Veggies

Bemyselfandi

I'm having a hell of a time trying to get veggies in my two year old. He used to like broccoli. We'd have it three times a week and he'd eat a couple of pieces, and for how small their bodies are, I figured I can't complain about that. Now it's impossible to get him to eat veggies. Once in a while he'll eat some salad if I put ranch AND french dressing on it. That's maybe once every two weeks or less. He doesn't even eat corn, which I know isn't even a veggie it's a starch. He won't eat mashed potatoes. I feel stuck.

I have tried to hide veggies in things. Quesadillas, egg "muffins", veggie bread (which tastes like banana bread or pumpkin bread). He sometimes liked those packets of food that are expensive from the store. So, I bought some refillable pouches. He refuses to eat anything but yogurt. I try to mix in a cube of carrot, or beets, or avocado, or really...anything...but he still refuses it. So I'm putting up the white flag for those. I'll use them for the baby, no bigs. But what else? I tried making him a smoothie. Nope. Refuses. I tried giving him "banana ice cream" and he loves it. He'd probably eat it every day. I tried mixing stuff in it...he refused it. I tried dying it with food coloring. I even made it a purple to make it look entirely unhealthy. He refused it. 

Does anyone have any older children that went through this? Do they get over it? I mean, when he gets older I can bribe for better reasons that he'll understand, but for now..."Eat that carrot and I'll let you watch Toy Story tonight." He wants to watch it, but he refuses to eat it. So, no movie. I don't want him to go without these, but I certainly don't want to make him eat food either. We were raised where we didn't have to eat it if we didn't like it. But we still ate our veggies.

What about the V8 juice that is like fruit juice? Does that REALLY have a full serving of veggies in it? Or is it "fake"? 

What else can I do? 

MrsWindyCity

Does he get any "dessert" after dinner? We always do fruit with dinner, but ask DS to eat his veggies before and he complies because he likes fruit. There are very few things he doesn't like (we're lucky) but we do the whole "you at least need to try it" thing and if he tries it and doesn't like it, then we don't really push.

DS loves raw or very crispy veggies. Have you ever had your DS help you make dinner? This is a sure way to get my kid to basically eat everything from the cutting board. :- He snacks on raw green beans and brussels sprouts constantly, lol. He also likes stuff roasted crispy. He doesn't really like microwaved/steamed veggies and I don't blame him, because neither do I.  Maybe try serving a raw veggie like green beans with the ranch or something to dip into?

If he eats pasta sauce, that's a good way to sneak in veggies and just puree them.

I wouldn't do the juice just because it's so high in sugar. I'd feel better about just giving him a vitamin for any nutrients he's  missing with the veggies. 

candlequeen

omg my son is the same way with veggies! He is just now starting to eat fruit again. I buy the Odwalla smoothies with veggies mixed in, but he recently started not liking that as well. At DC he'll eat mashed potatoes, but not at home. I can't stand it that my child is so picky!

Bemyselfandi

MrsWindyCity:

Does he get any "dessert" after dinner? We always do fruit with dinner, but ask DS to eat his veggies before and he complies because he likes fruit. There are very few things he doesn't like (we're lucky) but we do the whole "you at least need to try it" thing and if he tries it and doesn't like it, then we don't really push.

DS loves raw or very crispy veggies. Have you ever had your DS help you make dinner? This is a sure way to get my kid to basically eat everything from the cutting board. :- He snacks on raw green beans and brussels sprouts constantly, lol. He also likes stuff roasted crispy. He doesn't really like microwaved/steamed veggies and I don't blame him, because neither do I.  Maybe try serving a raw veggie like green beans with the ranch or something to dip into?

If he eats pasta sauce, that's a good way to sneak in veggies and just puree them.

I wouldn't do the juice just because it's so high in sugar. I'd feel better about just giving him a vitamin for any nutrients he's  missing with the veggies. 

I have tried raw veggies, and dips of ranch. He just licks the ranch off using the veggie as if it were a spoon. Nerd. *Or very smart...* He has eaten a slice of green pepper and green bean before. I should try those again *DUH*. It's usually so sporadic that it's hard to know when he'll eat something. He's in the two year old stage of, "Yes, mama...I want '---'." And then he refuses it and looks at me like I have four heads when I say, "BUT YOU ASKED FOR IT!!!" He likes lasagna. My mom makes a special one for him that has cauliflower pureed inside and he doesn't even know it, it's great. But give it to him more than once every two weeks he starts refusing something. The "too often" rule. It's so frustrating. I hate picky eaters, and this drives me absolutely batty! Thank you I'll try some beans and green peppers again. Maybe the red and orange ones, too. 

Bemyselfandi

mainerocks:

Any chance he would like frozen peas? nbsp;My son loves them for some reason.nbsp;

I could try it. I doubt it though. I'll try!

LSU628

DD loves edamame. She likes to pop the beans out of the pods. She also likes to eat the veggie rolls when we get sushi. We got her kid friendly chop sticks and she thinks she is such a big girl. Some of the other non-raw rolls (snow crab, etc.) also have lots of veggies (asparagus and other things she would normally never touch) that DD eats without blinking an eye.

ASmallWonder

Everyone gave you the suggestions I'd have like raw and roasted varieties, frozen peas, etc.  I know this is manipulative but have you tried the "You can't have any of this, it's mama's" ??  The minute my son thinks something is so good we don't want to share it, he wants it.  I also bribe.  It doesn't take a lot to constitute a serving for a two year old so if you can get him to eat two bites of a veggie in exchange for something he likes, I'd do it.  They can tolerate almost anything for two bites

sschwege

Have you tried giving it to him separate from a meal?  Like if we are headed home for lunch and DD is in the stroller I just hand her a bag of veggies and she eats it because she knows there is nothing else.  Or sometimes I sit down on the floor where she is playing and start eating veggies, something about it being someone else's food makes it that much more desirable.  Maybe sit down with a bowl of broccoli since he used to like it.  Don't make a big deal of it, just start eating it yourself and see what happens.  

V8 juice probably does have a serving a veggies, but if your son won't drink smoothies then I doubt he would drink that.

brettsmama

DS went through a similar phase, and is still a picky eater. I bought the cook book "Deceptively Delicious", there are tons of healthy recipies that you hide fruits and veggies in. It helped me think outside the box gave me extra options. It was easy to follow since I'm definitely not a great cook. It worked for us. Good luck.

AmericanInOz

Ditto deceptively delicious! When dd goes through those phases I just hide it in her food, since its pure she can't tell. Also sneaky chef is good
And yes i do think they get better over time. There are a few types of veg dd loves now, some she still won't touch on its own though

veryblessed11

DS loves peas! I'd try that.

nital

elmoali:

Everyone gave you the suggestions I'd have like raw and roasted varieties, frozen peas, etc.  I know this is manipulative but have you tried the "You can't have any of this, it's mama's" ??  The minute my son thinks something is so good we don't want to share it, he wants it.  I also bribe.  It doesn't take a lot to constitute a serving for a two year old so if you can get him to eat two bites of a veggie in exchange for something he likes, I'd do it.  They can tolerate almost anything for two bites

This.  I don't tell her she cant have it, but I've been known to munch on veggies going on about how yummy it is.  She will just wander in asking for bites.  I prefer her to eat sitting, but I'll make an exception if she's eating veggies.