Topic: Picky Eater

[Mortality]

Not very healthy but egg fried rice?

w00dy

humm, he might, depending upon what goes in, worth a try, ty  ;D

[Mortality]

I would recomment contacting Patrick Holford's Food for the Brain project http://www.foodforthebrain.org/content.asp?id_Content=1604 for advice, they know a lot more than any of the NHS dieticians or doctors!

Lewic - you sound very knowledgable about nutrition. But isn't Patrick Holford one of those dodgy nutritionists who make it all up? The name rings a bell.

Good luck Mortality, it sounds so exhausting trying so many things.  

You've had so many interesting suggestions - I can only think of two more - does he like anything battered?

Also potato cakes with egg. If it's a bit too like mashed potato, you can add flour and baking powder, and they turn out more like potatoey pancakes.

ohh batter, good idea, that would work, he likes chicken in batter and if I tell him its potato 'cakes' he would probabily help me make them !! Great idea.

[Jeannine]

What about a sort of egg nog with the sort of flavourings he likes, or ice cream made with eggs, If he will eat custard you can work them in there  or beat an egg into yoghurt and you can freeze all of the above .

I would certainly do a fried rice, you can make a low fat one and make the eggie bits very tiny.

You can add egg to your pastry, my regular one has 1 egg in it but you can add more .

I have a book somewhere about picky eaters and how to hide stuff, I will try to find it.

If he likes fish cakes you can work egg in there too.

Try chips dipped in very eggy batter before you fry them, they are so good too, or make scallopps, even scallopped potatoes can hide eggs

XX Jeannine

I have just found th book mentioned but it is The Art of Hiding Vegetables,, sorry no info on eggs but I cab look uo any veggies tricks if you give me an idea of what.

[lewic]

But isn't Patrick Holford one of those dodgy nutritionists who make it all up?

There are groups like Sense about Science and Quackwatch which are out to discredit all alternative therapies, including nutritional therapy. The make no distinction between the truly dodgy therapies and ones that have helped a lot of people. They have massive funding from pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of GM foods, and their PR departments are behind many of the stories you read in the papers attacking alternative therapy or stating that X junk food is good for you. I usually Google the name of the scientists involved in the 'research' and find they work for Glaxo, Monsanto etc. State registered dietician/nutritionist degrees are invariably funded by dodgy sources (I applied for one and was shocked to find their main funder was the Sugar Bureau!). Patrick Holford is always in their firing line because he is doing them out of business. His dietary recommendations seem like common sense to me!

[coznbob]

It maybe a myth, but think dark chocolate has a fair bit of iron in it. Was recommended by a midwife to eat it, when pregnant and anemic.

[Mortality]

It's hard to know how food affects people, but as with artificial additives it certainly does have an affect.

My son was first prescribed Styron an Iron medication.

http://emc.medicines.org.uk/document.aspx?documentId=1040

it contains : Ponceau 4R (E124) (an artificial red colouring)

in the words of his foundation year teacher, 'he was so hyperactive he was bouncing off the walls'.

I think what shocked me was that they still put this junk in medicines, why the hell does a medicine need a colouring? (flavouring I might be able to understand)

My son now drinks a water (Spatone) which is naturally high in iron.

[Mortality]

It maybe a myth, but think dark chocolate has a fair bit of iron in it. Was recommended by a midwife to eat it, when pregnant and anemic.

I think thats true, I can remember my mother saying the same, she used to have dark chocolate before her period. (low iron levels causes irratibility !)

[Mortality]

What about a sort of egg nog with the sort of flavourings he likes, or ice cream made with eggs, If he will eat custard you can work them in there  or beat an egg into yoghurt and you can freeze all of the above .

I would certainly do a fried rice, you can make a low fat one and make the eggie bits very tiny.

You can add egg to your pastry, my regular one has 1 egg in it but you can add more .

I have a book somewhere about picky eaters and how to hide stuff, I will try to find it.

If he likes fish cakes you can work egg in there too.

Try chips dipped in very eggy batter before you fry them, they are so good too, or make scallopps, even scallopped potatoes can hide eggs

XX Jeannine

I have just found th book mentioned but it is The Art of Hiding Vegetables,, sorry no info on eggs but I cab look uo any veggies tricks if you give me an idea of what.

Thank you some great ideas there too ;)

[SueK]

Apologies if someone has already mentioned this (I didn't notice it) but alongside having vitamin C in meals is not having tea/coffee - this prevents iron from veggie sources being absorbed as well. 
Best regards,
Sue

[Melbourne12]

I can't help much with picky eating caused by autism, I'm afraid.  But in terms of iron content of foods, I just looked up the USDA database.  Practically, enriched breakfast cereals are the number one choice, albeit high in sugar.  They typically range from 20 to 60 mg/100g of product.

