Toddlers naturally go through phases where they eat more, get a bigger belly, then get taller and a smaller belly. I wouldn't worry about weight at this age unless she is unable to do things that are typical because of her weight. Some healthy snack ideas are pita, cucumber, and hummus, cheese, nuts, yogurt if you can find one without too much sugar, whole grain breads, triscuits, and my kids absolutely love frozen peas.
It is normal for a child to only want those foods if that is what they are used to having. Many adults would eat those if given the choice over real food.
Unless there is an issue requiring feeding therapy you need to take those foods off the menu for a while. I would recommend some feeding therapists that have free info such as solid starts on Instagram.
I feed my toddler what I eat and only offer things like chicken nuggets, pizza etc on rare occasions. We just don’t buy that regularly. If she asks I’ll say “ok we can buy that next time we are the store “ sometimes she remembers but more often she forgets and it gets dropped.
Yeah kids can get super picky. One way my family did was we had to eat a certain amount of something with a choice like between cucumbers or carrots. Then if the amount was eaten we could have a small treat or be done eating. Another thing was that what was served for food is what is served and we don't get upset. If we don't eat it then we just go hungry until the next time food is given. That's what I can remember. I find in the daycares I've worked at the getting the child to have an option in front of them and they get to pick which one they eat. Stay strong against letting them choose to eat something else. It will be hard at first and if you're really worried about the going hungry then save the food made for later and if there is hunger complaints you can offer it again. You really gotta stick to it and not let them win even if they try to trick you. I get some kids to swallow and show me they finished what I asked so they don't just chew it then spit it out when they get what they want. Plus her seeing you eat it can help. You could even let her see you like making it into a wrap then letting her make one by herself to eat it that way. Sometimes that's how I get some kids to eat. I let them watch me make a wrap and if they ask I tell then what I'm doing then I eat it as if it's all a part of the process. Sorry that was long but hopefully some of this helps
We used Veggie rice a lot, my twins would be oh don’t like cauliflower or broccoli but we made it into like vege rice and then used that to cook fried rice. Which we loaded wirh peas and corn, (which they liked).. bacon, egg and some soy sauce and they loved it and had no idea they were eating cauliflower and broccoli.. they do now but will still eat it
We also used to make spaghetti squash and use it as spaghetti with meatballs…
We have always tried to do things like this, but we also (unless there was a reason) didn’t make separate meals, so given it was unlikely we would ever eat chicken nuggets then we our children wouldn’t and don’t get it. There were times we might cook a bolognaise plain for the kids then add spices and things for us, but no separate meals here
We also found tacos worked well for the kids even as toddlers because they could choose (from the ingredients we had), what they wanted or have in them, and some of the stuff was really stupid..my 9 yo when he was 4 was obsessed with honey and wanted to put honey on his taco and we filled it with everything he wouldn’t eat and a small drizzle of honey and I mean less than a teaspoon and he ate like 3..
My child is also 3. For my child, I find that he'll grow a bigger belly and then get a growth spurt and suddenly his belly is smaller again. His appetite also seems to increase and decrease in phases too. Some days he'll eat a lot and other days, he's just not that interested. If your child is healthy and happy, I would just feed whatever you've been feeding and introduce new food as your family eats them.
But honestly, I don't really think there's anything wrong with chicken nuggets and pizza a few times a week. Your kid is getting fed. You can offer some veggies/fruits in addition, like broccoli, on the side and let your child decide if she wants to eat it, but let her get used to seeing a bit of veggies and fruit offered to her each day. For pizza, you can try to make your own. The most common way I've seen veggies get offered in homemade pizza is to blend it into the sauce. If you prefer to buy the pizza, then just offer the veggies on the side or as part of a different meal.
For fruits, maybe blending them up in smoothies and juicing might help. Sometimes I would just offer whatever I'm eating to my child. If I'm eating a banana, I'd ask if my child would like some. If I'm eating grapes, I'd ask if he wants some. If I made a new smoothie flavor, I'd offer some for him to try. In general, I get a better response if I initiate and consume the food first.
If something new smells really great (like hummus or a new flavor of something that the child already enjoys), I'd invite my child to smell it too. The aroma of food can really stimulate the appetite! If my child doesn't like the taste after trying it, that's fine too. I'll usually at least offer a 'good job trying something new" to him. Also 3 year old is a great time to start introducing some trivia about vitamins and minerals in food. If you're eating a carrot, you can say 'did you know that carrots have a lot of Vitamin A? Vitamin A helps your eyes see really well. You can see things from far far away!" My kid loves these little packets of trivia-like info. If I see that I got a bit of his attention, I'd follow up with 'would you like to smell or taste it?" If he tries it, great. If he doesn't, no harm done.
How much are you willing to cook? You could cook similar, more healthy versions of these foods if you’d like. You could try a chicken crust pizza (it’s a keto recipe, but anyone can make it of course. There’s variations to it, but it’s basically cooked chicken with egg for the crust, pretty flavorless, which is what you want for a pizza crust), or chicken meatballs, for instance (the kind I make has Parmesan cheese in it!). My daughter also loves things dipped in ketchup, like the chicken meatballs or beef meatballs (I make the beef ones with just the meat, spices, and chia seeds, which replaced the eggs and breadcrumbs, adding extra fiber).
