Not Eating Vegetables

She may do better if you mix the veggies with the fruit. That's what I had to do to get mine started.

Have you tried to feed her a half spoon of vegetables with a little bit of the fruit on the tip of the spoon??
It is okay to mix the foods, it will not upset her stomach.
At least it didn't in mine.
My son ate anything we put in front of him, but my girl was slightly more particular. We had to do the half and half spoonfuls with her. It worked for us, maybe it will work for you.
Happy Easter!!!!

It's too late to go back to the "bland" vegetables but what I would do if this was me would be take away the sweet fruits and vegetables. If you offer her nothing but say, squash and peas for a few days, she'll eventually take it. If you're breastfeeding her between or before meals she's getting enough nutrition anyway. Just break the sweet tooth she already has or it is going to get worse.

Hi K.,

I have a daughter who will be three in June and even to this day, I have trouble getting her to eat some vegetables. When she was your daughter' age, I would try a new food each week; mostly to make sure she wasn't allergic to anything. Once I learned she was okay to eat anything, I learned what she liked and disliked. The veggies she disliked, I had to disguise to get her to eat. At that age, you could mix things up so maybe she won't know the difference. Mix some in her cereal but not too much. This way, she is getting those vitamins. Now that my daughter is older and can tell something isn't right, I am having to get more creative to disguise what she doesn't like. But don't worry, as she gets older, her tastes will change and she may start liking things she doesn't like now. Good luck. :-)
R.

When you get to the point when you are ready to introduce table food, and in particular vegetables, introduce them in a fun way. It may take you a few extra minutes in preparation time, but that effort is worth it in the long run. When a child sees veggies as fun, they have a completely different opinion of them, and are more willing to try them. If you need some examples, visit my web site at www.artfulveggie.com. The site is packed full of easy, healthy, delicious and inexpensive vegetable recipes.

Your problem is just the opposite of mine! I have a 7 month old who does not like fruits. I finally discovered that he does like peaches, but that's it fruit-wise. This is what I do. I mix the fruit with his vegetables & he eats it as long as the fruit mix is not too overpowering of the vegetables. He also hates sweet peas, so, again, I mix them in with squash, sweet potatoes, etc. From advice that I have received from other moms, I am not giving my son juice, b/c he likes water & people have told me that once you start juice, that they will always want it over water. I guess it goes the same with fruit & veggies. I started with veggies only & now he prefers them. Good luck. I am a first time mom, so I just learn as I go & take advice that sounds good from others.

I read that you should try mixing the fruit with a little of the veggies. start out in small amounts untill your baby gets used to the flavor of it. Hope this helps.

I know before I tell you this that people will balk...but it works...add S&L or Splenda. Gradually decrease the amount you add and soon she will eat it without the added sugar substitute.

Mix fruit & veggies together in a combination that she will accept. She's probably going for the sweet flavor. As she gets older, you can disguise the veggies. I used to grind them up and mix them with meatloaf or spaghetti sauce. My son decided at different stages that he either hated veggies or hated meat.

what works for my son (and husband!!!) is to roast the veggies. i cut up things like butternut squash, acorn squash, yams - drizzle them with grapeseed oil and a little kosher salt - put them on a stone baking pan and roast at 400 degrees until they are soft and starting to carmelize! they have a wonderful taste to them and they are so soft!! you can puree them for your daughter if it is too chunky. my son gagged on food too - but he has low tone and oral sensory issues. at 7 months old - i would just keep offering her veggies. we didn't even start to introduce solids to my son until he was almost 7 months - and we did it slowly to check for reactions and allergies. we skipped cereal - went straight to squash, sweet potatoes, then pears. something important to know is that it can take at least 10 times (up to 21) to introduce a new food to a baby/child before they start to like it. don't give up!!! just keep offering it, make sure you are eating veggies too so that it is modeled for your child and offer a variety of tastes and textures so that her taste buds 'learn' to like the taste of veggies - not the butter on the veggies. :-)

My second child only ate bananas forever. I had to mix everything with bananas to get her to eat anything else. I would suggest mixing some vegetables with the things that she will eat. Do a tiny bit at first, then gradually increase. The good news is that my pickiest baby is the most adventureous eater now. (she is six) Good Luck!

