We always start the meal with veggies only. He eats them most of the time because he is hungry. Once he eats most or starts throwing them on the floor, we will give him other foods. Yesterday he refused to eat his peas, so today I was holding him while making plates up and I popped peas in his mouth while I worked. He wasn't sitting in his high chair but he ate all his peas tonight. He ate the rest of his meal in his seat though. We also use Kerry gold butter (pure butter without additives) and are generous with the portion. He doesn't drink milk, so that fat in the butter is fine for him. So far LO has not been a picky eater and I hope it stays that way.
You could try dr praegers veggie bites. DS does good with veggies but we started him super young on them. He prefers veggies over fruits. But I have to mix it up for him often or he gets bored. I love the praegers kids options. And they are shaped like stars and dinosaurs and stuff so they are fun too. I also make my own broccoli tots and and mini muffins that have carrots and sweet potatoes in them to get those extra veggies in during snack time. Good luck!
LO loves her veggies, but we never did puréed. I steam til soft then butter them. She even liked brussel sprouts (I grated a bit of cheese over them and sliced them in half). She has 6 teeth, so I also give her thin slices of cucumber, raw carrot or bell pepper. She loves chomping on them!
@dmbfan46835 carrot muffins is such a good idea. LO's favorite veggie was zucchini and now he does not eat it. I think I burned him out on it. But I can make zucchini bread... Great idea!
My LO loves green beans. I just buy the canned ones, no added salt, then cut them up so they're small enough for him to eat. We still do some of the purees mixed with oatmeal since he still enjoys them (but they're expensive!). I also do the canned carrots cut up, and I'll add shredded veggies like zucchini and carrots to his egg bake. He also likes pureed peas spread on crackers (but those are easy enough to mash yourself once cooked). He also likes mashed potatoes, used to like baked sweet potato fries (just olive oil and potato). Hope that helps!
Re: Vegetables