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16 month old and 3 yr old how to get them off grains...already GF


DavisFamAK

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I am having a hard time with my youngest only eating the brown rice or brown rice noodles. Se used to love veggies but has since banned them from even coming close to her mouth unless in a soup or something. She likes foods she can pick up with her hands or a fork easily. She was my good eater all through the purée stage but has taken a different course lately. I want her to eat grain free gluten free paleo but she also doesn't eat much protein. Help!

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I wouldn't worry too much about her protein intake - kids go through phases where they want more of one macronutrient group than another. If it were me (and I'm kind of a meanie), I'd just explain to her that we are going to stop having noodles because, as much as we like them, they don't really help our bodies grow strong like we need them to. Instead, we're going to eat lots more fruits and vegetables! Then let her help choose some, and just leave it at that. No pushing, coaxing, goading, or pressure. And NO bargaining. She'll come around, I promise.

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If she likes foods she can pick up, you can slice chicken crease thin and roll it up with veggies (or not) in the middle of it. We just stopped having the stuff around so there was no option. Find the few things she will eat, stock up on those, and eventually, and even for many kids with food aversions, they start to eat new things. It can take a long time though, for my son a year before he expanded his veggie list a bit and we are still working on it. If they will eat chili, I purée veggies for chili. I also finely chop veggies for meatballs. And for some reason, my son thinks cauliflower with curry on it roasted in the oven tastes like cheese popcorn? All the kids we give this too like it.

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Thanks for your help! Probably just getting rid of the stuff will help cuz she won't see it as an option. When we went GF she eventually realized that there were things she couldn't eat now. I told her that they would make her sick...which was true. My younger daughter has no allergies to food as far as we know. But she eats pretty much GF anyway cuz it's easier. It's just another transition just like the GF was. Any resources or blogs you know of that ppl focus on kid friendly paleo food?

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Paleoparents.com

I will note that much of this is dressed up versions of junk food. I'd recommend using their "kid-focused" recipes cautiously - your kids don't know the difference between a chicken nugget or chocolate chip cookie that you make and one they see at the store. In their little brains cookie=cookie=cookie.

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  • 1 month later...

This was a hard one for our family, but not really once I said no more. Cereal for breakfast for the 6 year old and a snack for my 14 month old was by far the hardest, with whole grain pasta for a quick dinner a close second. I'm still struggling with milk, but I know how terrible it is for them so we've cut way back. The baby doesn't know any better so I just keep offering the foods we eat. If she doesn't eat it now, we save it for later. Eventually she eats. No kid is going to starve themselves. Not having any other options is a powerful motivator. For the older kid, I just explain to my son that _______ isn't good for him so we're going to eat________ instead because it's good for our ___________. Explaining things to him seems to make him less resistant. I also had him make a list of things he likes to eat. He listed hamburgers, hotdogs, and salads. So I make a lot of salads! Getting him involved too makes it easier to get him to eat something different.

For you? My best advice to you is to get rid of rice and noodles. Make the decision not to buy it, and don't bring it in your house. Then it's not there for you to give it to them. There are plenty of other options you can make for them.Things my kids eat: ground beef with veggies, grilled or baked chicken diced, baked fish, sweet potatoes, kale chips, chicken soup, pot roast, taco salad, scrambled or hard boiled eggs, fresh fruits, smoothies, chicken salads with homemade vinagrette, homemade trail mix with nuts and raisins sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice.

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Now that I've come a little ways into my whole30 ive started transitioning my kids too and this forum has given me a lot of fortitude as well as practical ideas. My kids are 6&2 and both love raw veggies better than cooked and they don't care for many flavors mixed together. They like dipping cut up chicken into mustard or ketchup (organic, some sugar but I allow that for now). They love fruit of all types and cashews. I'm phasing out their dairy but being firm on grains and sugar (minus the ketchup). I guess I'm sort of seconding what the above are saying about find what they like and have lots of it.

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your kids don't know the difference between a chicken nugget or chocolate chip cookie that you make and one they see at the store.

My 5-year-old will turn down a store-bought treat and proudly explain that "homemade is better." It's pretty hilarious.

But in terms of changing what your kids are eating, I think it's important to focus on "can have" instead of "can't have." Yes, it's a pain to have to eliminate something (or yet another something) from your diet. But it's also a great opportunity to try new foods and recipes—not as a substitute for something less-healthy, but as a delicious in their own right.

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I will note that much of this is dressed up versions of junk food. I'd recommend using their "kid-focused" recipes cautiously - your kids don't know the difference between a chicken nugget or chocolate chip cookie that you make and one they see at the store. In their little brains cookie=cookie=cookie.

This is so true. I don't make paleo treats for my kid anymore because it turned her into a cookie monster of sorts. That has been a nightmare to undo. And I was only making the treats sweetened by fruits!

If your kid will eat veggies in soups and the likes, just feed that for the transition out of grains, if you're concerned. I know I've gone through weeks of lots of chili abuse because that is a reliable way to get my daughter to eat veggies. But, just getting the no-foods out of the house or at least out of the kids' sight is a big first step.

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