Snacks?

[Fuschia]

Hi all. Twin II is on a growth spurt I think and is constantly complaining she is hungry. She had 3 breakfasts today including eating twin I's share of the strawberries, then when DP made himself a fried egg she had her lunch at 11.30.

I can't give her any more fruit, she has a very runny bottom as she is...

Usual diet:

6am - banana, croissant

7.30am - cereal and more fruit

9.30am - toast

11,30am at creche - fruit and raisins

Lunch either at 1pm or 2pm - say pasta, sauce, grated cheese, tomato and cucumber. Fruit for pudding.

3.30pm - fruit or something like a teacake, flapjack, sometimes crisps

5pm - dinner - fishfingers, potato wedges, peas/corn. Not usually pudding, sometimes yoghurt or fruit

6.30-7pm - warm milk, sometimes banana, croissant etc.

Help... she is still complaining constantly "I bit HUMBRY!"

We have started to get into baking and she could have more cakes/biscuits etc homemade but prob that wouldn't be too bright an idea.

What else can i give her? not keen on rice cakes, hummus turns into a mess. Chunks of cheese maybe...

[Fuschia]

She is almost 3. She eats more than either of the boys, and more than me.

[snowboarder]

God that is loads!! Absolutely no dietary knowledge but maybe things like toasted pitta fingers, just dry, breadsticks, crackers, little pots of cold pasta, but try wholemeal as longer to digest etc? Little pots of raw carrot? Maybe nothing too lovely but filling!! Z likes marmite rice cakes but not others - and whilst yes poss a salt issue i quite like that they are savory at least! And you could bake carrot and bran muffins or sthg? Or smoothies with milk? Forget now but there are those high/low GI foods aren't there that keep you going longer - like porridge rather than shreddies at breakfast - might be worth investigating?!?

[Helen GV]

I know you said no fruit but perhaps instead of a banana she could have a milk/yoghurt/banana/berry smoothie? you could add weetbix too and blend it all up

[Sanne Panne]

Maybe start the day with a straw cup of thin porridge (my 2.5 year old drinks one in 1 minute) and then see how the breakfasts go?

[melbourne groover]

How about oat biscuits and cheese - filling but not sweet?

[Saffron]

With a runny bottom and a hungry tummy, it sounds like increasing her protein intake would help. Protein helps the body feel fuller longer and also slows digestion.

Wholemeal bread dipped in egg and dry-fried. Cubes of plain hard tofu, sprinkled with sweet or savory seasoning. Homemade Quorn 'sausage' roles. Boiled eggs; quails eggs a great novelty. Whole chickpeas and butter beans. Large whole prawns (if seafood is ok). Nut butters (but try to find the natural ones w/out loads of additives).

I'm sure I read somewhere that green (ie less ripened) bananas help slow digestion by a reation they have within the upper part of the small intetine.

[Fuschia]

melbourne groover Wrote:

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> How about oat biscuits and cheese - filling but

> not sweet?

Good idea. Breakfast is quite often porridge, actually, seems to make no difference. And we have brown bread mostly..

[Fuschia]

Saffron Wrote:

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> With a runny bottom and a hungry tummy, it sounds

> like increasing her protein intake would help.

> Protein helps the body feel fuller longer and also

> slows digestion.

Yes, i was thinking something like that.. she will eat chickpeas, likes hummous but makes a mess, cheese she likes and hardboiled eggs

[EDmummy]

How about a baked potato at lunchtime? Could scoop potato out and mash to make it easier to eat. Add some low sugar/low salt baked beans. Would defy her to get hungry for at least 4 hours. I am also wondering whether she might be having too much fruit. My oldest also found most fruit and raisins went through him like a train and did not make him full in the slightest. We were also fans of oat cakes with cheese.

My nutritionist friend also said good fat is good for a child's brain development so at this age we went for a pudding every 2nd night with fruit on the other night.

