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17 mo eating too much fruit?


Alaya

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I will start my saying that my son (17 mo) is a great eater.  He's eaten what we eat from the beginning, which is mostly a paleo diet. He loves a variety of foods: vegetables, meats, fish, egg yolk (he seems to be allergic to the whites), even fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and Bubbie's dill pickles. This makes it super easy to feed him while my husband and I are on our Whole 30 -- something for which I am immensely grateful. 

 

However, we've gotten into a bad habit with him (I think) around the Plum Organics pureed fruit pouches. He's obsessed with them and will sometimes eat several a day. They're easy for me because I can hand them to him and let him feed himself, but I'm starting to wonder if they might be setting up a bit of a blood sugar roller coaster.

 

I've experimented with offering him other foods at this time: animal protein and fat, or even veg w/ a high-fat dip. Every once in a while he will accept the substitution, but most of the time he will not touch these other foods and keep asking for a pouch. Which makes me wonder if he's really hungry, or just wants the "sugar hit" of the pureed fruit.

 

Is this something I should be working to shift, or am I projecting my own issues with sugar & blood sugar regulation on to my son?

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Kids really need more carbohydrates than adults do because it helps support their growth. He may just like the novelty of the pouch and having something that he can take on the go. He wouldn't be the first toddler who's "too busy" to sit down to eat. Lots of kids go through that "grab-and-go" phase.

 

If you're still super concerned about it, look into buying some of the reusable food pouches that are on the market and make your own purees at home. You can experiment with adding veggies to the fruit and see what he thinks of that. It seems like he has a pretty long list of foods on his "toddler approved" list and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he just really likes having something that he can be self-sufficient with.

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Here's  something that SpinSpin does....you might like this.

 

 

SpinSpin

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Posted 16 May 2015 - 01:52 PM

I have a newly 4 year old little guy and he has been known to have his picky moments. What helps him is to let him 'help' in the kitchen. He likes to help stir, so I let him help with scrambling his eggs, he likes to put bacon in a cold pan, he has even helped me cut up food--his hand on mine of course! We also let him pick out veggies and fruit in the produce department and that helps him eat new things. LOL! Our market had a bin out of local heirloom tomatoes, he picked one up and took a HUGE bite out of it and pronounced it yummy! We quickly popped it in a bag and he proudly carried that bag through the market and gave it to the cashier to ring up! He had that tomato with his dinner. 

 

Maybe letting your toddler help would make things easier? my little guy loves to help with making mayo too, and is my number 1 taster. 

 
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Alaya, I agree with your mom instinct on this one.  

 

This is along the same lines as, "Your sugar dragon doesn't care if it is a fruit and nut bar, or a Snickers bar -- all it knows is that it screamed for sugar, and it got fed."  

 

If he's truly hungry -- if he truly needs the food for fuel -- then he will eat any of the other variety of things that are offered to him that you know he likes.  

 

If you're using the word "obsessed", then it is probably just exactly what you think it is.  

 

What would happen if you simply did not have them available for a week?  Both of you would have to go back to real, whole food options.

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Alaya, I agree with your mom instinct on this one.

This is along the same lines as, "Your sugar dragon doesn't care if it is a fruit and nut bar, or a Snickers bar -- all it knows is that it screamed for sugar, and it got fed."

If he's truly hungry -- if he truly needs the food for fuel -- then he will eat any of the other variety of things that are offered to him that you know he likes.

If you're using the word "obsessed", then it is probably just exactly what you think it is.

What would happen if you simply did not have them available for a week? Both of you would have to go back to real, whole food options.

He's 17 months old. He is not an adult. He is a toddler. Obsessions are a toddller's raison d'etre. As Amy says, he'll have another obsession next week. Kids cannot eat and digest the same quantity of vegetables that adults can. They like fruit for its readily available energy. Toddlers have TOTALLY different energy requirements to us. I'd want to limit the fruit pouches because they are extortionate, and because we try not to eat several extortionate fruit pouches a day. But really, pick your battles.
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He's 17 months old. He is not an adult. He is a toddler. Obsessions are a toddller's raison d'etre. As Amy says, he'll have another obsession next week. Kids cannot eat and digest the same quantity of vegetables that adults can. They like fruit for its readily available energy. Toddlers have TOTALLY different energy requirements to us. I'd want to limit the fruit pouches because they are extortionate, and because we try not to eat several extortionate fruit pouches a day. But really, pick your battles.

This exactly. Toddlers eat weirdly. Let the child eat. Really. If you think this is weird, Alaya, wait until he's three and subsists entirely on ketchup and air.

