Worried about eating disorder

[Angela0809]

My 8 year old is the most finicky eater I have ever known and its now cause for concern. This has been a battle since she was about 2. She has suffered severe digestive problems because of her diet, and her stomach is distended and she is overly gassy. Her diet consists of pizza, whole grain thin spaghetti, key lime yogurt, re fried bean burritos w/ very little cheese, cucumber slices, apples, bananas, pb&J, and any carb (chip or cookie) she can get a hold of. She refuses meat. Particularly red meat. She will eat tacos rand that is the ONLY type of red meat she eats. She will not eat any other dairy, milk, eggs, vegetables or other yogurt flavors. Her cereal is dry. Her pasta, plain, no butter or sauce of any kind. She will occasionally eat chicken but insists its "crispy" which to me means deep fried and fat and I refuse to cook that way. She will go hungry before she tries something new. I have sat her down with food network to watch cooking shows because she loves to cook but she wont eat what she helps prepare. For 6 years we have been told she will grow out of it but that is NOT happening. She is actually getting worse. I worry that her digestive problems will get worse. She is already on Miralax and ExLax per her GI doctors orders. She is a gymnast and needs to have good protein and energy for the level she is working at. I worry about her development as she is very petite. And I worry that she is developing an eating disorder at this time. Whenever we go to friends or family, I have to pack her food because she will not eat at others homes. I eat several types of foods and have a diverse pallet as does my whole family so I am not sure where this came from. Please help. Maybe she is vegan, or on her way to being that and I need to learn how to cook that way for her. It seems to be more texture, smell and appearance related though.

[Renee Radenberg]

Her weight is on the 5th percentile and her height is between 50-75th percentile for her age. The foods you listed she likes (pizza, whole grain spaghetti, yogurt, re fried bean burritos w/ very little cheese, cucumber slices, apples, bananas, peanut butter & jelly) are nutritious. Some children do not 'out-grow' the picky phase until they are in college or adults. The most important aspect with a picky eater is to RELAX at meals and let her eat what she wants. If you try introducing new foods, sometimes it takes 5-9 times to introduce a food that she may accept. If she do not want it you have to not make a fuss and let it go. Give her the food she likes. Hoped this helped you.

[Renee Radenberg]

Since she likes yogurt, you can make yogurt smoothies (in the flavor she likes) 2x a day or at meals to help her get more calories and protein.