Carrots, ahoy!

It has been awhile since I posted, but life got a bit crazy as we prepared for my husband's 40th birthday party. However, we have still been working toward goals to help Doodlebug be a better eater.

To catch up, or remind folks about where we are in the process (mostly because I can't remember what I've posted about at the moment), here is what we've been up to lately:

* After haven been given four choices for possible new (or almost new) foods to try, Doodlebug picked carrots. I want him to feel some power in getting to make decisions, as opposed to us making them for him. So, last week we started carrots. More on this in a second.

* In order to, hopefully, solve the issue of Doodlebug feeling like too many new foods were showing up in his lunches too quickly, we sat down as a family and worked out a lunch schedule. The schedule, which Doodlebug suggested, allows for alternating days of Brave New Lunches and normal lunches. This goes on a two week cycle, so New Normal New Normal New, followed by Normal, New, Normal, New, Normal. Today is a Brave New Lunch day. Again, this has given him power in the process which is a major plank in our healthy eating platform.

Back to the carrots. Doodlebug requested carrot coins, something he has had before and was ambivalent about, but felt he was ready to try again. These are carrots cooked with about a Tablespoon of honey butter and a pinch of cinnamon. These have gone over very well! I would like to play with this to see if I can use some healthier ingredients, but still have a flavor that he appreciates.

I also made apple carrot honey bran muffins. Some of these I sweetened with brown sugar, some with honey, and some with molasses. I want to get a feel for how he responds to different sweeteners. He has eaten a brown sugar sweetened muffin and a honey sweetened muffin and he has liked both of them.

First thing I did was peel and finely cut up a Washington red lunchbox apple. I then took 4 ounces of canned carrots and finely chopped them. I chose canned because they tend to be less bitter to Doodlebug and I thought it would work better texture-wise in the muffin. I mixed these two ingredients together.

I mixed up the batter for the muffins and then stirred in the apples and carrots. I divided the batter into three equal portions and added 1 Tablespoon of the selected sweetener (brown sugar, honey, or molasses) so that 1/3rd of the muffins would have brown sugar, 1/3rd would have honey, etc.

And then filled the muffin cups for baking! I forgot to take pictures of the finished product, but they turned out gorgeous!

So far these are going over well. He likes them significantly better than the treasure muffins and the corndog muffins.

I also made no sugar added peanut butter and Nutella cookies. I used half all-purpose and half wheat flour. The cookies are about 2 inches in diameter and I thought he could have them as occassional snacks and also we could use two as bread replacement for mini-pbjs. He tried one and did not like it at all. But, we will try them as part of a mini-pbj and see if he likes that any better. I am not certain what part he doesn't like.

One hurdle we are working on is what we call his Psych-out Cycle. This happens with he convinces himself that something will taste bad or that he just doesn't like something and he mentally and physically cannot get himself to eat. He will do everything BUT eat, or he'll play with the food, or he'll get th food on his fork, but then not be able to get it to his mouth. The first thing we did was talk about the power our minds can have over our bodies, but that we can have even stronger power over our minds if we work at it. His solution, which we found a bit odd and awkward, but which we are repecting as part of the process, is that he closes his eyes and we feed him. My deal with him is that we do that for 2 bites, then he opens his eyes and we feed him for 2 bites, then he feeds himself 2 bites. We have done this twice and it has actually worked, so far.

On a last note, this morning was a bit difficult. Doodlebug got to have cake this weekend and lots of his favorite foods and no new foods. So, having a Brave New Lunch today was something he was NOT thrilled about. I am curious to see if he manages anyway. One thing we are adding into the routine is telling him exactly what is in each of his Brave New Lunches, to avoid surprises. My opinion so far is that it doesn't seem to help or hinder, but it helps him remain informed and part of the process.

Later this week we will discuss possibly adding a new food to the rotation starting next week.

Wierd-ish Science

A friend of mine shared this link with me. I has a bit more about the science behind supertasting, but also contains a couple hints and some thoughts to mull over.

"Help me help you help me help you"

Today's post title comes to you via The Santa Clause 3 and is a much beloved line for the members of our family. So, I used it today in the hopes of getting us back on track. For those unsure of how to parse the sentence it means you need to stop undermining us while we are trying to help you - we're COOPERATING!

