Pretzels, Pickles & Pineapple

I will not eat the food you give me woman! I will either
put it in my hair or throw it at the pooch. That is how I roll...

This is what M finally ate for lunch today...pretzels, pickles & pineapple.

I opened a yogurt - she had two bites and refused to have more.

I made a cream cheese & jelly sandwich - she had two bites and threw the rest on the floor.

I cut up turkey meatballs - one piece in mouth, spit out onto her tray, the rest thrown and the floor and into the pooch's belly.

And finally she ate two bread n' butter stacker pickles, about 5 bites of pineapple and a handfull of mini pretzel sticks.

Gone are the days of me bragging about what a fantastic eater my daughter is. I used to be able to make her things like sauteed tilapia and vegetable quiche. Now I am lucky if she even eats two bites of the same thing. I now dread every meal time as it consists of me making about 10 different things because who the hell knows what she is going to be in the mood for today! I used to be able to make anything and she would eat it...not so much anymore.

Tonight I cut up fresh papaya and avocado, thinking she hadn't had either in a long time and that she would eat them both up. The papaya made it to her tongue and she immediately gave me "the face" and spit it out and then proceeded to throw the piece on her tray on the floor. Papaya is not easy to get up off the hardwood people! And same went for the avocado...one of her old favorites. I then got out some pieces of a chicken I roasted earlier this week, that was a big hit three days ago (to my utter shock she ate it two meals in a row). Yeah you would have thought I was giving her dog food (maybe I should try dog food!).

Then I gave her tiny pieces of shrimp cocktail - spit out.

Then I cooked some turkey sausage - not even put in mouth, just thrown directly at the pooch, who gladly woofed it down (pun intended).

When she said with a big smile "cheese!" I gladly got out some cheese for her. Little did I know she didn't want to actually eat the cheese, but throw it at the pooch.

We finally resorted to a berry, banana, peanut butter, leftover yogurt from lunch, protein powder and milk smoothie. And she drank the entire thing. This also happens to be what she had for breakfast this morning. I guarantee tomorrow she will hate it.

Help! What are some other things I can add to our repertoire!

The "Fun" with Food

We've been lucky - S has always been a pretty good eater. We've had our ups and downs, but she's at least tried most things we've put in front of her. She used to eat like a house (no pun intended.) now she is mellowing out in her consumption amounts. She'll still try new things, but we've learned putting them to the front of the meal is our best bet - usually in the 2nd slot. Give her something tasty and familiar for the first course and then on to the new item, which may or may not be summarily rejected.

And as a 15-month old, she is now in the land of exerting her will. If she doesn't want it, she is most certainly going to let you know it - either with an emphatic shaker of her head, a swat of her hand, or an out and out "No." So, really, she doesn't leave you guessing. When she's done, she's done.

Unfortunately, we've also come into the "let's throw food on the floor" time. Despite every attempt to tell her "No" (forcefully, gently, you name it) she thinks it's a game, breaking into a huge smile when you tell her no. She'll happily eat, but when she hits a certain point, it's all about how much can be mashed into little pieces and then systematically dropped on the floor. It really used to bother me (though thank god we have hard wood floors- I couldn't imagine carpets!) but this weekend we've made the decision to just ignore her, hoping the novelty of the reaction will wear off.

Moms - are you running into the same thing? Any tips or tricks?