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12 Things You Can Do If Your Picky Eater Doesn't Like Meat (Yet)
If your picky eater doesn’t like meat (yet)
Many toddlers struggle with different textures, flavors, even smells. Overall, food newness can be scary for toddlers, therefore they refuse new foods and often stick to a handful that are predictable (packaged foods, fast foods, favorite meals they already know they like).
Meats can be hard to chew or get dry easily, making them feel funny in the mouth or hard to chew and swallow. Meats can also have many different textures and looks, depending on how they are served. All can be a big red flag for toddlers, prompting immediate refusal.
One main reason many toddlers are picky is because they lack regular exposure to food variety. Not unusual and nothing to beat yourself up about if you are dealing with a picky eater today.
Most likely, you prepped your house with ‘baby and toddler-friendly foods’ and kept serving the foods you knew your toddler liked and would eat so you could 1) keep them happy and 2) avoid mealtime battles.
Fair! And yet, continuing on this way will keep you stuck in the same picky eating behaviors that cause stress and worry.
I can help you make gradual and practical change. For an exact plan on how to transform your toddler’s picky eating, you can see the no-fail approach I use at my daycare and preschool here.
Our toddlers can learn that they actually do love all sorts of foods (food discovery), including meats, with time, and that is why I have ‘yet’ in parenthesis in this blog post title 😉
Read this next:
Why Your Toddler Is A Picky Eater & How You Can Help Them Change
How To Get Your Picky Eater To Try New Foods – 9 Tips That Work Wonders
When it comes to not eating meat, parents often worry about their toddler not getting enough protein.
Toddlers need 13g of protein per day. Mind you, an 8 ounce glass of milk is grams of protein. So, if that doesn’t already ease your mind about protein consumption, I want you to also know that milk is also a complete protein, which means it has all the amino acids our bodies require.
Animal proteins, such as meat, eggs, fish and milk are all complete proteins. Likewise, soybeans, quinoa and hemp are vegetarian complete proteins.
Some examples of incomplete proteins are: nuts and nut butters, whole grain breads, beans, brown rice, vegetables.
There’s protein in more foods than we realize, that go beyond just meats. And the nice thing is, we can easily pair foods together to make complete proteins. For example, you could serve beans and rice, a whole grain bread with peanut butter and honey, or cheesy veggie quinoa bites...
Another interesting thing about toddler food consumption overall, as shared by registered dietitian Maryann Jacobsen, is that a 5 year old’s brain uses twice the amount of glucose an adult brain does. She goes on to say that this may help further explain why so many toddlers have the food preferences they do (pasta, crackers, bread.)
Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean we only serve carbs. Offering a well-rounded diet is important for food learning, food acceptance and getting the nutrients needed to grow and develop properly.
Helping them adjust to the flavors and textures of meat is one part of the puzzle, while the other part is serving them foods that fulfill the nutritional need that meat fulfills.
Now, let’s see how we can piece this puzzle together, together….
Check out these picky eater book & tool suggestions:
here are 12 things you can do if your picky eater doesn’t like meat (yet)
1. Food chaining
Food chaining is a proven method that many feeding therapists use. It’s an approach that works off of foods your toddler already eats and enjoys, and slowly but surely inches you and your toddler to completely new and different foods.
To see how to do food chaining, you can read this blog post: What Is Food Chaining? How To Use Food Chaining To Expand Your Picky Eater’s Diet
2. serve other foods with protein
Remember that toddlers typically only need 13g of protein per day (and an 8oz cup of milk has 8g of complete protein!)
If your toddler is not eating meat yet, you can rest assured knowing that they are getting the sufficient protein needed for growth and development through other sources like edamame, quinoa, whole grains paired with nut butters or cheese or beans…
Try edamame as a snack! Try mixing quinoa into your pancake batter or mac n cheese! Try a whole grain bread with a nut butter spread! Try a bean and cheese burrito in a whole grain tortilla!
There are many ways you can incorporate proteins into your toddler’s diet while they are exploring and adjusting to meats.
picky eater doesn’t like meat?
Check out my transforming picky eating ebook – better eating habits in 4 weeks
3. serve tiny pieces of various meats
When I say tiny, I mean teeny tiny! If your picky eater doesn’t like meat and is freaked out by new foods on their plate, let’s start tiny.
Think of a blueberry, now tear that up 3 times! Seems ridiculously tiny BUT you can start with these teeny tiny pieces and slowly over a few months time, work your way up to a normal size.
Tiny pieces aren’t as scary or as intimidating for toddlers, plus when the pieces are so small, they can’t really tell if the meat is a piece of chicken nugget or a piece of roasted chicken (which means they won’t stare at it and freak out.)
Sometimes, when using tiny pieces with picky eaters, I give them just a few things at a time, rather than a whole plate of food. For example, I would give them 2 tiny pieces of beef, 2 tiny pieces of strawberry and two tiny pieces of bread directly on the table. I would then say, “Teeny tiny pieces! Finish these and we will get more!”
In cases like this, they may or may not try all. Nonetheless, I serve all of the foods, including 2 they love. It may take 3-4 rounds of serving foods before this meal is done BUT it is a baby step of success, helping them overcome food fears and discover new foods, so it is a win.