It's interesting that many herbs and spices are high in iron.  Obviously you don't eat a bowlful like a breakfast cereal, but if your son likes cakes and biscuits, you might try spiced recipes, including, say, cinnamon (38mg/100g), ginger (12), or saffron (11).  Add bran to the biscuits for a further iron boost. Rice bran is around 19, wheat bran 11.  Oat bran is only 5 or 6, though, so not much more than wheat flour.  And of course you can make egg-rich recipes.

Finally, would he eat pate? Liver is high in iron.

[Hyacinth]

That's such an interesting post, Melbourne. Thanks 8) Such a pity that the trade-off with cereals seems to be the sugar content, tho. Are all cereals like this? (dunno me, in our house they come in - or don't, in our case ::) under the generic name of 'chaff' ;))

I know nothing about autism, and have experienced little of 'picky' eating (chaff excepted ::)) but do take on board that if blood tests show a particular deficiency it should be addressed - and preferably for long-term, through diet? It must be hard being laid-back and not passing on your stress to your children?

[Mortality]

I can't help much with picky eating caused by autism, I'm afraid.  But in terms of iron content of foods, I just looked up the USDA database.  Practically, enriched breakfast cereals are the number one choice, albeit high in sugar.  They typically range from 20 to 60 mg/100g of product.

It's interesting that many herbs and spices are high in iron.  Obviously you don't eat a bowlful like a breakfast cereal, but if your son likes cakes and biscuits, you might try spiced recipes, including, say, cinnamon (38mg/100g), ginger (12), or saffron (11).  Add bran to the biscuits for a further iron boost. Rice bran is around 19, wheat bran 11.  Oat bran is only 5 or 6, though, so not much more than wheat flour.  And of course you can make egg-rich recipes.

Finally, would he eat pate? Liver is high in iron.

He has no problem eating cereals of any sort..even porridge goes down well  :D but he does take ages to eat it and some is usually still in the bowl when we leave for school.
I didnt know that about the spices/herbs, I think he would definitely go for biscuits and cakes made with cinnamon or ginger.
He wont eat pate, I have tried even though its not reccomended for under 5s (or pregnant women) due to the nasty bugs it can sometimes contain.

[Mortality]

That's such an interesting post, Melbourne. Thanks 8) Such a pity that the trade-off with cereals seems to be the sugar content, tho. Are all cereals like this? (dunno me, in our house they come in - or don't, in our case ::) under the generic name of 'chaff' ;))

I know nothing about autism, and have experienced little of 'picky' eating (chaff excepted ::)) but do take on board that if blood tests show a particular deficiency it should be addressed - and preferably for long-term, through diet? It must be hard being laid-back and not passing on your stress to your children?

If my son had his way he would eat chicken dippers, smiley faces (potato), baked beans and ketchup for every meal. We are slowly tempting him to try more things. He wont have school meals, so he has a packed lunch, which we try and balance with things he will eat. The school allow him to have a drink of Ribena (vit C for iron absorbtion)

Its just some times I get stumpted for ideas.

[Vinlander]

Two suggestions:

1) Root veg pick up a lot of iron - if he will eat pastry he might eat it with steamed (not boiled) mashed roots in it - easiest as dumplings but should still work as piecrusts etc.

Steamed or baked Beetroot (including easily-camouflaged white and gold kinds) and salsify are best - equal to the best greens, but parsnips, swedes and potatoes (washed not peeled) not far behind. Then turnips. Carrots have only half as much as parsnips but still useful - so carrot cake might help!

Incidentally Irn-Bru only contains 0.002% Ammonium Ferric Citrate so you'd be better off making red pop from beetroot juice! Or you could simply try adding beetroot juice to lemonade or whatever.

2) If you want a nut you can't do better than tigernuts - they taste a lot like coconut but are actually a root. Buy onliine - eg. www.ludlownutco.co.uk

Cannot possibly trigger a nut, seed or fruit allergy!

"The tiger nut provides 4.21 mg of iron per 100 g" (www.freepatentsonline.com/EP1338206.html).

I wouldn't recommend chewing them (good - but like coconut you eventually get a mouthful of powder) - best as horchata de chufas - Valencian name for tigernut milk. Simply put overnight-soaked tigernuts in a blender with 2 or more times the volume of water, whizz, leave to settle, decant (or strain) and add sugar to taste.

Delicious - better than coconut milk (and I've had loads of that straight from freshly fallen nuts).

The nutty residue is also delicious in cakes and breads.