Today my husband caught Doodlebug sneaking off to his room with some candy he had already been told he could not have. I said to myself, "Self, do NOT blow a gasket. It is time to sit down and talk as a family and find out why and where things went awry." So, we sat down and I talking with Doodlebug about trust issues and deceifulness and how these things undermine goodwill and progress. Then I asked him why HE thought he had been sneaking around and lying lately. After some discussion he said he just wants to have some normal lunches. So, we were moving too fast...even though we hadn't even got to new FLAVORS yet.

We agreed that Monday's lunch would be pb&j with apples and Goldfish. We also reminded him that to really start appreciating foods he needed to try them at least 5 times. We did not expect him to try foods without complaint, but we did expect that he would not throw fits and yell and scream at us, but would instead give thoughtful and articulated reasons for his displeasure. I have decided that tonight I need to finish the Texture/Flavor list so he can start expanding his food vocabulary.

We will still be attemping carrots. Tomorrow Doodlebug and I will sit down and talk about what seems like a good pace to go at right now. I have learned that trying to cover ALL the issues in one family meeting just encourages him to tune out. I had him repeat back to me what we had just talked about, but in his own words. This helps me hear that he was actually listening, but it also helps things stick for him...hopefully.

Good Feelings Gone

That part of me that knew that this progress, small as it is, could not last long got to say, "I told you so" yesterday.

I am currently laid up with a ganked back. Yesterday, Doodlebug got home from school just before I got back from a visit to the doctor. When I got home I asked him about lunch and he said it was "good" and then said he did not finish it all so he wanted to go in the backyard to the gazebo to finish it for a snack.

But.....

I caught him sneaking his food over to the fence, likely to the dog next door. *sigh*

I sat down and talked with him about why he did this. He didn't like the kernel corn in his corndog muffins and he didn't like the blueberries in his treasure muffin and he just didn't want his peas. He knew he would be getting all this food for dinner, as per our agreement, and wanted to get around that. I KNOW this his hard for him, but I am definately upset by this. I am also at a loss for how to procede. I know I want to sit down as a family and talk it over. I know I want to let Doodlebug feel he has some power, but I also don't want him to feel like he got away with something clever. I want us all working together, not at odds. But, how to accomplish these things is beyond me at the moment.

We are still planning to start adding carrots this week, but I am far less enthusiastic about it than I was before.

Well, adventuring always has its challenges and obstacles. We will somehow work through this one.

What is the taste of an empty lunchbox?

Doodlebug's lunch today was a big hit! He came home with another empty lunchbox!

His lunch consisted of 2 slices of American cheeeeeze, sweet peas, banana slices, trail mix, and a corndog muffin.

The trail mix was a combination of foods he already eats; Goldfish Colors, honey nut toasted O's, Honey Nut Chex, and peanut butter chips. I put it in a snack-sized baggie and cinched the middle with a twist-tie so it looked like a butterfly. Although, Doodlebug apparently used it as a mustache and a bowtie (because "Bowties are cool!".

Corndog muffins were super easy to make and turned out so scrumptious looking! I took a cornbread mix and added 3 tablespoons romano cheese, 1/3 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese, and 1.5 tablespoons niblet corn. I then filled paper cupcake wrappers halfway with the mixture, leaving some in the bowl to pour over the hot dog bits. I added hot dog bits and then covered them with the rest of the cornbread mixture.

Doodlebug started off telling me his lunch was "good", but then added that he didn't like the whole kernels of corn in his cornbread, but that is wasn't so bad. We still need to work on his flavor and texture words. He has also asked that tomorrow be a normal lunch day. I am willing to oblige because I am so proud of how well he is doing so far. Of course, we haven't introduced any NEW foods/flavors, yet. But, I feel it is important to go at a pace he is comfortable with.

We sat down last night and talked about adding a newish food, something he has tried before but didn't stick with. We talked about beets, pineapple, raspberries, and carrots. Doodlebug enthusiastically picked carrots and even suggested honeyed carrot coins (basically carrot slices sauteed in honey and butter). I noted that he wants it to be sweetened, but he chose honey over brown sugar. I think we will play around with agave nectar in the future. I suggested apple carrot honey bran muffins and he said that would be okay, so those two foods have gone on the Brave New Lunch list!

After talking with friends, I think that if the carrots go over well, or as well as can be hoped, that in a couple months I might mix in some parnips whenever I fix carrots. Then after a few months, maybe mix in turnips. Still trying to work on a game plan. Breadth or depth? How slow/fast? When will it be to push a little?

Baby steps. But, a goal I have set is that when we have our big family meal on Christmas day that he eats more than his great-grandmother's honey ham and dinner rolls!