Hi K.! Don't give up just yet. There are a lot of Mom's that will offer suggestions. I am the mother of 6 children. The youngest is 13 yrs old now. A big family has been a wonderful experience but I did have to learn a few tricks along the way. When my babies would refuse their veggies (the greens) I would try a little fruit on the spoon with them. Put the veggies on the spoon and then cover lightly with fruit! It may not sound very tasty but for me it worked! Another thing that I tried as I became more experienced was to steam fresh vegetables and put them in a baby food grinder to puree. The taste is different than jarred food and contains more vitamins and minerals!

I am very thankful that as part of our prenatal classes, they taught us on child care beyond newborn. When they discussed feeding, they told us to be careful feeding our child fruits because this very thing could happen. They develop a sweet tooth and refuse to eat anything else.

Since at 7 months, her primary nutrition still comes from formula or breastmilk, you don't really have a nutritional issue yet. Maybe you could try only offering her veggies at meal time. Don't even offer her a bottle. Then if she keeps refusing, give her a bottle. She will realize that it's veggies or nothing. Try a variety of veggies. My daughter would eat everything but green beans. No matter how many times we tried, she wouldn't take it. All other veggies she was fine with.

It will take patient and endurance but you can still get her to eat her veggies. You just have to make it the only option right now besides milk.

Hi, K....I think all babies yuck on veggies after they get a taste of the fruit!! Just mix them together...more fruit than veggie...she won't know the difference and will eat it all!! Good luck...M. T

Hi K.,

I remember those days like yesterday even though it's been close to 30 years! I used to put the veggies on the spoon first and then add the fruit so it's the first thing the little one tasted. Probably a dirty trick, but it worked for us.

My husband is retired Air Force so we thank you for continuing our fight for freedom.

God Bless, ~V~

My middle son, (I have three boys), did the same thing. He would eat veggies until I started letting him have fruit. So, I mixed some of the veggies in with the applesauce or fruit and he ate them again. You may have to play with the combinations some to get her to eat them again, but don't give up. Their taste buds are kinda funny when they first start eating things they are not used to. Good luck!

My little one hated vegetables from the jar...some kids just don't like them. What I started to do was buying the normandy blend of vegetables at Walmart, I would steam the vegetables in chicken broth until soft, I then bought a hand held smoothie mixer and used that to smash them up. Girl you are talking about eating until she could no longer put anything else in her belly. You could even cut up some potatoes an put them in there or make it vegetable soup and add some rotini noodles. She will love this and let me tell you..it is cheaper. The big bag is like $6 or $7. When you feel you want her to start having meats(which would be okay around like 9mths..they say!!!) throw a little piece of chicken in there and let that all simmer until done, put some in a bowl, save the rest for later, blend it and there ya go!!! Hope you really try this...my little girl is 19 months old now and she still loves her soup..I just don't blend it anymore.. Very Healthy Little Meal.

Your daughter's palate will probably change as she grows. My daughter liked peas every other week! She probably gets most of the nutrients she needs from her formula or breastmilk anyway. You might ask the doc about this one.

K.,

Are you still nursing? If so, you don't really need to feed her anything else for another few months. I didn't give my girls any food until 9 months and then I started with real banana.

Also, I never gave them store bought canned baby food. Anything that we ate, I used a baby grinder and ground it up for them. Have you ever tasted the canned & jarred baby food? It tastes terrible!

I hope this helps,
K. B.

Hi K.! I have two suggestions that may help out. A little on my baby's background before I start- my 17 month old absolutely refuses ALL food (and throws up what little we ever give him), is fed through a tube straight into his belly, and spends a few days/week with a therapist working on his food aversions. The reason I brought that up is I know first hand that forcing a baby to eat something they refuse never works- i've tried it, it only makes them refuse more things, vomit, and pretty soon they will protest to the mere sight of a spoon! So to that my advise is to be extremely patient. Work to your little girl's strengths, keep feeding her the things she does like, but in very small amounts have her keep trying new. I've read that sometimes it can take up to 10 times of introducing a food before a baby will accept it!

Second, something more practical, I've read (and will try this myself when my baby gets there) have two bowls (one with something she already likes, the other with something new)and two spoons prepaired. Give her a couple bits of what she already likes, then give her a bite of what's in the new bowl. With large amounts of praise after she takes the bite of something new, go straight back to a couple of bites of the first food. Sorry this is so long winded, but just think of it all with this perspective- I can promise you she will not be in kindergarten eating just carrots and sweet potatoes! She'll get there with patience and support from you and your husband! And finally, one misconception I had was that babies just transition from formula/breast milk to solid foods and its fun and cute for everyone. In actuality it seems to me more moms struggle with this then you'd think, the gagging, vomiting, refusing. You're not alone.
A. B.
ps- after reading some of the other responses, I would not add kayro, salt, pepper, or especially splenda (only tested safe for adults) to your baby's food w/o checking first with your pediatrician.

