High fiber ideas needed for 2 year old

[Jenna_Army_Wife]

If this needs moved, my apologies. There are several places this could go!

My 2 year old son is extremely picky about food, and often gets constipated when he doesn't get enough fiber. He has an aversion to touching many foods with (to him) a funny texture. He likes dry cereal, toast, waffles, any/all pasta, chicken nuggets (not homemade, though! grrr), granola bars, occasionally hot dogs, a few bites of pizza, some turkey meatballs, and of course any dry cookie (we only keep things like graham crackers and vanilla wafers around so he won't be begging for other sweets).

I make apple bread often for fiber.
I give him Fiber Sure in his sippy cup (need to remember to do that every day), and we cut down on his milk intake, as it will stop him up more if he has too much.
I try to sneak in veggies or fruit any way I can - diced veggies in pasta sauce, wheat germ in bread or yogurt (sometimes he'll eat a little bit), fruit pancakes (but now he won't eat them!), etc.

I need some new ideas!

I do my big shop at Aldi, and the only whole-grain option I can think of there is pasta. I think I need to buy DS a high-fiber cereal that's just for him, to make it last longer since it costs so much more (I know he has eaten Cracklin' Oat Bran and would like that). Also, I could get wheat bread instead of white, and whole wheat flour instead of white.

Any other suggestions for me? Thanks so much!

[PrairieRose]

Will he snack on something like cinnamon frosted mini wheats? Those are full of fiber, a little sweet for taste but fortified w/vitamins too. What about carrots? I know it's always a challenge to feed a picky little one.........

[TheRootedNomad]

How about:

dates (the chopped up kind that you can bake with)
apples
popcorn (is he too young for popcorn?)

[Lindsey]

Hmm, we use broccoli, brussel sprouts, oranges (but only the pulp have fiber), sometimes we don't peel the potato (the skin has fiber), nuts, apples, beans (lima are our fav. or chilli with kidney) and then just don't give them a choice... He won't starve himself. They also say it takes 10 times of feeding it to them to decide if they like it. With both our 2 and 4 year olds we put SMALL portions of everything on their plate because it won't fill them up, but if they want 2nds they have to eat everything on their plate first before they get seconds(of whatever they want). Remember at this age you're the parent. Our 4 yr. old has started to complain sometimes and we either remind her to be thankful/grateful that she has something to eat or make her eat what it is she is complaining about first.

[daisymay1960]

Fluid intake needs to high , fibre needs it to work

[perSue]

the mini frosted mini wheats someone else said is a fab idea!!

try beans... say refried (hm or can) have fiber... add cheese to "hide" some taste.
steamed veggies? add cheese! (just a little, not too much)

oatmeal, bran, bulgar, quinoa, couscous, rice... the list goes on w/all the grains.
take 'em and add some cinnamon/brown sugar for sweetener.
or add a tiny bit of spice, mash up and fry/bake like a potato cake.
add mashed beans for "glue".
(and cheese... for a burger like food.)

does he like turkey?

i'd stick close to simple grains... like oatmeal, bulgar and rice. you can toast oatmeal, add honey to it... make simple granola.

bulgar can be used as a cereal (hot or cold) add fruit, sugar, cinnamon or a side dish, like tabbouleh (just saute onions, peppers, add tabbouleh, some spices &
that's really it. can be made simple or fancy.)

and rice... can be made regularly, or make a mash out of it, add milk and sugar, and there's a simple cereal. (white or brown, but kids tend to prefer white.)

or heat the rice in milk on the stove til it thickens, add a little sugar (of choice) and serve that way too. (less than 10 min!) add raisins for fun!

lotsa ideas, just keep it simple.
basic fruits: apples, grapes... anything you eat the "skin" of are excellent choices too!

[Jenna_Army_Wife]

He loves any kind of dry cereal, and I know he likes shredded wheats. So that's definitely one to go with.

I do offer him variety, and sometimes he will eat something new. He has recently started to like cheese and turkey deli meat. I'd love it if he would eat a turkey/cheese/tortilla rollup.

