Toddler protein boost: Lunch meat "O's"

Brigita's tip for enticing her toddler's protein palate:

One of my tricks to get my toddler to eat more protein is to take a slice of deli meat (or, in my case, fake bologna), fold it into quarters, and then get the kid to take a bite out of the middle. When you open the slice back up, there's a hole in the middle. My toddler loves making her "Os!"

Hopefully this doesn't leave you with lots of half-eaten bologna which you then MUST eat because a large percentage of a parent's diet comes from kids' uneaten food. Am I right? I've eaten more macaroni and cheese in the last five years than in all of my childhood.

Related: Toddler-friendly tofu

Comments

[Justin]

You are publicly admitting that you a feeding fake bologna to your toddler? Yikes. I know that getting your little one to ingest protein is important, but surely there is a better option.

Besides, a piece of Oscar Mayer bologna has 88 calories, 73 of which are from fat -- and the bulk of those are saturated fat calories. Good habits start now.

[Natalie]

I have a very picky eater and I just wanted to tell Justin to lighten up. The only meat my toddler eats is bacon so we give her turkey bacon to make it as healthy as possible. We are all trying to do our best with our kids. Try not to be so judgmental.

[Clancy]

I am with you re eating kids' leftovers! I just can't stand to waste food.

[STL Mom]

I once chatted with a doctor who was doing interviews with healthy adults over the age of 90. She wanted to know if their lifestyles had affected their longevity and good health. She said she was surprised at how many of them described their daily childhood meals of "fried bologna".
I don't fry my bologna, but that conversation made me feel much better about singing the Oscar Mayer song while feeding my children.
Everyone, all together now,"My baloney has a first name..."

[kate]

And, I took the 'fake' identifier to mean meatless, which would a leaner alternative. Still no need to flame feeding choices for toddlers.
On a related note, I often use cookie cutters or a knife to cut deli meat (and bread, or any other flat food) into shapes and letters to encourage fun eating. I like this idea too.

[Natalie Ann]

I am totally with you! I am always eating the kids leftovers, cause let's face it... we normally don't have time to eat when we are actually hungry!

To touch on the bologna issue...My dad's favorite meal to cook my brother and I when my mom was busy for the night was fried bologna with instant mashed potatoes in the middle and melted cheese on the top. SOOOOOOO unhealthy and fattening, but I am a healthy woman with a great immune system now 20 years later! That being said, I do not recommend this meal, as it really pissed my mom off!

[Melissa]

A related healthy deli meat option is to have the "butcher" cut a 1/4 lb of organic turkey into one slab and cut it up at home into finger-food chunks. On a good day, my toddler will eat this!

[Holly]

I love this idea! Especially since my picky eater toddler's name is Owen, so he will LOVE it!

On the fake bologna issue, while I am sure she appreciates everyone's concern for her toddler's protein needs, I assume both are vegetarians and the "fake" bologna is her one and only option on the bologna front. As a fellow vegetarian, with 3 very, very healthy vegetarian children, I say, yippee for fake bologna!!!

[Holly]

I love this idea! Especially since my picky eater toddler's name is Owen, so he will LOVE it!

On the fake bologna issue, while I am sure she appreciates everyone's concern for her toddler's protein needs, I assume both are vegetarians and the "fake" bologna is her one and only option on the bologna front. As a fellow vegetarian, with 3 very, very healthy vegetarian children, I say, yippee for fake bologna!!!

[brigita]

Heya everyone--Yes, the fake in "fake bologna" does translate to meatless. Thanks for all the support!

As for the leftover bologna, I'm able to get the wee one to eat just about the whole slice before the "Os" novelty wears off. I find that once we get a little eating momentum, then the girl can do it herself (DIH?).

[Children Tantrums]

That is a very cool trick. I will need to try that tonight. My daughter always says she doesn't like something. Even if she has eaten it before, she never likes it.