 

Feed the child. Continue to offer a variety of foods, continue to hose the kid off in the yard after he gets everything all over everything in the house, and keep feeding him. He needs to eat, eat, eat, eat, and then eat some more. My kids favorite at that age was bananas and avocados mashed together. So stinkin' gross. :lol: :lol:  And pumpkin pie. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Your 17 month old is just barely beginning to explore the world of food. Let him eat. Really.

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i would bet some of it is the self sufficiency. My girl was around that age when all she wanted to eat was what she could do herself. They make the pouches that are puréed veggies. I know I've seen sweet potato (I also know athletes who swear by them for post WO) and some that mix veggies and fruit. Just buy some that aren't pure fruit if you're really worried.

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Mom of a toddler here agreeing that it's not very realistic (or necessary) to apply adult paleo rules to our little monsters. My 21-month-old is a roller coaster of pickiness. One day he loves a particular food, the next day (or the next meal, or the next bite) he refuses it or spits it out. One day he hoovers up anything I put in front of him, the next day he only wants to eat ketchup with a fork. There is no rhyme or reason, and there is literally not a single food that he will eat every time I give it to him.

 

Of course I try to feed him the meat and veggies we eat. Sometimes he eats it, sometimes he pushes it on the floor for the dog to clean up and I end up giving him blueberries and shredded cheese for dinner. I could drive myself crazy worrying about this, but he's a healthy, happy boy. We do our best and I think it's ok.

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Mom of a toddler here agreeing that it's not very realistic (or necessary) to apply adult paleo rules to our little monsters. My 21-month-old is a roller coaster of pickiness. One day he loves a particular food, the next day (or the next meal, or the next bite) he refuses it or spits it out. One day he hoovers up anything I put in front of him, the next day he only wants to eat ketchup with a fork. There is no rhyme or reason, and there is literally not a single food that he will eat every time I give it to him.

 

Of course I try to feed him the meat and veggies we eat. Sometimes he eats it, sometimes he pushes it on the floor for the dog to clean up and I end up giving him blueberries and shredded cheese for dinner. I could drive myself crazy worrying about this, but he's a healthy, happy boy. We do our best and I think it's ok.

Yes times a gajillion!!!!! :wub:

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Loving the combination of advice I'm getting here, and it's helping me to know better what I already know:

 

1. He's fine, don't be a freak.  ;)

 

AND

 

2. It might be worth getting more creative with his snacks: Whole cut fruit. Home-filled reusable pouches with fat/meat/veg added for balance. 

 

Thanks, y'all!

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  • 2 weeks later...

This exactly. Toddlers eat weirdly. Let the child eat. Really. If you think this is weird, Alaya, wait until he's three and subsists entirely on ketchup and air.

I laughed so hard at this, Amy, because my daughter will be three in a couple months and I think she's eaten a strawberry today.

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  • 4 months later...

Alaya, how did you make out? I was searching "how much is too much fruit" and found this awesome thread.  My four and a half year old is on technically day 0 again (thanks to sugar in snack at our home school group) but I am on Day 3.  We both started three days ago.  He's open to eating bacon that I found at Whole Foods that is sugar free, and turkey slices like it's going out of style.  And hard boiled eggs - whites only.  He loves raw carrots.  Other than that, it's fruit fruit fruit.  Out of desperation, i bought a can of mandarin orange slices and pineapple chunks (no sugar added of course) on a 9pm turkey run to Whole Foods last night.  He ate all the oranges in less than 24 hours.  Plus two pears.  Half a can of pineapple.  But also probably half a pound of sliced turkey.  And about 4 pieces of bacon.  And one egg.  (white).  Now that I read all this, I'm not as concerned...  But just would like to get a gauge on what you all think of the amount of fruit.  Oh and four organic apple cinnamon packs.  Those were supposed to be his only snack at home school today...  Thanks so much!!

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  • 3 months later...

My 22 month old eats lots of fruit also. I am not too worried about it. He has his whole life to worry about these things and at 1 he doesn't need to be following the exact guidelines of a Paleo diet. If the worst thing my kid is eating is too many grapes, I think we are doing okay.

He might have half a banana and some grapes, 2 eggs, and an avocado in the morning. For lunch, chili or chicken and veg. For after nap snack, some raisins and cashews and maybe an apple. Dinner, salmon and salad with a pear for dessert. I'm sure he could cut back on the fruit but it is basically the only selling feature I have to keep him interested in what we're eating and not what others are eating.

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