My LO is just under the age of 2 and she absolutely refuses to eat veggies. This is not a new issue, but an on-going one. I do offer them with every lunch and dinner and nothing. I know I am probably not the only mommy that has this issue, so if you have gone through this or are currently going through this I would love to know what you have done about it. TIA
Re: How do you deal with this?
My Ovulation Chart
My Ovulation Chart
Definitely try the smoothie thing for now. You can make a big batch and freeze it in cubes/small containers for later. Just steam the veggies and put them in with frozen fruit and juice.
Eventually you'll have to work on getting him to eat them when he is aware of them, but for now, just focus on the nutritional factor--smoothies is a great way to do that.
I hide them with cheese, pasta, tomato sauce, smoothies and homemade veggie muffins. I still offer them on his plate though and I figured he'd learn to eat them eventually - so i hope lol
DD2 will only eat them if there isn't anything else available that she likes better. We usually give her the veggies first, and keep whatever else we're going to feed her (grains, fruit, cheese, etc.) out of her sight until after she has eaten the veggies.
What worked with DD1 was giving her something to dip them in - like yogurt, mustard, etc. She become obsessed with dipping for a while, and wouldn't eat anything unless she had some sort of dip!
For DS was works is starting him on the veges early. We usually put him in the chair while we are still cooking and he is usually "starving" so he'll pound peas, green beans, red pepper, etc. Once he sees the other options arrive at the table then he only wants them instead. DS is a monster of an eater so he's smart enough to know other stuff is coming but in this case the lack of toddler patience works in our advantage and he isn't willing to wait for them. I don't know if this would work on someone without that kind of appetite but it worth a shot.
Also I second the idea of pouches. From what I've seen a lot of non veges eaters will still enjoy it if it comes in a pouch.
A third idea would be sweet potato fries and carrot slices. We chop them up, drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil and brown sugar, bake in the oven and he'll eat them as a snack. Heck I don't like either myself and I'll eat them that way.
The bumpie formerly known as First Time in MI
DS1 wouldn't eat veggies FOR US. He eats them for daycare and his granny. You could "hide" it. Like if you make mac n cheese, puree some broccoli or cauliflower.
or do what I did and give him a vitamin
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My older son likes eating a lot of veggies raw. He also really liked snacking on them while we were prepping dinner at that age. My younger son really loves tomatoes, and tomato-based dishes (soups, chili, marinara sauce), which are easy to add veggies to. Roasted or grilled veggies are always popular, as are frozen peas and corn. My older son has been really into lettuce served with homemade dressing (super easy to make!).
I don't think "sneaking" veggies into food makes sense - the kid never learns to appreciate veggies on their own merits, and still thinks they hate them.
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
check out this link, there is really good information about toddler behavior and how to deal with it:
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I use a vegtable peeler to slice veggies REEEALY thin and then I put them inside of grilled cheese sandwiches or other sandwiches.
I also take crescent roll dough, flatten it out and fill it with "stuff" (spinach and cheese is one, steamed brocolli and cheese, corn, peas, shredded chicken....you can really get creative) and make little "pockets" and bake them (think like a pizza roll, only a little bigger, more sandwich sized). DD doesn't even realize there are veggies in them.
I've also started making beef stew or chicken stew, were i mix all the veggies in and flavor them, they end up being a "steamed" sort of texture, and flavored, and she loves them.
Sometimes raw veggies are just too much for her and she won't do it.
But now she's at an age where she loves "dip" and will eat veggies and dip a lot of the time.