Seeking Ideas to Get 15 Mth Old to Eat

My 15 month old also has gone/is going through that stage. She used to be great about fruits and veggies but then decided she didn't like them anymore. One thing I have been doing is giving her at least one glass a day (6oz or so) of the Odwalla or Naked juice. They are more like smooties and seem to have some great vitamins. The mango ones, especially, have a lot of Vitamin A. Other than that, lots of fortified cereal and cereal bars which have pretty good vitamin content.

have you tried dipping the veggie mush in a fruit puree. My son is 13 months he used to like veggie chunks but now he only likes them smooshed and dipped in applesauce, or some other fruity mush. dont get too concerned about her low weight all kids are different. my son is very low on the weight scale and he eats 3 lbs of food a day (no lie i have been measuring)good luck. also steamed pureed veggies hide well in almost anything you can cook (use as pasta sauce, sandwich spread, in pancakes, wafffles, muffins and so on)

She will eventually eat, just keep giving her healthy options. Don't forget that she's also learning texture. With my first (now 2.5) I opened exactly one container of store bought baby food. I tried it myself, then fed it to him. The look on his face was priceless. I decided that if I wouldn't eat it, I wasn't going to feed it to him. I loved making all his food and got about 4-5 baby food cookbooks. Many of them can be modified for adult (salt, butter, etc...)eating. Good luck!

Does she enjoy fruit? She can get many of the nutrients she needs from fruit. My kids are also not great vegetable eaters.

-fruit smoothies
-any soft fruits(bananas, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon)all cut into bite size pieces of course.

-string cheese
-cut up whole wheat waffle
-yogurt
-pinto, black beans cut in 1/2
-muffins (pumpkin, carrot... you can find healthy muffin recipes that incorporate veges)
-baked, diced sweet potatoes

I highly recommend this book by Ellyn Satter "How To Get Your Kid To Eat... But Not Too Much". At least check out her website:

http://www.ellynsatter.com/articles.jsp?id=278

Hi, T.. My 2nd son is the same way with veggies and it's really annoying because my first son ate everything. I make acorn or butternut squash a lot. It's the one veggie he loves. I cut it in half, put raisins and/or apples or apples sauce in the holes where the seeds were and sprinkle it with cinnamon. Bake at 350(with some water in the pan) for about an hour or until it's soft. I also shred carrots, onion and celery and put it in a ground turkey meatloaf (I also use quick oats instead of bread crumbs or crackers). And I puree broccoli and put it in my spaghetti sauce (don't tell my husband). I've also noticed that my son will eat veggies if they are cooked in soup or stew. Sometimes if I make mashed potatoes and stir in some cooked peas and carrots, he'll eat that, too. Good luck and just keep putting the veggies on her plate! Eventually she'll eat it, right????

My first was a great eater. He's 4 and wants steak, broccoli, etc... First, relax. No kid has ever died from being picky. The more you tense up, the more your child does. It may be a power thing not a food thing.

That said, my second is picky. She loves something for weeks, then hates it. Wont do much meat and veggies. Loves carbs and sugar (argh!). She is 2.5 yrs..

To get more into her for calories (10% percentile weight), I use VRUIT. Its a veggie juice that has NO sugar added. I mix it with water for her other than whole milk drink. She gets calories and vitamins. I make sure to clean teeth/gums though due to the sugar occuring naturaly in it.

I also make lots of smoothies. VRUIT juice, frozen berries from costco (big bags) and a fresh banana. Sometimes if she needs the calories I add a natural, organic no sugar added yogurt (stonyfield). She loves these and thinks its a treat and I get all sorts of veggies in her this way. Whatever smoothie is left (I may have some too! good for colds!), I pour into popscicle molds and freeze for treats. She and my son love the popscicles as do the neighbors and it is healthy. No added sugar, lots of veggies. They have NO idea. Works good.

Just keep leaving out the veggies and she will eat eventually, let her be hungry... she will eat. Also be sure to let her SEE YOU eat them... maybe have afternoon snack always be fresh veggies. Make a big production out of it and you sit down and dip your veggies with her (a tea party) and she may try. If its the only snack available, she will eventually try as she will be hungry. Obviously you are not starving your child but there is nothing wrong with them learning what hunger is... oh, also, BIG veggies sliced thin can be then cut into nice shapes with cookie cutters, let her pick. She may like that too.... good luck.. relax... she may hate veggies until she is 18 or 28... ahahaha

I make fruit/veggie shakes for M. girls (now almost 2). For example today I made one w/ an apple, orange, banana, carrots & lettuce. Then add milk & ice. Blend til like a smoothie. Sometimes to sweeten it up, I'll add some yogurt. It's an easy way to get some greens into their diets without the fight! Let your daughter help by giving her some chunks of fruit to put in the blender. Good luck!

Buy the "Sneaky Chef" books. There are great easy recipes for sneaking veggies into everything.

Hi T.! This is totally normal! You can't force her to eat but DO keep offering her food. You could try steamed apples with cinnamon on them, carrots steamed in apple juice, cut up sweet potato fries, muffins with shredded carrot in them (have you heard of morning glory muffins?).
Whatever you do, DON'T offer her any V8 Splash. Another poster suggested that but it's full of sugar- I think it's only 10% juice!
You are on the right track with the vitamin. Try not to stress too much. I know she is little but as long as she is getting her vitamin and eating some she should be fine. The more we try to force our kids to eat, the less they want to comply. So, keep offering and one day she will shock you by eating her veggies!

My son will only eat veggies still frozen. Try giving her frozen corn or peas or edamame (a favorite) right out of the freezer. For my son it is a texture thing rather than an actual taste problem.

We do alot of dips...ranch dressing, honey mustard dressing, sour cream, yogurt, applesauce, etc.
I give him veggies at lunch and dinner. Lunch is usually peas, corn, and edemame beans with just a little italian dressing. Dinner is whatever we are eating. He loves steamed brocolli, baked then mashed sweet potato, roasted veggies (butternut squash, parsnips, carrots) Some things he likes raw (red,yellow,and green peppers, carrots) while other things must be cooked (brocolli) He really likes things whole...green beans, sandwiches, whatever...if you cut something he wont touch it :)

The main thing is not to make it a power struggle. Just offer different things (even things you may not like!) and have them try it. Something they hate one week they will love the next...and things they love one week they will hate the next! Always remember that their tummies are tiny and it only takes a little to fill them up...a serving of veggies is only like a 1/4 cup.

Good Luck!
N.

We buy my granddaughter the fruit/vegetable juice called Splash, I think. She loves the taste of it and it will help with the vegetables she refuses to eat. I also found that if she helps make it she will eat it better. Might have your daughter help put the vegetables on the plate or in the pan and then make a big deal on her "making" it during dinner.