[pebbles]

From another angle - my 3 yr old son says he is hungry ALL THE TIME. Honestly out of everything in this parenting malarky - this is the thing that gets to me the most. And basically he isn't hungry, he just says he is if he's bored or being ignored. He doesn't complain about being hungry with anyone else other than me and my husband and even when he's eaten an enormous amount, if he's bored or for instance when i'm on the phone he'll complain about being hungry until i either get off the phone or give him something to keep him quiet!!! so what i'm trying to say is, is she definitely hungry and not just trying to get attention?

[Fuschia]

There might be some truth in that oebbles, as she does often start demanding food if I sit down to feed new baby. Bu at mealtimes she will eat all hers, beg some of mine and if I turn my back she eats twin 1's too, so she does have a BIG appetite.

[pebbles]

Fuschia - my son started this annoying stage when i was breastfeeding my daughter and although have been stopped for a while now this has continued!!!

[sandy_rose]

I'd say try to add more protein and fats to each meal. Yoghurt, nuts, nut butters, avocados, eggs in various forms (quail, duck, French toast with stewed fruits, sweetcorn patties), add nuts or tofu to stir fries and always full fat versions of dairy products etc. Hmmmm can't think of anything else off the top of my head.

[sb]

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[sb]

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[Fuschia]

Thanks all.

WE don't nso lpwn fat

will offer more milk

i am veggy, twins Are not but cooking for us together for lunch etc and dinner also for ds1 (fussy veggy) prob means I don't offer enough meat. wll try to boost it

[melbourne groover]

I also find half an avocado a good boost for lunch (even a whole on super hungry days).

[Knomester]

If, as others hae said, it mught help to increase the protein in your twin's diet and you want keep all eating the same meal together (rather than you having to cook two separate meals!) from what i understand, you can provide plenty protein without having to add meat to meals every day. You just need to remember to combine foods to complete the protein so that you have pulses with grains - houmous with wholemeal pitta, lentil dahl with chapati or brown rice, baked beans on toast, sweetcorn fritters (with flour in the batter), add pulses to pasta sauces (eg flageolet beans with pesto, canellini beans with tomato sauce like homemade baked beans, veggie casseroles with butter beans and dumplings, chickpea curry with rice, etc, etc. Wholemeal carbs (pasta, rice, bread, etc) also help you feel fuller for longer than white carbs which might also help.

I'm sure you already know this being veggie yourself Fuschia so apologies if I'm stating the obvious!

[Knomester]

I also meant to say that quinoa is a great complete veggie source of protein. Perhaps not the most appetising for little ones, but you can put the flakes into porridge or into homemade flapjacks.

[sandy_rose]

Perhaps try adding a bit more meat just for a week to see if it helps? I suspect upping milk intake isn't going to be enough. Quinoa is still a carbohydrate food, just a little more protein but not enough to make a difference to growing toddler. Perhaps try to make it easier for you by offering the protein as a side to veg dishes that you've made for the rest of the family, ie slices of chicken, canned tuna or mackerel if they will eat this? If you have eggs this can be boiled and added to salads, scrambled in microwave, egg and soldiers etc. Silken tofu can be used in smoothies, as can nut butters. cauldron do ready to eat marinated tofu pieces. A handful of nuts with a piece of fruit, or fruit with yoghurt makes a great snack. Also perhaps consider the less exotic fruits, ie apples and pears as these contain less sugar than bananas.

[Fuschia]

Thanks for all the ideas, some of which we do already... they have fruit like oranges, apples etc as well as very sweet ones, do have meat or fish on the side or as their protein while ds1 and i have a veggy alternative... MrF eats meat so sometimes they eat meat together. She took a bit of a shine to M&S sliced chicken breast this week ands ate a pack of it mrF HAD BOUGHT for his work lunches so Ihave suggested he bring some more home. I will add beans to more things. I already add cheese to a lot of things.

None of the boys have had such heartyy appetites as she does. It's nice that she likes food, she always clears her dish, but I find it hard to serve food every 90 mins or so and not start giving her unhealthy things.

I will try replacing mid morning toast with cheese and ham toasties, I think and offer chunks of cheese and oatcakes with fruit rather than fruit alone.