When my baby was little, I would put some of a food he didn't like on the spoon with one he did, like green beans and applesauce. I'd start out with a lot of the food he liked with only a little of what he didn't, and slowly increase it with each spoonful. You can also try thickening the food with rice cereal or thinning it with water to improve consistancy and mouth feel. Just keep trying, she'll come back to the veggies eventually, but it might take lots of tries. Also keep trying other veggies, you might be surprised what she finds tasty!

K.,
I know when I was little my mom always put a little butter and a little salt/pepper, just to give it some taste. Hope all works out for you!
R. G

K.--when my son was smaller he also preferred fruits over veggies (and still does). Think about it...fruit is so much sweeter than veggies, therefore more appealing. My son's pediatrician told me that you sometimes have to give a food up to 15 times before it is accepted. I know it sounds crazy (15 times! If you don't like something when you first try it you don't try it 14 more times!), but it really works. Also, you can't show any dislikes against foods yourself. If you are giving her carrots and you don't like carrots, and you show that, she is naturally going to want to do the same thing that mommy is doing, and that is not eat the carrots. But, don't worry, if you cannot get her to eat her vegetables and she does eat fruit (I can't keep it in the fridge long enough to spoil) she is probably getting good nutrients from the fruit. You may also want to try the mixed fruits and veggies baby food (like apricot, mango and carrots). This way you can sneak the veggies in and she is none the wiser. But, you should always speak to her pediatrician if you have concerns. That is what they are there for. Hope this helps.

Have you try (Honey) on some thing's see what she does?

Have you tried giving her real vegetables she can pick up and feed herself? Mine did the same thing, until she realized she could feed them to herself - now she eats lots of vegetables. Just make sure they are soft enough she can't choke on them (i.e. canned green beans, asparagus, cooked squash or zucchini, even mashed potatoes). Oh, and don't give her fruits to feed herself with. The only fruit I allow my daughter to feed herself is banana. Otherwise, she loves the opportunity to feed herself and it's really good for her, too. She's 9 months now, but we've been doing this since about 7 months and it works great!

I wouldn't worry to much about it. My little one is the same way. Just keep trying to give her the sweeter vegetables and I bet she will eventually start eating them.

Hope that helps,
A.

Hi K., I am also a young mom and trust me I had the same problem with my daughter at that age and guess what? she is 2 now and has been intoduced to sweets by grandparents... I'm going through it again. I think it is importaint to get our children use to healthy foods now so once they are on their own thay will contintue to be healthy. Anyway what I did with Elli at that age was I mixed some fruit she liked with a veggie and little by little added more veggie. And also at one point I just gave up fruit FOR MOST OF THE TIME. I just found ways to make her food more flavorful. Like Ellie LOVED oven roasted broccoli, still does but I blended it then :) Broccoli, olive oil, and small amounts of seasonings. But you will be amazed how much flavor is added with grilling or roasting veggies and you can blend chicken or something with it so its thicker and more filling. But before spending the night with grandma and granda she still loved all the same foods. She has fruit now too but with dinner and meals its veggies snake time if for fruit so now she knows the difference.

hey

mine kids decided they didnt like veggies either so puree them and put them into something else. They can't tell the difference

I'm the mother of three and the grandmother of 4 children. The problem you mentioned is not uncommon. Babies are like you and me. They love sweets.
When my children balked at vegetables, after introducing them to sweets, I would add just enough of the fruit to change the flavor, gradually cutting back until they would eat both. Hope this suggestion works for you.
Geraldine H.

give her vegies off your plate. By 7 months both of mine were spitting thier baby food out.

I switched to feeding them from the table.

Try mixing a very little bit of applesauce baby food into the veggie baby food...then slowly reduce the amount until she only gets the vegetables. I had to mix. People suggested adding sugar, but I didn't want to b/c I thought my kids would expect sweet vegetables every time and then they'd not eat their veggies at all one day. Good luck!

