Won't Eat Veggies Anymore

Good fats and proteins are actually probably more important than veggies. If she'll eat meats and eggs, that's great! Will she eat avocado? Or can you make a smoothie for her with mostly things she likes and add in some carrot or avocado?

Hi - I have to recommend this book, it is excellent and definitely worth it! And it's not something you need to read cover to cover, you can skim it and sift for the sections that apply to what you're dealing with. It will change how you think about feeding your kids. It's by Ellyn Satter (I believe that's her name), and it's called "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love & Good Sense." Good luck!

Hide them. It doesn't matter how. There are a bunch of books out there - The Sneaky Chef (more about feeding healthy food to men but it can be adapted) and Deceptively Delicious (all about kids) are the ones with the most publicity. If you can't use the whole book, maybe borrow them from the library and copy down a few key recipes?

I raised 2 stepdaughters and 1 son, and hid a lot of things in their food. It wasn't worth the argument, believe me! Later on, I would casually tell them what they'd been eating for years, but don't do it too early or they will start to be suspicious of everything you put in front of them.

If they figure out the healthy diet by their teen years, it will have a big impression on them in plenty of time for when they are making their own decisions. If they've been eating a certain way for years, they will make those choices. They really don't have to understand it at 2 or 4 or 8. You're still controlling the vast majority of what they eat, either thru what you cook or what you pack for school lunches.

Anything you can do in the meantime to make meals FUN is fine, but don't worry. Just get the food into her!

As she gets older, she may find that dipping vegetables in something else is really fun (low fat ranch dressing, hummus). Same goes for fruit into yogurt or apples into peanut butter.

I mixed a lot of tofu into the ricotta or cottage cheese for lasagna. Vegetable purees are great - put butternut squash into the mac & cheese, spinach puree into the pasta sauce, cauliflower puree in the mashed potatoes, and so on.

I saved the water from steamed vegetables (You know, that half inch of nice green liquid from broccoli or spinach?) and used it to make rice or couscous, anything that absorbed all the water. Freeze it until you have enough. (Don't waste it on pasta, where most of the water is drained off.)

My son liked falafel too - I used a mix, then reduced the spicy flavor by adding whole wheat bread crumbs, wheat germ, flax seed, and so on.

I added spinach into burgers - he thought it was parsley and he ate it, but if that hadn't worked, I'd have used a puree. I've also added beans (kidney, refried) into burgers and meatloaf. Mash it up and he had no idea.

I make his still-favorite pancakes with whole grain flour, ground flax seed, protein powder, wheat germ, blueberries and eggs - add a little real maple syrup and it's heaven! I make a really thick French toast batter out of soy milk, protein powder and eggs, then use a whole grain bread, preferably one with air holes which absorb more of the batter. Put cinnamon in the batter and add a little more when the toast is on the griddle or in the fry pan. The nice brown color covers up the fact that you're using whole grain bread!

My son devours it. He's 19 and a championship runner, so he's getting something good in his diet!

Both the French toast and the pancakes can be made in batches, then frozen with a sheet of wax paper in between - it's easy to pop out the piece you need.

He didn't know what was in most of the food until he was about 14. He learned about the veggie water and tofu earlier. It was always fun to sit in the pediatrician's office for his annual check-up - she would ask him what foods he ate, and he would list about 3 things in each category (veggie, fruit, etc.). She would say "What about X or Y?" He's say "no" and I'd say, "Well, I have a little confession to make." Or I would just slip her a list to add it into the record, without telling him everything. By then, he couldn't deny that he loved the food - just make sure that your child has been eating for at least a year before you tell!

My son thinks it's pretty funny now. He makes the healthiest choices you could ever imagine - no soda and no caffeine, no alcohol (really - I'm not deluding myself!), very few cookies, lots of whole grains and low fat meat. At college, if he doesn't like the cooked veggie they serve, he goes thru the salad bar and picks green and red peppers, carrots, etc. He's not big on lettuce, but who cares? The vitamins and major fiber are all in the add-ons anyway.

Good luck!

