Finger Food Veggies

Have you tried baked sweet potatoes? My kids loved them. But, really I would think they should eat the same foods as you by now, just in smaller pieces.

Why don't you try steaming or boiling the veggies for a few minutes first. We have fresh veggies everynight for dinner and I just put them in boiling water until they are fork tender then I put a little seasoning on them.

My girls love green beans with butter and almonds, carrots with a little honey, asparagus with some butter and garlic, spinich (or any wilty green) with a little vinegar, broccoli with a little parmesean, roasted squash and eggplant... They also LOVE mashed cauliflower. You make it just like home made mashed potatoes. I use half and half and milk for the liquid because it makes it more creamy.

They also love pasta so I make a lot of pasta with veggies in it. They like spinich, asparagus, mushrooms and tomatoes in pasta. Giada De Lorentes has a lot of simple pasta dishes with tons of veggies that my girls love. I also use whole wheat pasta.

One more thing... In the fall we make a lot of butternut spagetti. We use the squash as noodles, add sauce and some parmesean, the enjoy that as well.

I also leave the peel on potatoes when I mash them becasue the peel has so many nutrients. My girls prefer gold potatoes.

Both my girls ages 4 and 2 also like complex flavors, blue cheese, feta, kalamal olives, hummus... They are GREAT eaters. Your twins sound the same way. Keep experimenting while they're little. You'll find exactly what they like and won't have to struggle with them to eat when they're 10! Have fun cooking.

I steam carrots, yams, and butternut squash. The steaming makes everything nice and soft without losing any vitamins (which happens when you microwave veggies). Yams especially have a naturally sweet taste and once soft can be cut into bite-sized pieces. Good luck.

Try steaming veggies - that gets them soft and mushable - ie baby carrots, cauliflower, etc. Gradually they'll eat firmer foods until they have enough teeth and comfort with chewing to handle stuff like carrots. How do they do with apple slices/pieces?

Avacados are soft and tasty. My grandson loves them. But maybe they are considered fruit.
D.

Okay, this still grosses me out because I HATE them but my daughter (13 months next Saturday) loves canned veggies- peas, carrots, potatoes, green beans, you name it. I think being put through the canning process and then stored in the water/juices makes them soft enough to mush around in her mouth. She has all 8 front teeth already and all 4 first molars coming in now so the mushy canned veggies also help comfort her sore gums. She also LOVES avocado. Hope this helps- it really is tough getting them to eat new things!

My 2 year old LOVES red/yellow peppers. You can get them affordably at Sprouts when they are on sale. You might consider "peeling" them a bit at first since that might make them a bit easier to eat.

My kids always loved frozen peas and corn niblets (slightly thawed, but still cold) - not even cooked, isn't that funny?

Also, frozen sliced carrots (cooked this time) are one of my kids favorites, as are the green beans.

We boiled veggies until they were soft in chicken stock. Works like a charm. They can still pick them up, but the mush in their mouths. Plus added proteins and fats, which is always good at this age.

Also... check out Campbells Chunky Noodle soups and similar. We just poured the broth out into a sippy cup and put all the noodles and veggies on the plate/highchair tray. Voila. Instant finger food that stays solid (mostly) in chubby little hands, but mushes in the mouth.

My son loves to eat peas. I only get the sweet ones- the best brand I have found is frozen Birds Eye Baby Sweet Peas. They have to be the Baby Sweet kind, not just Sweet Peas. I have always hated peas because I think they taste like dirt, and even I will eat these. I just scoop out a handful, put it in a little bowl with the peas covered with water, and microwave for like a minute. Just til the water starts to simmer. Then I put some cold water in them to cool them off, drain them, and give him the bowl. I also slightly cook other veggies for him to eat like Shiya recommends. But the peas are his favorite.