Toddler Diet

Cheese cheese and more cheese! Cover the veggies in cheese.
My boys love to drink V8 - that counts right?
We call broccoli little trees and put shredded cheddar on top.
HTH!

Hi J.,

Does she just dislike them at the moment? When my son was a baby, I gave him every veggie and he'd eat them all. When he was around 2 years old, he wouldn't touch them. Now he likes to eat them again (he turned 3 in January). My sister's son is going through the same thing. I really think it could just be a picky phase. Just make sure to have veggies at lunch and dinner and offer them at snack time. Even if there is only one veggie, like broccoli, that she will eat, keep giving it to her.

Good luck!

Hi J.! My little guy already started the veggie protest, but for some reason if I very finely chop the vegetables and mix them together they’re more palatable to him. He mostly rejects anything green so I always add carrots or tomatoes to the mix. Also, when desperate, I add just a tiny squirt of salad dressing to the veggie mix to help blend the tastes. He will eat any kind of salad that way. Good luck!

Yeah, my son is 15 months and doesn't like veggies very much. He only eats zucchini...go figure. So I just give him that. Maybe just keep trying different ones or cooking them with a little cheese. One thing I heard and I'm going to try is to grate up carrots and put them in pasta sauce or in mac n cheese. Also, you could offer things like zucchini bread or pumpkin bread...those types of things. Does he like tomato soup and grilled cheese? I think tomato soup counts. LOL! Also, I think those V-8 fruit juices are pretty good too.

My soon-to-be five year old did not eat ANY veggies until about a month before her fourth birthday. I seriously mean-NO VEGGIES!My ped kept telling me to put them on her plate at every meal and she would eventually try them. After years of doing this and having her refuse to eat until they were removed from her plate, she suddenly decided to try them. I found that she loves raw veggies or salads so that is what we stick with for her. She is offered cooked veggies because her siblings like them more but she refuses them. She eats a salad at least once a day and raw veggies with lunch and dinner. So there is hope for any child.

One thing we never did was to make a big deal out of it. When she would scream to have them removed, I did it and we went on to eat our meal. Also, once she started preschool, she became more willing to try different things. Many of the parents sent in veggies for snack time and they did a unit on healthy foods which really helped.

My son (who will be 3 in June) recently went through a phase were he would only eat spaghetti. I added diced tomatoes and finely chopped green pepper, celery and onions to the sauce. I would also add baby food to the sauce - carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas - just one at a time so I wouldn't alter the flavor too much. He never noticed.

My daughter who is 19 months isn't a big fan of veggies but she will eat them in vegetable soup. She seems to prefer softer veggies to crisp ones.

My daughter Miranda (3 1/2) is very difficult to feed fruit and veggies so I started stashing cauliflower and zuchinni in her mashed potatos. when you boil the potatos for 20 min throw in a peeled cubed zuchinni/and or chopped cauliflower and mash together then add your milk.. butter optional or just some sour cream. I even boil it in low sodium chicken stock and nix the butter most times. adding cheese is good too. We have tried everything with her . My husband lived off of hot dogs and cereal as a child so she gets it from him.
To get her to eat eggs I used to mash hard boiled egg whites in her rice so after a while she grew accustomed to the taste and will eat hard bouiled eggs now. SHe still refuses to eat fruit so I am stuck giving her applesauce and I make smoothies and popsicles with tupperware ice tups. She has broken down and is willing to eat frozen veggies in a mix carrot peas beans and corn and we buy it bulk at BJS and I she will eat corn on the cob now. Its fun if you cut the corn into toddler size pieces and get holders. another trick is the morning star farms chick nuggets and boca burgers. made to taste like meat but is veggie.
Finaly we also keep insisting she try new things several times to be more well rounded so she has to try what ever we eat with her 2 bites, and if she likes it I just so happen to have some for her. If not my husband will eat her tiny portion.
I tried the begging the angry mom etc and it just doesn't work so I now just follow the same routine every night. a small portion of mixed veggies easily heated in a minute in hot water a couple bites of what ever our veggies are and the meat we are eating. I also noticed she is more likely to try something if she helped prepare it.
We just had a son I just hope he is more into veggies. Miranda didn't start the picky eater thing until she was off baby food so with this one I am giving him what we eat ground up. I think it was that awful jarred squash that turned her against veggies.she used to eat everything, now its a challenge but I won't give up.
There's one more trick that helps. Her friend Carli eats veggies and salad and fruit.( I know her mom just nipped it in the bud early)I have enlisted her to put some peer pressure on her. That added carrots to the menu.
Hope this helps.
A.

I guess that you could add some into mashed potatoes, or mix it up with fruits and serve as a medley. Most kids love sweet potatoes, there is also corn cakes that are really good, though I am not great at making them. You can tell her that bunnies eat them too!It will pass soon though, "they" say kids need to try something 12 times before deciding if they like it or develope a taste for it. Glazed carrots are sure to get eaten!

J.,
I went through the same thing with my son as far as eggs. So i tried to be creative and made a quiche with broccoli which is his favorite vegetable. It worked like a charm and devoured almost the whole pie in 3 days so now it's a monthly staple here. If your daughter isn't allergic to eggs I would try a quiche.
In the larger scope of things I got the recipe from the toddler box it has some great recipes that are nutritious and guided for children. You can also get great cookbooks from the book store. When it comes to eating I usually give my son, 2 choices and the key thing is both choices are nutritious that way he's making the choice and it's not forced.
I hope this helps.
L.

I don't have the solution, but my daughter just turned one. She will not eat anthing with texture..ex....mashed potatoes, oatmeal etc... I have a problem wih her with vegetables as well. she will eat any type of fruit but not a single vegetable, I am still feeding stage 3 babyfood vegetables just to get them in her. My Dr. said it's fine to do that for now, he suggested making homemade soup. A friend of mine told me you can hide them in othe foods, like hoemade meatballs, meat loaf etc... I was thinking of buying veggie burgers and seeing how that goes over...Let me know if anything works....good luck.................

My almost 2-year-old is the same way. I just keep trying - it is hit or miss. Since he loves fruit & other foods, I try as best I can to hit the vitamins & minerals with a variety of foods he does eat. Whatever veggie the rest of us have for lunch or dinner, I still offer him. Sometimes he doesn't eat it at all, sometimes he takes a couple of bites, sometimes he eats all of it (in which case, I stick with that vegetable for a while). I have to admit, I don't mind putting butter or something on them either. My son is a skinny guy, so I'm fine with the added fat. He seems more receptive to some buttered veggies. Still loves & prefers his fruits!!