[Mortality]

Two suggestions:

1) Root veg pick up a lot of iron - if he will eat pastry he might eat it with steamed (not boiled) mashed roots in it - easiest as dumplings but should still work as piecrusts etc.

Steamed or baked Beetroot (including easily-camouflaged white and gold kinds) and salsify are best - equal to the best greens, but parsnips, swedes and potatoes (washed not peeled) not far behind. Then turnips. Carrots have only half as much as parsnips but still useful - so carrot cake might help!

Incidentally Irn-Bru only contains 0.002% Ammonium Ferric Citrate so you'd be better off making red pop from beetroot juice! Or you could simply try adding beetroot juice to lemonade or whatever.

2) If you want a nut you can't do better than tigernuts - they taste a lot like coconut but are actually a root. Buy onliine - eg. www.ludlownutco.co.uk

Cannot possibly trigger a nut, seed or fruit allergy!

"The tiger nut provides 4.21 mg of iron per 100 g" (www.freepatentsonline.com/EP1338206.html).

I wouldn't recommend chewing them (good - but like coconut you eventually get a mouthful of powder) - best as horchata de chufas - Valencian name for tigernut milk. Simply put overnight-soaked tigernuts in a blender with 2 or more times the volume of water, whizz, leave to settle, decant (or strain) and add sugar to taste.

Delicious - better than coconut milk (and I've had loads of that straight from freshly fallen nuts).

The nutty residue is also delicious in cakes and breads.

Thanks very much, I didnt realise that about root veg, all your suggestions greatfully recieved. :D

[Mortality]

A small sucess and a sneaky one at that  ;D

'Potato cake' is what I told him it was and he helped me make it.

He tasted it before we put it into the dish and liked it.

Mashed potato, egg yokes and butter, put into a dish forked like a Cottage pie and browned off.

Hes eating it now, I told him he could make it pink by mixing it with ketchup..he laughed... I can hear my mother now...'Don't play with your food'...

[PurpleHeather]

Iron deficiency is a peculiar area

It is not just the iron which is found in lots of foods there is also the breaking it down once it gets inside.

This site is quite helpful

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_everyone/iron_deficiency/index.htm

[emmy1978]

Hi mortality-I work with children on the autistic spectrum and I know food is a huge problem area for many parents. I also have my own picky eater in the family although eggs aren't our problem. Most of my parents say that when they find a winner they tend to stick to it as much as they can - you are introducing new foods in such a great way-by getting him involved he is much more likely to want to eat it-this holds true for most kids!
I have one recipe (Jamie's) which is egg rich-I can't remember if you've said if your son will eat pasta but if he will....
Pasta shapes-whichever are his fav and if he'll eat the tricolore then great. Bacon, grilled then snipped into pieces, handful of peas in with the pasta at the end. Drain, put into a large bowl, mix in the bacon. In a cup beat together one egg and single cream (about the same of cream as the egg, maybe bit more) and fold into pasta mix.
The trick with this is do the final mix in a bowl. You don't want to the egg to cook as in egg fried rice and scramble, it should just create a nice silky invisible sauce.
I then add mint to lift it a bit a la jamie but when i first made it I left that out for Miss Picky Pants who now loves it.
All the best to you, it's not easy.

[Mortality]

Hi mortality-I work with children on the autistic spectrum and I know food is a huge problem area for many parents. I also have my own picky eater in the family although eggs aren't our problem. Most of my parents say that when they find a winner they tend to stick to it as much as they can - you are introducing new foods in such a great way-by getting him involved he is much more likely to want to eat it-this holds true for most kids!
I have one recipe (Jamie's) which is egg rich-I can't remember if you've said if your son will eat pasta but if he will....
Pasta shapes-whichever are his fav and if he'll eat the tricolore then great. Bacon, grilled then snipped into pieces, handful of peas in with the pasta at the end. Drain, put into a large bowl, mix in the bacon. In a cup beat together one egg and single cream (about the same of cream as the egg, maybe bit more) and fold into pasta mix.
The trick with this is do the final mix in a bowl. You don't want to the egg to cook as in egg fried rice and scramble, it should just create a nice silky invisible sauce.
I then add mint to lift it a bit a la jamie but when i first made it I left that out for Miss Picky Pants who now loves it.
All the best to you, it's not easy.

I havent tried him with the tri colour pasta, but I dont see why he wouldnt go for it, he likes other pasta. I wouldnt be able to put in the peas. Bacon and ham he hasnt gone for in the past, but if its really small he might. All woth a try ;D

[Mortality]

Good news, I telephoned the surgery today, because he had the last tests on the 4th of January and his blood is now normal. :D

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and recipies, they will hopefully add more variety to his diet  ;D