VEGGIES - Getting My 19 Mth Old to 'Try Them'

Although my daughter has always been a great veggie eater, I have found that I can get her non-veggie eating friends and cousins to gobble up veggies by doing one simple thing.

While you are preparing dinner (or lunch), set a plate of carrots, brocolli, or celery, or whatever veggies you want the kid to eat (we usually like raw veggies) in front of the kid. They are likely starving, anticipating whatever you are about to serve them...and will munch on these while they are waiting. There was a time where I caught myself saying "stop eating all the vegetables, dinner is almost ready". Ha.

That's the problem with introducing fruits first - kids like the sweet and then won't eat the veggies. If he likes cheese, trying putting melted cheese on them or ranch dressing.

I got my daughter (3 years) into veggies by planting some in the yard. Once she helped with the planting she wanted to water, pull weeds and "tend" to the garden everyday. Once that first carrot was ready it was like a party! She was so happy that she wanted pictures of her eating it! It was kinda funny :) but now that she has grown some veggies and she understands where they come from she wants to go to the farmers market and support the local farmers. We try to pick a new veggie to try every week. She likes telling the family what it is, who grew it ("a nice old grandpa man with dirty hands") and which ingredients we used in the recipe. She is totally into veggies now!

When I steam my brocoli, I put 1/4 c soy sauce in the water. It makes a very taty veggie.

our Dr says on the plate every day, a choice of one lick or one bite each time. my son is getting better, and taking more bites!

Sweet potatoes. Start out with just them and then start mixing other vegies in very gradually. Also, try glazing the veggies with jam, jelly or maple syrup.

Two strategies one from me and one from my husband. Put whatever you want him to eat on your plate, hold him in your lap and eat it with great gusto. Pretty soon he'll be asking or reaching for some. Or put it on his plate in front of him and "steal" bites (showing that you enjoy it). This may provoke him to say "mine!" (you might be a couple months away from that stage) and then he will want to eat it too.

Try grating it and putting it in things first, than move to not hiding it so much. Put out small bits of carrot and broccoli for him to try, sweet peas are a favorite for my kids. Let them have things to dip them in, ranch dressing, apple sauce, etc. so they can have fun trying new things.

good luck
K.

Oh and Sweet Potatoe fries are SO good and easy. You can even make them crispy by frying if you HAVE to ha ha

I know this sounds odd, by both my girls love to snack on frozen green beans. The kind that come in a bag in the freezer section.

Other than that, just keep introducing them in your family meals. I have luck with sauces, too. One daughter likes some soy sauce on her broccoli, the other likes a little mayo.

But keep trying. Neither of mine would eat salad for the longest time, but now the little one gobbles it. Tastes change.

Good luck,
L.

My daughter loves quesadillas so we finely chop or shred her vegetables into the quesadilla. Zuccini and squash work great but you can use pretty much anything. If your child is really really pickey which our daughter was, we first steamed the vegetables then put them in the quesadilla, they were so soft you couldnt really tell them apart from the cheese and the added flavor was actually really good.

coat or blend them with a light cheese sauce or other healthy yummy sauces(not just plain cheese- you can make a quick sauce in a pan with butter, milk, flour, and cheese (add cheese last - works well with mashed cauliflower etc)

the frozen baby food section at Whole Foods has veggie nuggets and pitter patties

make them into french fries (sweet potatoes baked with a little olive oil)

mix them with a favorite food (i put steamed peas and carrots (bag mix from frozen section) with mac and cheese).
I am not all for the puree and hid it in stuff theory, i think the child should still see it and recognize it as food if possible

Roasting vegetables in olive oil and a little salt and pepper make them sweet (think of slowly roasted carrots, beets, and carmelized onions) they get soo sweet and soft with long roasting

I will be watching the reponses too. I am always looking for ways to make vegetables more appealing!
Its hard!

