing food. i only put his pudding on the table because we went through a stage where he wouldnt eat his dinner, so if i put his pudding in front of him he knows that he has to eat all his dinner before he can have it, and if it was something he really wanted he would clear his plate.

[888sally888]

When my daughters were little (now they are 16 and 18 - yikes!!) they used to have a plate of healthy bits for lunch like sandwiches, apple and all sorts of other bits.

They would eat a bit of everything so I suppose its no different to mixing up a dinner in a way!!

And dont worry abot the health visitor - you sound like a lovely mum and I am sure she would just laugh!!

PS both my daughters are normal now!!

[annie0000]

It is actually fairly normal to mix savoury food with sweet/fruit. Think about pork and apple sauce, Turkey and cranberry, duck and orange. When you have swedish meatballs you always get them with jam/jelly. I wouldn't worry too much, at least he is eating healthy food and how you mix it together doesn't matter. My son is 6 and still likes to dip fish fingers into his juice.

[MORELLO]

He's 2! As long as he's eating I'd just let him experiment for now. As he gets older it will help him socilly to know what 'traditionally' goes with what, but right now i'd let him get on with it. Plus, reacting to his behaviour might be just what he wants...

[MORELLO]

-socially-

[beanebabe]

I always give my kids a choice - do you want this meal or that meal. As long as they get to choose they are happy. In your case I would say meatballs for main course, toast and jam for pudding! Works well with kids who won't get dressed - you choose 2 or 3 outfits you like and then give them the final say!

[ethanryan]

hi beanebabe, thats a great suggestion something i havnt tried. will give it a go