How do you make veggies more appealing for your toddler?

Mnerani · April 2014

I'm perplexed. DS will eat 6 to 10 ounces of pureed veggies at a sitting. And all the worst-tasting ones- spinach, broccoli, etc. Just gobbles them right down.

But if I give him those same veggies whole (un-pureed) he will put them in his mouth and spit them out. And I don't think it's a texture thing- he eats ALL of his other food whole. Veggies are the only thing I still puree because he'll get several servings a day that way, versus zero servings if I give them whole.

Any suggestions for making whole veggies more appealing (without adding salt)? And do you worry that disguising them in other food (like baking them into bread or something) defeats the purpose of them learning to eat veggies?

CarrieB. · April 2014

I just put whatever vegis we are eating on her plate so at least she can try them. We have a rule that you have to at least taste something, but I don't make a big deal about it if she doesn't eat the rest.

I'm on mobile so I can't tell how old your toddler is, but DD1 is almost 3 and now that she's older we do a lot more raw vegis and she's more likely to eat them that way. I do sneak some things into muffins or quesadillas, but more because I like the extra vegis not because I'm trying to sneak something past her.

TJ1979 · April 2014

Have you tried different shapes? E loves anything that is tiny like peas or corn, so if carrots are diced she is more likely to pick them up and eat them than if they are larger pieces. That, or she likes things that are french fry shaped, and she loves to dip them. So if we really need to get some veggies in her, I let her dip them in something.
You can also try the gradual approach where you puree it less and less, so it gets chunkier and chunkier, till LO gets more used to the texture in veggie form.
Also, just because you can't use salt doesn't mean you can't use seasoning. We put a little garlic and olive oil on most of her veggies because she prefers them with flavor.

PennyLane26 · April 2014

I add veggies to everything. I make mini frittatas with spinach/onion/tomato. She loves them with a little cheese! I also add broccoli or peas to things like mac & cheese. I always add zucchini and summer squash to spaghetti or baked ziti. Chili is great, I throw in any veggies that are in the fridge. Baking or cooking it right into the dish will flavor the veggies with the rest of the dish. G still always eats the pasta or beans first… then meats… then veggies. Also ditto TJ that she loves to nibble small pieces of fresh or steamed veggies like peas/corn/green beans/zucchini/etc.

pb_bride · April 2014

My experience with M is that he has "new"-phobia. Anything foods that look new (aka, unfamiliar) he will not touch. So in your case, it could be that your DS doesn't want to try the actual veggies because they look unfamiliar.

With M, I just keep trying and offering. For months and months, he would not eat potatoes in any form - mashed, fries, cubed in soups, baked etc. Now he eats most of them. The same thing with greens and many other veggies. But he eventually will eat them after seeing them over and over again (by that I mean he can take 2 dozen tries before he will eat them.) I definitely would put some salt & seasoning - you don't want to eat plain steamed veggies, would you?

I do disguise sometimes. M still doesn't eat broccoli whole, so I make him broccoli cheese nuggets which are his favorite foods. I also make this Swiss chard crustless quiche and he gets lots of Swiss chard that way. Sometimes I will shred or slice veggies really thin and cook them with pasta or chinese noodles. Since they are so thin, they get scooped up by DS when he eats the pasta/noodles, so he ends up eating them.

Another thought would be put the whole veggie next to the puree? So, pureed broccoli next to a stalk of cooked broccoli?

DS actually likes spinach - I saute it in olive oil and lots of garlic, and a pinch of salt. I use shears to cut them short.

luvboston · April 2014

We often stir fry veggies LO thinks its very adult so maybe try that. We also put rosemary, parsley etc on veggies and LO loves that. I don't believe in disguising food. LO hates squash so she just doesn't get it.

TJ1979 · April 2014

Also, for some reason E will eat crinkle cut veggies. Maybe they look more fun?

Robeano · April 2014

Hannah will eat salad, maybe try some dressing, I also add feta cheese to my salad. Oh and she'll eat veggies in a stew, they are soft with lots of flavour

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