What, exactly, is a "picky eater"?

[alecam]

My DS5 should be added to this list!

While his breakfast has some variety (cereal,waffles,french toats,bagels,etc), for lunch and dinner he will only eat one of three things:Grilled Cheese,PB&J, or chicken nuggets from Burger King!

 

[Becky2005]

LOL!!!! I agree with what I have read so far. The funniest thing in my house is that we are all picky eaters BUT not picky about the same thing! (My 8 year old is pretty adventerous though and as of right now my 1 year old will eat anything - all my kids were good about eating anything when they were little and then their tastes shifted! My 8 year old won't eat mashed potatoes though???? But he used to eat them all the time!)

We all like most of our stuff plain though (i.e. when we go to McDonald's we do a special order for the hamburgers so there is no ketchup, mustard or pickle on the hamburger, it's just plain! My kids like ketchup & pickles just not McDonald's but don't like it on their burger. *I* don't like ketchup/mustard/pickles at all on anything!) My DH doesn't like sauces/gravies of any kind on anything.

 

[MomofKatie]

My problem is that my DD is picky about expensive food. She doesn't like burgers or fries, but LOVES crab legs, Thai food, lobster, shrimp, and other "upscale" food. She will ask servers at restaurants to switch out the fries on her kids' meal for a ceasar salad! The kid is a regular junior gourmet.

Last fall, we ate tapas at Spoodles one night- she loved the salad, calimari, lamb "cigars", and mediterranean dips. Not the average 6 year old's taste!

 

[queenmichelle]

I thought my DD11 was the only one on the planet that didn't like red sauce or ketchup. I feel so much better. She says she doesn't like tomatos which can't possibly be true because she likes the sauce on pizza and a bunch of things that I cook that have tomato in it. She use to hate mashed potatoes and gravy now she loves them and thinks gravy should be it's own food group. I have hope for her though as the last 2 years she has been trying so many new things and it starting to like them. I used to be able to list what she would eat now I can't anymore. She'll even eat meatloaf with a very little bit of ketchup on now! Talk about progress!

 

[GJM]

Add my DS to the "picky eaters"! When we go to Disney it is so hard to get him to eat. When we ate at Chef Mickey's he only ate the little hot dog rolls! He is 5 and I am really hoping it will change, he won't even try anything new.

 

[Cookie Princess]

DS is 9 and for him it is also about the smell of food. He won't eat eggs, tuna/seafood or anything with any spices, peppers or onions due to the smell. He doesn't like any casseroles as things are "mixed together". His favorite foods: bacon & ketchup. He doesn't like pasta sauce or mac & cheese. He will only eat cheese if it is melted on pizza and cheeseburgers (can't be from Wendy's since they don't melt their's enough). Vegetable intake is only peas, carrots and corn. I can't complain as I used to be similar, but I grew out of it around high school/college age. Let's keep our fingers crossed...

 

[Stacerita]

Picky, picky picky......thats what the sweetpea is. But when I tell others that she is picky they think she just wont eat veggies. Not true. She loves salads, certain veggies, fruit and such. But she is very picky about them still. Example, she will eat salads but only lettuce with a certain green color to them, nothing to dark and nothing too light. Carrots- raw yes, cooked no. Only the ends of broc. Green beans when dipped in mashed potatos. She eats a lot of different types of food as well. Asian, mexican, italian, etc. Most every meats have to be with either ketchup or ranch. She loves eggs, well, only the egg whites. Even scamble eggs have to be only done with the whites. When she was really little she would eat almost anything that I had her try. Then one day she would proclaim that she didn't like it. Like one day she stopped eating corn and banannas. Hasn't eaten them since. We have over the years come to an agreement to try new things and then if you dont like them you dont have to eat them. Call it the "polite bite". Works well when at other people's homes or out with a set menu. The sweetpea does try to get out of it though. A year or so ago I tried to get her to try scallops. I pulled the polite bite card and she them proceeded to tell me that when she was a baby I used to make her eat them all the time and she didn't like them then and she doesn't want them now. Trust me, I would never give a baby scallops. Her favorite food is mac and cheesse. If its on the menu then she is a happy camper. Overall, shes healthy and a good eater, although a picky one.

 

[Stacerita]

Ok, now I feel bad. I just reread my last post and found that I was being a little harsh on my sweetpea when I myself have issues with being food. So here I am now to let it out.

Hi, Im Stacerita......and Im a picky eater! I normally dont think of myself as being a picky eater. Looking at me you couldn't tell I was picky. But I am.

First off, I dont like my food touching on my plate. Ick. Hate things mixed together and touching. Just kinda grosses me out. Also am not a big fan of onions, tomatos, or peppers. They are ok if they are in there for flavor and cooked down. But if I bite into a chunky bit, oh no. And I do tend to eat with my eyes and nose. If it looks wierd or smells funky, forget it. At work is the worst when they have pot lucks. I dont like how other people make things since I dont know what they put in it so I tend to not sample as much. I will do the polite bite, but thats it. If it tastes bad, thank goodness for paper nakins.

I also have some other problems. Lactose is an issue. I have to be very careful about my dairy intake and all. Too bad for me because I love ice cream. But its a no go. Plus I am sensitive to pinnepple. Wouldn't be too bad except I like it.

Im not that bad overall I think. But when Im done eating a meal, my plate tends to look like a battlefield. Lots of things strewn all over the plate and picked at. I usually go over everything with a fine toothe comb before I eat it. Its easier to pick at the food with my fork before I put it in my mouth than having to use the napkin trick.

Forget it.....there is nothing wrong with being picky. And its not picky, its just making very wise and informed choices on what I eat. Picky eaters unite!

 

[bytheblood]

Sleepy, I agree....

I have two pickey eaters. Hubby does not like most vegetables, does not like any seafood, will not eat casseroles or anything of the sort. He prefers Mexican food, Italian food, steak, chicken, burgers, pizza, anything breakfast, chips, cookies, cake, junk food....his idea of vegetables is salad loaded with ranch, corn, mashed potatoes, french fries, baked beans and peas. Also, if he has something like chili or a sauce on his meat..it cannot have any mushrooms or bell peppers at all and no visible pieces of onion or tomato chunks. He is fit as he can be and looks great for somebody who eats like crap.

My daughter will not eat chocolate, peanut butter, most candy, cookies or cakes. She eats very few veggies, for chicken she will only eat chicken nuggets and is not a fan of red meat. She loves hamburgers, however. She loves chips, sandwiches, goldfish crackers, waffles, cereal, strudel and other sweet pastries. She is also very petite.

That both make me sick. Seriously, I am glad they can eat what they want and not worry about it.

 

[Sleepy]

Sleepy, I agree....

his idea of vegetables is salad loaded with ranch, corn, mashed potatoes, french fries, baked beans and peas.

Sad thing is the only thing listed here that really qualifies as a veggie is the salad stuff. Potatoes, corn, baked beans and peas is a starch.