thread: Red meat and toddlers

  1. #1
    Registered User

    Sep 2008
    In a cloud of madness.
    4,053

    Red meat and toddlers

    Does your little one eat red meat? Miss J will eat chicken, but I can't get her to eat lamb/beef/steak in any way shape or form. I have tried hiding it all sorts of ways. Chopping it up REALLY fine, blending it up, hiding it in veges. I'm concerned though that she's not going to get enough iron/protein if she isn't eating it. Does anyone else have this problem or suggestions on what I should be doing? She's pretty good with most veges. I just don't want to encourage her to be a fussy eater.

  2. #2
    BellyBelly Life Subscriber

    Feb 2006
    melbourne
    11,462

    DD1 isnt as keen on meat as DD2, but one thing i found worked (for awhile anyway) was to give her kebabs/shiscababs(sp) etc.. she love(d) them!

  3. #3
    Life Subscriber

    Jul 2006
    Brisbane
    6,683

    Some toddlers do seem to dislike meat but it is an important food. Some mums have some success with scraping some boiled steak into a pulp and hiding it in vegies or something else they like to eat. Pasta bolognaise also works will with some toddlers. Other ideas are giving her some boiled steak to chew on, or some safe bones. Hopefully it will get easier as she gets older, but having said that I have a friend still struggling to get her 6yo DD to eat meat.

  4. #4
    Registered User

    Sep 2008
    In a cloud of madness.
    4,053

    DD1 isnt as keen on meat as DD2, but one thing i found worked (for awhile anyway) was to give her kebabs/shiscababs(sp) etc.. she love(d) them!
    Some toddlers do seem to dislike meat but it is an important food. Some mums have some success with scraping some boiled steak into a pulp and hiding it in vegies or something else they like to eat. Pasta bolognaise also works will with some toddlers. Other ideas are giving her some boiled steak to chew on, or some safe bones. Hopefully it will get easier as she gets older, but having said that I have a friend still struggling to get her 6yo DD to eat meat.
    Will give these a go. We have spag/pasta bol often. She eats the pasta bit and leaves everything else. LOL

  5. #5
    Registered User

    Aug 2008
    Ouiinslano
    5,303

    If you blend your bolognese sauce before serving it, it's harder to avoid completely.
    You can grate frozen meat into anything, and it's barely detectable.

  6. #6
    2014 BellyBelly RAK Recipient.

    Mar 2008
    Vic
    4,806

    We were having problems with this at the start, but I gave DD a lamb cutlet to gnaw on and she loved it. Now we've gone from her refusing to eat things like bolognaise, to eating only the sauce and leaving the pasta!! Good luck!

  7. #7
    Registered User

    Oct 2008
    1,572

    We had this problem with DD1 too. She liked burgers and sausages so we would make up them with lots of veges and very fine meat.

    DD2 of course loves meat she growls at us if we take the chop bone away from her

  8. #8
    Registered User

    Jul 2008
    Brisbane
    592

    We had endless problems getting red meat (or any meat for that matter) into our boy. Only now, at 13 months will he nibble a rissole or piece of sausage. What he did take to, from fairly early on, was chicken liver. A really great source of iron and a taste that many babies (unlike adults) seem to like. If you can stand the frying process, I would give them a try. They have a totally different texture to regular meat and I think that that also makes a difference. Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be!

  9. #9
    Registered User

    Apr 2008
    Melbourne
    6,745

    Neither of my girls seem to like meat but then with me being a vegetarian they probably never got the taste in utero or through my BM - they do however LOVE vegetables and pulses. You don't need to give them red meat as a vegetarian diet is perfectly healthy for babies and toddlers as long as it is balanced. I found that my girls like snacking on chickpeas and dipping vegies into hommus. Adding red lentils to pasta sauces and giving them food like baked beans can also help provide a balanced diet.