How we got our toddler to eat :)

For many many months now I have had one problem after another getting Lucas to eat solids and to try new food. Before he fell ill with bronchitis, Lucas would still eat food that I mix into his baby cereal and also pasta especially macaroni. That all changed after he got sick and even after he recovered, Lucas only wanted to eat his baby cereal mixed with mashed fruits, but only apples or pears, not bananas.
Of course then I started "labelling" him as a fussy eater and started getting worried and stressed out when he refused to even try anything new. Even when I tried to feed him with Barney switched on, he still refused to eat anything more than a bowl of cereal + fruit a day. I'd try to make food that he used to like, fried rice or pasta or soup with rice but he would take maybe 2 or 3 mouthful and refuse the rest. And I'd be begging him to eat and praying really hard for him to eat and then resorting to telling him if he doesn't eat, mama will bring him to the hospital and the doctor will put him on a drip. (I don't know if he understands but he ignores me anyway)

Then last week I was chatting online with mom and she asked me to try making fish cutlets ( I mentioned that Lucas seems to love fried foods, like the instant cucur udang that I brought with me from KL). I rushed out to buy fish (but ended up with fish fillet as I didn't know what fish to buy...), biscotte (I couldn't find breadcrumbs, so I mashed the biscotte into breadcrumbs), eggs and carrots.

When Fred came back from work that night, he had an ephiphany (while at work, I suppose...) and said that maybe I was feeding Lucas too much and he is too full to eat as I mix his full bottle of milk with 8 oz baby cereal and a tsp honey, 3 times a day - morning, noon and night as I worry he's not getting enough nutrition.
So he suggested that I stop adding the cereal and give him just milk and see if he eats after that. Well, whaddaya know? It worked like a dream! Suddenly my toddler started to eat the grilled cheese sandwich and the fish cutlets (he loves it and finished it all). I made fish cutlets 2 nights in a row and then last night we gave him chicken nuggets which he ate as well. He still rejects the scrambled eggs and pasta though but I am so happy that he's finally eating solids and chewing his food that I am no longer bothered. I am now going to add brocolli bits and spinach into his cutlets and will try minced beef and minced pork as well. I don't like the idea of Lucas eating fried foods all the time though so I will try to bake the cutlets and see if he will eat them.

Mom's recipe for fish cutlets: (Fred & I love them too!)

Minced fish (or beef/ chicken/ pork)
Breadcrumbs
Salt and Pepper
1 egg
diced onions
Bits of vegetables (corn/ carrots/ brocolli)
Mix it all in a bowl and form into patties
I like to add some milk into the mixture to make it more moist
Fry in a heated pan