Sometimes I'll put a variety of foods in an ice cube tray and set it on his high chair tray. At least it's offered to him; sometimes I get so discouraged and only give him what won't go to waste, but I just have to keep plugging away at it.

I've tried to figure out what I could hide beans in. I suppose pasta sauce? I don't know that he would eat un-mashed beans, but I could certainly try.

He does like popcorn, and I've read it's an excellent source of fiber. I just have to pick the hulls out so he doesn't choke.

He loves to say the word "apple", but eat it? Not so much. Sometimes he will lick a piece. Still we offer it.

He doesn't like grapes, either - the texture grosses him out.

I will have to try a homemade granola - I think he'd definitely go for that, thanks!

Yes to cooked carrots, if I dice or puree them and hide them in pancakes or pasta sauce. I always add something to mac n cheese, like diced broccoli or cooked carrots. Most of the time he will eat it if I make it small enough for him to pick out.

Occasionally he will take a bite of a baby carrot (uncooked). Again, I'm hoping that's one of those things where it takes 10 times to like it. So we keep offering it.

[AmyMCGS]

My 2 year-old son has the same issues. When he doesn't eat enough fiber we sprinkle some fiber powder (Benefiber) in his drinks-- he can't taste it at all. Or, if I'm making something I know he'll usually eat, I sprinkle some powder in his serving. This was by my pediatrician's recommendation.

My kids both love bean dip-- a can of fat-free refried beans stirred with about 1/2 to 1 cup of salsa (to taste). They like to dip tortilla chips in it, or, we spread it on tortillas and roll them up with some cheese (not too much d/t constipation) for bean burritos.

Broccoli also goes over pretty well, but, my 2 year-old has trouble chewing it if it's raw. Steamed, though, he loves- especially if he has some ranch dressing to dip it in.

[Lady_V]

Does he like yogurt? You can hide a lot in a smoothie

Activia has great cheeses and yogurts as well. It helps things 'move along'. We used it along with Miralax when DD has severe constipation problems. The specialist was surprised to see how quickly things improved.

[Jenna_Army_Wife]

Amy - I didn't think of sprinkling the Fiber Sure in his food - duh! Thanks. He has drank a full sippy of water with the fiber in it today.

Lady_V - sometimes he likes yogurt. I haven't made smoothies in a while, but the last time I did he acted disgusted, LOL. Will try again - a fruit smoothie sounds really good to me right now!
I could hide all kinds of fruit in that, as well as wheat germ (which I put in our pancakes this morning). I like wheat germ in yogurt.

[shadowfax]

Hide oatmeal in his pancakes.
I hate the texture of oatmeal but I do like Bob's red mill multi grain cereal. It is a bit expensive so I mix it with some oatmeal or cream of wheat to stretch it. It has a better texture. Not so gummy.

Try Granola in Yogurt if he will eat that.

Add some ground flax to any sauces or hot cereals yo make.

[itsahumanzoo]

This has nothing to do with food, but I have a bunch of sample packs of pedia-lax children's laxatives. It's in the form of a melt-on-your-tongue strip. I got them from doing a campaign on bzzagent.com. Anyway, my son does not need any help with bowel movements, so you're welcome to have them! Obviously you shouldn't use them every single day, but they are made from natural ingredients, and great to use after a few days of no poo-ing.

[Nishu]

How much dairy does he get? A lot of children will get constipated if they're getting too much dairy.

[Gibs]

whole wheat bread works wonders for my son who is almost 14 months old. He doesn't usually be constipated. But a few days ago he ate two slices of whole wheat bread in one day and the next day he "went" 3 times, which is very unusual. So I think that could maybe help. Also with your milk you could mix it half milk half water, my friend does that with her boys all the time, because milk causes them to get constipated.

[Jenna_Army_Wife]

How much dairy does he get? A lot of children will get constipated if they're getting too much dairy.

Not much. I give him 2 sippy cups of milk a day, and the rest is water. He eats cheese or yogurt maybe once a week (that's not because of limiting, but just when he wants it).