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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
tracyl0826
member
Tricks to get a toddler to eat more veggies?
tracyl0826
member
My son refuses to eat anything green...he's become so extreme that he won't even eat his yogurt with his green spoon anymore! I've made him some things I know he'd like (spinach/cheese quiche, fruit smoothie with kale), however as soon as he sees a speck of green, he won't even taste it. I've resorted to hiding veggies in his food (i.e. pureed in pasta sauce). However, he's getting better at spotting them. I don't give him any junk food...but I'm running out of ideas. We make eggs with veggies, homemade pizza with veggies, but he won't eat a bite if there is a veggie on the fork...if I hide the veggie inside, he'll realize it's there and spit out the whole thing! Any suggestions? He loves fruit, tofu, lentils, cheese and whole grain bread...Thanks!!
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Re: Tricks to get a toddler to eat more veggies?
1) eat lots of green veggies yourself. offer him the food you are eating (off your plate, even), but don't press it if he says no.
2) focus on other colors. avoiding green veggies for a few months won't be the end of the world. carrots, beets, bell peppers - browse the produce section.
ditto that. he's correlating green to something negative--so take it a way a bit. So many other colors. You can always "hide" green veggies IN things like meatloaf or even homemade hamburgers.
Have you ever tried getting green pasta (spinach)? I wonder if he'd try that if you put red sauce on it??
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I don't know that I would stop offering htem, but I would keep eating them and say-would you like this? And if he says no don't push.
Beets are an example of a non green veggie that are super nutritious. Winter Squash, sweet potato, parsnips are all good non-green choices.
Does your son eat scrambled eggs? I usually steam a variety of veggies, puree them well, and mix it with an egg. Cook it like you would cook omlet.
Edit: You can also add some shredded cheese in the mix.
Agree on both counts. I'd view this as an "anti-green" phase. He'll probably pass out of it, and possibly more quickly if he doesn't feel like it's a food fight between the two of you. (AND it will be less stressful for you, which is also important)
This. DD ate these pouches from about 14 months to probably 18 or 19 months before she "outgrew" them (just didn't want purees at all anymore). If you get the fruit and veggie mixes, they taste like fruit. DD loved them.
Now I have her eating lots of veggie soup.
I wouldn't worry about it too much, as long as his diet is otherwise well balanced and he's eating other colors of vegetables. If you really want to hide them, try adding vegetable puree to baked goods or sauces like spaghetti. But otherwise, keep offering and don't make a big deal out of it. It's probably just a phase, and it should pass.