Well, Charlie and I have finally made it to that not-so-wonderful stage of parenting. We went to bed one night with a daughter who would eat anything and awoke the next morning with a daughter who wouldn't eat ANYTHING! If you are a parent of a child 18 months or older (roughly) you now exactly what I mean. Now when I say anything I am referring to anything healthy. I am an OCD mommy and really LOVED the baby food stage. I knew exactly what veggies and fruits she was eating and was thrilled with that. I do believe that in this new stage Lula Mae would live off of pancakes and bananas if we let her. Oh my! Well, I am doing something that I always said I would NEVER do as a parent... I am hiding veggies anywhere I can. I really dislike having to do this. I feel like when you hide the veggies kids don't learn that you have to eat veggies. Well, when my child went to bed hungry 3 nights in a row after refusing her veggies I knew I had to try another route. So here is what I have been doing to try and keep Lula Mae eating a balanced diet:
-Instead of apple juice or grape juice I dilute V8 Splash (8 oz a day) to give her a full serving of veggies and fruits (she actually loves this more than regulare juice and I feel like it is much better for her)
-I give her the Morningstar Farms chicken nuggets (vegiterian alternative) which somedays she loves and other days she won't touch
-I put pureed veggies in her pancake batter (yummy, I know)
-She loves the Gerber Graduates Pasta Pick-Ups (I try to buy the spinach ones mostly)
So far these are the only places I have been able to sneak things in. She won't eat mac-n-cheese or I would puree carrots to hide there too! She will still eat cheese, eggs, pretty much any fruit, avocado, and whole grain breads. I feel like she is still eating a balanced diet even without the baby food. I don't plan on hiding veggies forever, but for now I am fine with it!
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