Another mom mentioned her daughter likes frozen green beans. My kids's sitter got my kids to eat frozen peas. They don't want anything to do with them cooked. I may have to try other veggies frozen. Not a great solution for dinner time, but they can be a good snack.

Have you tried mixing some veggies with his fruit? Maybe mix some fruits and veggies on the plate together or mash them up together.
Hope this helps!
-E.

Don't worry about it. Just keep eating YOUR veggies, and serving him a little bit of whatever you're having every time. If he doesn't eat them, don't make a big deal of it, and don't force him to "try" them. I don't think you should disguise them in other foods, either. That just makes them seem unpleasant. If he does like a particular vegetable, serve it often.

I did it this way with both my boys, and it was pretty surprising what they wound up liking best: my little one loves artichokes and collard greens. He likes greens so much he has learned to cook them (he's twelve now). Last Thanksgiving we had a potluck at a friend's house, and he proudly contributed a big bowl of greens, and just loved all the praise he got. Neither of my kids has learned to like squash or asparagus yet, but they'll get there!

Another mama suggests a platter of raw vegs with dip before dinner, which I think is a really great idea. Crudites are always good for picnics and holidays, too---and you absolutely can't serve too many vegetables.

Eat a big bowl of veggies in front of your child often. Don't offer any to him. Eventually he'll want what you're having and he'll think it's a treat (it actually is). No guarantees, but it worked for me with both my daughters.

I'd suggest some sweet potatoes or butternut squash (toddlers tend to like the orange vegetables best due to the higher sugar content). You could puree them and spread them on a tortilla with cheese to make a sneaky quesadilla. My toddler likes to eat frozen peas and raw bits of red/orange/yellow peppers. Sometimes, the green veggies are a harder sell because there is a "bitter" taste to them and, ounce per ounce, the caloric value is much lower; kids have a natural tendency towards calorie-dense foods. You might try offering his favorite dips along with the vegetables you serve.
Of note, I have found that referring to each vegetable by name and not "lumping" them under the "veggie" umbrella helps them to understand that not every vegetable has the same taste as the "veggie" they may dislike.

GL
R.

Have you tried giving ranch dip or some kind of dip with raw veges? Thats how I got my son to eat fresh broccoli and carrot sticks. Also, He has developed a taste for sweet. I sometimes melt butter and put a table spoon of brown sugar in cooked carrots, again it is sweet, but it might get him to eat them and get the benefits of a vege. Good Luck.

Hi T.,

Ah, veggies - we had a love/hate relationship with veggies in our house. I actually think that dipping is a great idea. It can be dressing if you want (try making your own - it's really easy) or hummus works as a great dip too. If all he eats is hummus and veggies for dinner, it's not the worst thing in the world.

Per my Doctor, fruits contain just as many vitamins as veggies so keep the fruit coming but make sure there is a lot of variety. My Dr. mentioned orange fruit in particular.

I had always gone the sneaky chef route and added purees to my son's food. But, I didn't want to spend my life hiding veggies in his food, so I started offering tiny little slivers/slices of various veggies and they were a big hit. Also, I gave him veggies when dinner was done - kind of like a treat. One thing he has always loved - Amy's Organic Veggie Lasagna! It's filled with veggies and he gobbled it right up. The Trader Joe's brand frozen veggie lasagna is good too.

Best of luck to you!
T.

Try breaded veggie "nuggets" from the freezer aisle. My son turns down most vegetables but ate these without a problem.

You are starting way late in introducing vegetables. We have vegetables with every meal. All of my children are required to eat them. Although, because they have parents that like vegetables and we have them all the time, they eat them all and they like them.

My mom use to hve vegetables on the table and would tell us that only grown ups could have them. We begged and begged to have them.

I don't really agree that you should put sauces on them, that defeats the nutritional value of the vegetable.

Also, you are the boss. Make it a rule that your son has to eat some vegetables. Why hide it, just make him do it. Make him eat those first before the stuff he truly wants.

D.