I was a very picky eater as a child, and I often wonder how my mother put up with that. There were two options. Starve, or be forced to eat what she made.
Sure, she didn’t go out of her way to cook meals that she knew I wouldn’t eat, but there also wasn’t a whole lot of catering to my whims. My mom falls more to the “suck it up, Buttercup” side of things.
But Lauren Jorgensen of Long Island, New York, has come up with a way to get her two-year-old son Weston, who is a picky eater, to eat. A little Weston went from being what she called a fabulous eater. But when he hit the terrible twos things changed, and he lost any interest in trying new foods. It even went so far as him no longer wanting to eat foods that he once enjoyed.
In an interview with Good Morning America, she shared,
“I’ve tried to sneak veggies in, smoothies, add sprinkles, cut it into fun shapes — the answer is always the same, ‘No. I don’t want to, Mama.'”
Even Buzz looks unhappy here!
Jorgensen says that Weston turned into a finger food, “chicken nuggets and French fries” kind of kid. And it makes sense that if your child will only eat their chicken if it’s in the shape of a nugget, then you’ll do your best to provide that.
So finger food chicken, which included plant-based nuggets became a regular item on her shopping list.
As she admits,
“After trying to feed him and healthier foods were not an option, I’ll take all the protein I could get.”
According to KidsHealth, 2-year-olds have the following daily requirements:
- Grains: 3 ounces, half from whole-grain sources
- Vegetables: 1 cup
- Fruits: 1 cup
- Milk: 2 cups
- Meat & Beans: 2 ounces
You can see where this might be a challenge, especially since is this is such a time of transition for children, even in how they eat.
But along the way, Jorgensen slipped up.
Parents know that all days don’t go as planned, and sometimes you do things without giving it much thought.
On a day that she had more on her plate than usual, and didn’t have time to shop or cook, she stopped to grab a bite at McDonald’s. And while there, she also got a Chicken McNuggets meal for Weston.
You know where this is going, don’t you?
Junk food often has some magical addictive ingredients. And sometimes, it just tastes so damn good. Of course, once it hits your stomach, and it starts complaining about it, you realize just how short-lived your enjoyment really is.
Regardless, Weston was hooked.
Jorgensen relates,
“Soon, I realized my fatal mistake because now he doesn’t want any other nuggets unless they were McDonald’s nuggets.”
But moms weren’t born yesterday.
It wasn’t long before she devised a workaround. And on the days when Weston was being particularly picky, she had a trick up her sleeve.
Jorgensen had built up a stash of Happy Meal boxes. And I have to admit to wondering how she did this? Was she now regularly eating the Happy Meals her son wanted so she could build up a supply of boxes? Enquiring minds want to know!
We may never have an answer to that, but we do know she had them and she would distract Weston in order to use a box to give him his meal in. She prepares a healthier version of McDonalds meal and Weston is none the wiser.
He’ll catch on one day, though!
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@laurengattojorgen
