Name: M. Creevey

Situation

This mom has a 5 year old and a 7 year old. Her youngest is an extremely picky eater, so she struggles to fit in vegetables, even though her oldest will eat just about anything. She has a hard time finding food that will please both children since they are at opposite ends of the 'picky eating' spectrum.

MomRD Analysis

This is a common problem for many moms. You want to feed your kids foods they like and will eat, but you don't want to be a short order cook! If your kids are picky and don't like certain foods, there are plenty of other foods that can provide many of the same nutrients. For example, your 5 year old doesn't like many vegetables, but what about fruits? Fruits provide many of the same vitamins/minerals/antioxidants as vegetables. Take a look at some of the makeover suggestions:

Day 1: Mom

Breakfast

Cinnamon Soldiers (toast with butter, sugar and cinnamon sliced into sticks) with milk

Day 1: RD's Suggestions

Breakfast

Make sure the milk is 1% or fat free to help keep saturated fat to a minimum and replace white bread with a whole wheat bread to get in a serving of whole grains. If the bread is topped with butter and sugar, most kids won’t even know the difference. Also, make sure you are using a soft tub spread (such as Smart Balance) instead of stick butter or margarine – and offer to cut up fruit to help balance the meal out.

Lunch

Cottage cheese, fruit cocktail, grilled cheese sandwiches and milk

Lunch

What a great lunch! Full of protein and calcium. Again, make sure the bread is whole wheat (try a soft and smooth whole wheat bread if your kids don’t like it heavy) and make sure the canned fruit is in light or natural syrup and the milk is 1% or fat free.

Dinner

Spaghetti and meat sauce, salad, garlic toast, milk

Dinner

Another balanced meal! Use whole wheat or whole wheat blend pasta so your kids get in another serving of whole grains and make sure the salad contains darker lettuce such as romaine for added fiber and nutrients (iceberg is mainly water). You can also substitute ground turkey breast for regular ground beef to help lower the fat content

Day 2: Mom

Breakfast

Waffles with syrup, milk

Day 2: RD's Suggestions

Breakfast

Look for whole grain waffles – again, if the kids are using syrup they won’t even notice the whole grain taste. Offer fruit to balance the meal out.

Lunch

Chicken nuggets (with honey or ranch dressing), apple slices, juice box

Lunch

Stick with fresh fruit instead of juice, sinced fresh fruit has more nutrients (fiber/antioxidants/ less sugar). Since you are serving it with dressing, offer raw carrots or any other raw veggies your kids may be interested in.

Dinner

Oven baked breaded chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes, brussel spouts, milk

Dinner

To make this meal even more nutritious, try substituting oven fried sweet potatoes instead of mashed potatoes (slice peeled sweet potatoes into strips and coat with a tbs. of olive oil, sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and roast for ½ hour while the chicken is baking).

Day 3: Mom

Breakfast

Pop Tarts, orange slices, milk

Day 3: RD's Suggestions

Breakfast

If you’re looking for a quick breakfast, try a high fiber bar like Fiber One (my kids love them!) or Kashi. You may also try lower sugar sweetened cereals – they have more fiber and are fortified with vitamins and minerals.

Lunch

Hot dogs, carrot sticks, potato chips, apple juice

Lunch

Great job adding the carrots! Try using hot dogs that are reduced fat or low fat (less than 6 grams of fat per hot dog). Consider baked chips instead of regular to help lower the saturated fat content of the meal and offer fresh fruit instead of juice to help increase fiber and nutrients

Dinner

Mexican casserole - beans, ground beef, corn tortillas, cheese, cream of mushroom soup, milk

Dinner

Use ground turkey breast instead of ground beef, 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup and 2% shredded cheese to significantly lower the fat content of the casserole without changing the taste too much. Serve either raw vegetables with low fat dip or fresh fruit to help balance out the meal.