Mix 1/2 jar of baby fruit (or a little less) with 1/2 jar of veggies (or a little more). It will give the veggies the "sweet" taste they like. I did this for my girls to eat the spinach. Carrots have a natural sweetness. My girls loved those. Hope this helps!

K.,

Try adding some Kyro syrup to your daughter's vegetables. The syrup makes it a bit of a sweet taste so it might help her think she is eating fruits. That is what I used for my daughter. I did use to make her baby food, but then life got up with me and I began putting the syrup in the jar veggies as well. She didn't know the difference. Good luck to you and your husband. Girls are wonderful, but beware of the twos and threes. That's when the full blown attitude starts. Mine is 4 going on 16. Take care!

K.

Hey,
I also have a 7 month old little boy. Im lucky he loves
all food so far, but not crazy about peaches.
But, what you could do is try to mix it up a little.
Maybe mix in vegetables with some of her fruit. It cant
hurt to try. My mom told me that when I was
little I turned yellow/orange because I wouldn't eat
anything but carrots, sweet potatoes, all yellow/orange
food. Good luck!

Have you tasted baby food vegtables? If not you should and you will know why she don't like them. I had the same sort of problem with my chidren, I found that mashing what ever I ate for meals (carrots, potatoes, green beans etc) what ever can be mashed or pureed enough for the baby, is easier to get them to eat.............good luck. This advice came from my Mom exactly the same way and when I tasted it....yuck....I never fed them that again, and they have always been very healthy and remember this came from advice from way back when there was no such thing as jarred baby food and as you know it taste much better, I couldn't get either one of my kids to eat baby food, my son absolutly refused to eat it even cereal and my daughter was nearly the same way

Hi K.!

Don't worry I've been there, I have 4 kids and they were all different with their food preferences, actually I had the same problem with my last one who is now a year old, I even took her to the doctor to see if there was anything wrong with her stomach, but the doctor told me not to worry as long as she is eating something and drinking her milk she'll be ok..., so don't you worry, your baby will start eating her veggies when she gets a lil older... good luck!

Vicky :-)

I'm sure she still likes the vegetables, she just isn't expecting that taste now. I know sometimes when my daughter had 2 different foods on her plate, both of which she liked, if she was eating one of the foods, then accidentally picked up a piece of the other food, she would spit it out! She likes it, she just didn't want/expect that taste at the time.

Perhaps try to feed her the vegetable first, then after a few tries if if fails, give her some of the fruit. Then try the vegetable again after the fruit, or at the next feeding.

My husband is also military (currently Army National Guard, also has been active Army), so I too thank you AND your husband for your service! :)

Hi! If you are feeding her veggies out of a jar, try steaming and pureeing some. The have a much better flavor. Nothing wrong with the stuff in the jar, but making baby food is easy too. You just need a metal steamer basket(less than $10) and a blender or food processor. You put water in a pot with your steamer basket on top. Make sure water doesn't come through into the basket. Put whatever veggies you'd like in the basket. Cover. Bring water to a boil and steam veggies until soft. Then dump them in the blender or food processor and puree. You can freeze the excess in small portions (ice cube trays then put in a freezer baggie) or keep in the fridge for no more than a week. When I started making homemade baby food for my 1st son last year, I was amazed at how flavorful steamed veggies were. You should try it and serve some with your dinner not pureed.
Please don't use artificial sweeteners in your baby's food. There is plenty of research out there on the harmful effects of them. Applesauce is a great natural sweetener or honey (after 1 year old). Please contact me if you'd like more info. I am far from an expert, but I love making baby food and would be happy to talk about it with anyone. My son ate anything for the first year: avocado, beans, peas, carrots, squash (he really loved yellow squash, try that, zucchini, anything. Of course, after getting cake on his first birthday it's been all downhill. He's been picky off and on since then. He is still a very good eater, but he doesn't eat everything we put on his plate anymore. I'm not sure if it's taste or that he's enjoying expressing a choice (he's 17 ms.) The one thing I cannot get him to eat is eggs. If anyone can tip me on that, let me know.
Another thing you can do is mix veggies in with oatmeal, ground rice, etc. He loved pastas and cereals and I could mix them in there. I think he's a carb addict. :)
Best of luck and like others said, if she refuses something, wait a few days and try again. I've read several places that it takes kids up to 15 tries before liking or developing a taste for something new.
Best of luck. Please let me know if I can help in anyway. Thank you (your husband and your family) for your service to our country.