15 Jun 2012

{Eating and the Boy}

Some things just happen to fall into place hey?

Recently I had been thinking more about M eating habits and serendipity (this word always makes me think of Laura. Remind me to tell you that story one day) came into play. I saw a tweet request asking mummies to blog about their kids and food. Seems like a good reason to write a blogpost hey?

And btw I would love to hear your views, opinions and ideas! Sharing never fails to inspire me (why do you think sites like pinterest are so popular huh?)

Now me and family's life is pretty busy. My husband works Monday to Friday, I work Tuesday to Thursday, M has one day at my in laws, half a day my mums and day an half at nursery. Then add into the mix grandparents on both side, friends and other family to see, spend time with on top of being just us 3. It makes things in general always busy. Which in turn makes things like food shopping a tricky business ( Planning around us being late, going out and having time to cook said food!) which is why I started meal planning (granted these past two weeks I have not due to breaks away! Will share that soon!) as M has gotten bigger I have started to plan meals for Friday to Monday which we as a family can eat. At times I know full well what I've cooked M will not eat (like a roast!). However I stay strong, serve it up, (plus a portion for the adults both if we are both in or just me) and we sit down at the table together. If he eats great, if he asks for more fine. My only rule. Is we wait for all to finish. Which means if he doesn't like the meal, he stays sitting with me while I eat. This approach is something I remember as kid. I do not give in to him and cook him something else. We eat the same or he has nothing. Its a hard line to tow at times and stay strong and not give to him.

I have learnt something about my son as he has gotten older. If he is not hungry he will not eat. Even things he loves (like crackers, or chips!) he will refuse at time. It has taken me a while to get to this happy ish state at his approach to food. Like all parents I worry am I feeding him the right things, why is it he dislikes pasta (when other kids love it) and how many types of dishes can I put sausages in!! But I am learning. Just like I'm sure he is.

My main priority is too offer (where possible by me) home cooked food, to experience new flavours and tastes and to let him learn. As Kevin's parents are Jamaican he also tries their home cooked dishes (he really enjoys oxtail!) and at nursery he tries all types of food (he enjoys liver and bacon!). Therefore I try not too worry too much that I'm making shepherds pies again or sausages & mash. As I know the rest of his diet is really varied.

My fall back with my son is his love of fruit. Even since he was a baby. He adores it. This is now what I offer as a snack. Grapes, blueberries, clementines. Anything really. He likes all types of fruit and will choose this over biscuits at time! I have been thinking about recently trying to make my own snacks for him like tray bakes, flapjacks or biscuits. Most of you know how much I enjoy baking and M does too - seems like a good opportunity to get in the kitchen with my boy. Any suggestions on recipes let me know.

Having said that (like most parents I'm sure) I do fall back on buying convenience snack foods for the boy - and us!. He really likes the Organix range of snacks which is great - but at times a little on the pricey side. Having said that the Tesco and Sainsburys kids on branded items are also great - I love the pouches of yogurt (with the screw top inside of just a tube!) and the mini packs of biscuits which are great for putting in your bag when out and about. As M loves fruit so much I find the mini packs of prepacked fruit perfect for him - though I do try bag up my own mix, but at times this is great alternative. We also really like the kids ready meals by Little Dish and M&S. They are great variations, good for a quick fix (like if we are going out and M needs to eat before hand or if we are going to someones house around dinner time) and actually look and taste like real food!! I like brands that offer good sized portions, interesting flavours and are not full of rubbish!

It amazing to watch him grow and see his tastes change. For example he used to refuse all types of meat. No way would he eat it, then all of sudden when I had dished up meatballs for dinner he stuck his fork in and ate it! They sure do surprise you. I won't lie it is hard when I dish up something and he pushes it away, I can't help but think I have raised him wrong, made a mistake along the way or screwing him up totally that he will be one of those freaky eaters in years to come. But then I have to stop, and think he isn't that bad. Yes, there are days he hardly eats anything, but at other times all he does all day is eat. My aim is for him to be well balanced, enjoy eating and cooking, have a broad range of tastes which does not revolve around chips! and be willing to try new things.

I will continue on my quest to create interesting family meals to serve to him (I have a few 'family' cookbooks I use for inspiration, maybe I'll share these one day) - with the hope one day he will pick up that fork and eat a mouthful of rice. It will happen. I'm sure.

What about you? What do you think?



  1. I think it's important to not make too much of an issue regarding food. There is nothing you're doing wrong when M doesn't like food and he won't grow up with a food problem because of something you're doing. When Sam was a baby she would eat anything, she never pushed anything away and I remember when she was 18 months she used to sit on her grandad's lap and steal his stilton cheese to eat! Now, at 18 years, she is a fussy eater, likes bland food, doesn't like meat etc and I know that it's nothing to do with the food she had when she was younger because she had a varied diet. It's just one of those things. My nephew who was a fussy eater when he was young will now eat anything so don't put any pressure on yourself.

  2. Food is just another thing us parents beat ourselves up over. It might be at the moment that you don't have those family meals to serve because everyone likes something different but it will happen one day!

  3. It's very tough hun. My 2 are as different as chalk and cheese! Daisy was brilliant as a baby, she'd eat everything, roast, jackets, sausages etc etc. but she turned 3 and hated everything. I spoke to the HV & Drs about it as it worried me. I tried not giving in, she wouldn't eat, I'd not make her anything else, she wouldn't eat, so tough. But they told me I'd done the right things and it was fine to give her what she wanted. She eats no veg, well cucumber, she eats minimal fruit -apples & grapes and yes i've cried about it, I've beaten myself up about but short of force feeding her what I want her to it, I just have to ride it out and hope as she gets older she'll try more/eat more. Finley on the other hand is a garbage disposal unit and will eat everything and anything, except carrots!! We're like you and sit and eat at the table as a family as and when we can. Having a family is very stressful huh?!!!

  4. My two and a half year old is a right fuss pot and my seven month old will eat anything and everything in sight. Jake will not touch anything with a sauce and I wonder how much of that is down to doing baby led weaning and giving him mainly finger foods? I don't know, it could just be him. Charlie on the other hand loves being spoon fed and is not so great with finger food. It's a bloody nightmare really as I always feel bad about what jake eats and am running out of ideas. He will eat veg but not in a sauce. My saving grace, like M is his love of fruit and he will eat that until it comes out of his ears. X