She started when she was about 15 months rejecting foods, and for a good 2-3 years had to bring pb and j sandwiches every time we went out, because she’d never eat anything on the menu or at anyone else’s home. She never ate anything with a sauce or a dressing on it.

It got so painfully embarrassing to hear my family members make comments about what she would and would not eat. They thought she was just being stubborn. It was so hard to tell them otherwise. When I tried to “force” her to eat, she’d react badly, choke and cry (this was from my otherwise compliant child). I knew she wasn’t doing it on purpose.

I ended up making lots of protein pancakes (whole wheat pancakes made with whey protein powder, blended up oats for added fiber, and wheat germ for added b vitamins). I would also make a topping out of blueberries and raspberries cooked on the stove a little bit with a bit of sugar.

I also added protein powder to fruit smoothies (yogurt, frozen blueberries, strawberries and raspberries). You don’t have to use whey protein, there’s egg, soy and rice protein powder available too.

When I found Barilla Plus pasta, I realized I could get more nutrients in her with that as well. It’s made with chickpeas and other good things, but the texture is more like semolina pasta when it’s cooked. It helped to make me feel like she was getting more nutrients into her.

Slowly, using gradual exposure (and I mean it took like a year and a half) of getting her to place a bite of meat (like baked chicken), holding it there for a little bit, then allowing her to spit it out, then chewing for a few minutes, then spitting it out, to actually swallowing one bite, I got her to increase her diet to include plain chicken. Then eventually, we moved on to beef.

She finally enjoys cheese pizza, even though it has a tiny bit of sauce on it. We make it at home with pre-made crusts.

Now at 7, she still grumbles at the idea of having steak or chicken for dinner, will take about an hour to eat 6 bites of meat, but she does do that. Now I can take her anywhere and be relatively satisfied that she will find something on the menu she will eat.

I have this phobia of pain. I hate things that cause pain so much that even if I see something that looks like it hurts, I get really sick and pass out. Because of this, when I was little I would never pull a tooth. I once had a tooth fall out while I was eating soup it was so loose. My mom was afraid they would fall out in my sleep and I would choke to death!

I bet you’ve lost a lot more by now. I hope you’re getting great stuff from the tooth fairy.

thank god that autumn has some good staples in her diet, though! that’s really good news… <3