And if they don’t like the new food I serve, no worries! We can try beef prepared a different way next time, or chicken or fish, or….. regular exposure to variety is the constant here!
Read this next:
Sorting Activity To Get Your Picky Toddler Hands On With New Foods
1 Super Simple Dinner Table Strategy To Try With Your Picky Eater
4. let them help prep foods
This is across the board, a tip that all parents of picky eaters can benefit from. Every picky eater (probably 30+ by now) I have worked with has enjoyed helping prep their own foods and EVERY SINGLE ONE has ended up tasting some of the ingredients when helping prep their meals.
With food prep they learn, have control, have choice, have pride and feel more compelled to eat their creation.
Pro tip: there’s nothing wrong with fun or silly toppings either! Oatmeal? Give them some sprinkles to put on top! Casserole? Give them some cheese to sprinkle on top! Green pancakes? Give them some bacon bits to sprinkle on top!
Take a look at this blog post on how to set up your space so that cooking with toddlers is much easier!
Check out these supplies for easier meal prep:
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Everything you need to know to start making changes in your picky toddler's ways today.
5. make it a sandwich
For the toddlers who love their sandwiches, you can try a chicken salad sandwich, a ham salad sandwich, an egg salad sandwich, a tuna sandwich.
You could even try using a spread on a sandwich they love. Grilled cheese their favorite? Try blending some chicken salad really well and spreading it on the bread before you melt the cheese.
Or, you could slowly add a tiny pieces of meat to their grilled cheese – maybe a couple specks of shrimp, then more and more. This method would be food chaining.
6. make it a dip
If your toddler loves to dip crackers, carrots or chips – try a well-blended chicken salad, a beef and cheese dip, an edamame ‘guacamole’, or a pretty beet hummus!
Working off of what they already love to do (dip) with foods they already like (chips or crackers), many toddlers are excited and happy to diiiip!
Pro tip: you CAN craft snacks as ‘mini meals’ and worry less about actual ‘meals’. Think of incorporating a handful of colors and food groups into their beloved snack time (and worry less that they aren’t eating the roast chicken, steamed vegetable and wild rice dinner you’ve made.) For example, you could do peaches, beet hummus, crackers and carrots as a well-rounded snack!
Check out these healthy toddler recipe books:
7. blend into a smoothie
Try this quinoa and berries smoothie bowl topped with fresh fruit, crunchy granola and sweet honey mmm!
You could make it a fun morning routine for them to have their ‘superhero shake’ or their ‘rise and shine smoothie’ in a special cup.
Check out these cute and durable cups:
9. Let them choose foods at the grocery store
One of the quickest and easiest ways to educate our toddlers about foods is to let them help us when shopping and talk about what foods look like, how to cook them, where they come from, how they feel, etc.
If your picky eater doesn’t like meat OR says ‘no, I don’t like it’ truth is, they probable don’t know all the things they like yet and 1) are too afraid to try 2) feel too much pressure to try or 3) see mealtime as a task rather than enjoyment.
The more they know, the more comfortable they are. And, when they are comfortable, they are more likely to openly, willingly, even happily explore new foods.
10. look through books with pictures of real foods
Another approach that goes along with food education. Just as you would read a book to your toddler about welcoming a new sibling or going to daycare, choosing books that have pictures and talk about foods and eating, will help them open their minds to exploring new foods.
join 100+ other moms for the free picky toddler ‘Learning my foods’ at-home challenge! do it at your own pace!
want more details? See below!
11. read some books about other picky eaters
Some toddlers respond well to books to learn new skills or become open to new things, like managing feelings and sharing. The same can be true for trying new foods!
If your toddler responds to messages from books, you can find some toddler books about picky eater and edit lines as needed to include wording about meats.
Check out these picky eater toddler books:
12. make it a game
If your toddler is motivated by games and teamwork, you can pose the idea of doing some ‘taste testing so mom knows what to buy for the house, because she is running out of ideas!’ Wheres the lie, huh?
Most toddlers I’ve worked with, specifically ages 2-3 years old, have enjoyed making a simple sticker chart for this exercise. While the older toddlers, have enjoyed jotting notes in a special journal and helping me put things in the cart on Instacart.
Final thoughts on picky eaters who don’t like meat
There a numerous ways you can help your toddler transform their picky ways, even if your picky eater doesn’t like meat. There is hope! Albeit, slow and steady, that sometimes feels like nothing is happening…
First, taking a look at what your toddler is interested or motivated by (books, helping you cook, stickers), will help you decide which approaches to try. And if you are unsure, you can trial and error all and see which they respond best to!
Next, remember to do regular exposure to variety, while also educating them about foods. In the meantime, you can substitute meats with other wholesome and protein-rich foods, until they get more open to and used to meat textures and flavors.
With almost a decade of experience feeding picky eaters, I am here to tell you that despite how it may feel at the dinner table right now, you CAN slowly but surely help your toddler go from picky and scared to adventurous and confident!
Be sure to check out all my picky eater posts here.
And I highly recommend the FREE at-home, at your own pace ‘Learning My Foods’ Picky Toddler Challenge!