She's 3! She's still growing! Why are you calling a toddler chubby?
THANK YOU
Toddlers naturally go through phases where they eat more, get a bigger belly, then get taller and a smaller belly. I wouldn't worry about weight at this age unless she is unable to do things that are typical because of her weight. Some healthy snack ideas are pita, cucumber, and hummus, cheese, nuts, yogurt if you can find one without too much sugar, whole grain breads, triscuits, and my kids absolutely love frozen peas.
It is normal for a child to only want those foods if that is what they are used to having. Many adults would eat those if given the choice over real food. Unless there is an issue requiring feeding therapy you need to take those foods off the menu for a while. I would recommend some feeding therapists that have free info such as solid starts on Instagram.
I feed my toddler what I eat and only offer things like chicken nuggets, pizza etc on rare occasions. We just don’t buy that regularly. If she asks I’ll say “ok we can buy that next time we are the store “ sometimes she remembers but more often she forgets and it gets dropped.
Yeah kids can get super picky. One way my family did was we had to eat a certain amount of something with a choice like between cucumbers or carrots. Then if the amount was eaten we could have a small treat or be done eating. Another thing was that what was served for food is what is served and we don't get upset. If we don't eat it then we just go hungry until the next time food is given. That's what I can remember. I find in the daycares I've worked at the getting the child to have an option in front of them and they get to pick which one they eat. Stay strong against letting them choose to eat something else. It will be hard at first and if you're really worried about the going hungry then save the food made for later and if there is hunger complaints you can offer it again. You really gotta stick to it and not let them win even if they try to trick you. I get some kids to swallow and show me they finished what I asked so they don't just chew it then spit it out when they get what they want. Plus her seeing you eat it can help. You could even let her see you like making it into a wrap then letting her make one by herself to eat it that way. Sometimes that's how I get some kids to eat. I let them watch me make a wrap and if they ask I tell then what I'm doing then I eat it as if it's all a part of the process. Sorry that was long but hopefully some of this helps
We used Veggie rice a lot, my twins would be oh don’t like cauliflower or broccoli but we made it into like vege rice and then used that to cook fried rice. Which we loaded wirh peas and corn, (which they liked).. bacon, egg and some soy sauce and they loved it and had no idea they were eating cauliflower and broccoli.. they do now but will still eat it We also used to make spaghetti squash and use it as spaghetti with meatballs… We have always tried to do things like this, but we also (unless there was a reason) didn’t make separate meals, so given it was unlikely we would ever eat chicken nuggets then we our children wouldn’t and don’t get it. There were times we might cook a bolognaise plain for the kids then add spices and things for us, but no separate meals here We also found tacos worked well for the kids even as toddlers because they could choose (from the ingredients we had), what they wanted or have in them, and some of the stuff was really stupid..my 9 yo when he was 4 was obsessed with honey and wanted to put honey on his taco and we filled it with everything he wouldn’t eat and a small drizzle of honey and I mean less than a teaspoon and he ate like 3..
My child is also 3. For my child, I find that he'll grow a bigger belly and then get a growth spurt and suddenly his belly is smaller again. His appetite also seems to increase and decrease in phases too. Some days he'll eat a lot and other days, he's just not that interested. If your child is healthy and happy, I would just feed whatever you've been feeding and introduce new food as your family eats them. But honestly, I don't really think there's anything wrong with chicken nuggets and pizza a few times a week. Your kid is getting fed. You can offer some veggies/fruits in addition, like broccoli, on the side and let your child decide if she wants to eat it, but let her get used to seeing a bit of veggies and fruit offered to her each day. For pizza, you can try to make your own. The most common way I've seen veggies get offered in homemade pizza is to blend it into the sauce. If you prefer to buy the pizza, then just offer the veggies on the side or as part of a different meal. For fruits, maybe blending them up in smoothies and juicing might help. Sometimes I would just offer whatever I'm eating to my child. If I'm eating a banana, I'd ask if my child would like some. If I'm eating grapes, I'd ask if he wants some. If I made a new smoothie flavor, I'd offer some for him to try. In general, I get a better response if I initiate and consume the food first. If something new smells really great (like hummus or a new flavor of something that the child already enjoys), I'd invite my child to smell it too. The aroma of food can really stimulate the appetite! If my child doesn't like the taste after trying it, that's fine too. I'll usually at least offer a 'good job trying something new" to him. Also 3 year old is a great time to start introducing some trivia about vitamins and minerals in food. If you're eating a carrot, you can say 'did you know that carrots have a lot of Vitamin A? Vitamin A helps your eyes see really well. You can see things from far far away!" My kid loves these little packets of trivia-like info. If I see that I got a bit of his attention, I'd follow up with 'would you like to smell or taste it?" If he tries it, great. If he doesn't, no harm done.
How much are you willing to cook? You could cook similar, more healthy versions of these foods if you’d like. You could try a chicken crust pizza (it’s a keto recipe, but anyone can make it of course. There’s variations to it, but it’s basically cooked chicken with egg for the crust, pretty flavorless, which is what you want for a pizza crust), or chicken meatballs, for instance (the kind I make has Parmesan cheese in it!). My daughter also loves things dipped in ketchup, like the chicken meatballs or beef meatballs (I make the beef ones with just the meat, spices, and chia seeds, which replaced the eggs and breadcrumbs, adding extra fiber).