There is a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld that shows you how to hide veggies in just about any food. She does it with purees. It is worth checking out, but she also says that you should keep offering them veggies as usual as well. All of my children have done the same thing that yours is doing. My 11 year old eats a well balanced diet, my 8 year old hates veggies and my four year old usually asks for more veggies, but they each went through a phase when they did not want to eat them. My 18 month old twins are in a no-veggie phase as well. I just keep offering and eventually they will eat them. But if you are worried, check out the book.

At 13 months, she is too young for hard, uncooked veggies, but I'd try some soft or cooked veggies with a little bit of Ranch dip or hummus. My oldest eats veggies with everything, dip, hummus, even ketchup! I used to think I'd NEVER let her do that, but I realized that as long as she was getting the veggies, the equivalent of a tablespoon of dip or extra ketchup won't hurt her (hummus is very good for you, too, full of protein!). Try boiling carrots so she can use her fingers and feed herself. At her age, it is important developmentally, but kids that age also feel so independent when they feed themselves! You can do the same with beans, broccoli, etc.

I have to say I agree with you in terms of the "hide the veggies" thing... I am not a big proponent of that and have never done that with either of my girls. I see you work full-time too, as do I, and the time it takes to prepare these veggie combos that you put into regular food is not something any working parent can easily fit in to an already jammed life. That was the biggest turn-off for me! I'm glad I never went that route, even when my kids were in the veggie refusal stage like your daughter, because now they eat them daily and it's not a big fight and struggle. Hang in there, and by the way, you are doing GREAT! You will NOT do her damage if she doesn't eat vegetables for a while, don't worry!!

Ahhh the joys of a toddler. Sounds like she's going through the terrible twos early ;). Here's the thing at this age kids don't have the language to express what they want and they are trying to be more independent. If she doesn't eat all her veggies it's not a huge deal. I think if you just continue to offer her a balanced meal she'll be fine. You can try adding things to add some flavor to the veggies. A little cheese on top of them won't hurt her. Cut them into fun shapes even. Put it next to something she really likes. Give her a few bites of what she likes and then give her a bite of the veggies. Honestly though at this point you've gotta pick your battles. If she takes a few bites of the veggies, but doesn't clean her plate that's fine.

M.

First of all, don't worry. Kids this age can thrive on air and a few bites of cheese (or at least it seems that way some times). And if eating veggies is the one thing you screw up as a mom, you still get an A++! Seriously, the first thing you should try to do is banish the agony, because it's not going to make a whit of difference in what she eats and you're just going to be torturing yourself.

I would say just keep offering her veggies and see what she eats. Have you tried really well cooked "grown-up" veggies? Broccoli, snap peas, cauliflower, green beans, etc? She might just be wanting something different. We gave my son canned carrots for a while because they were mushy enough for him to eat without me having to cook carrots for what seemed like three hours! Still, he's not a big veggie eater. The one thing he'll always go for is edamame (soybeans). You can get them at Trader Joes. Even the picky eaters I know seem to like them.

Still, if she keeps refusing her veggies, don't fight about it. Offer a little bit with every meal and eventually she'll come around and/or you'll find ones she likes. At the end of the meal we'll offer fruit, especially if he hasn't eaten his veggies, and he'll almost always gobble that up.

Finally, I don't know if I'd go the "hide the vegetable" route, only because it sets up so much more work for you. But if you can sneak some in other ways - spinach and cheese ravioli instead of just cheese, some tomato chunks on pizza or in pasta sauce, vegetable noodle soup, etc., then you could try that.

I hope you keep giving them to her. my daughter did something similar at about that age and I gave in and didn't push the issue, now she is 7 years old and won't eat fruits or vegetables at all. she freaks if a vegetable makes it onto her plate at restaurants. i took the easy way out when she was one and have been paying for it since. good luck

I would hide it in her food. She is not going to understand a balanced diet now anyway. She is more likely to learn this from watching you eat a balanced meal. Every kid I know resists a balanced meal, so don't feel like you messed up.

Hi E.,
No Worries! Go ahead and hide veggies in her food! The desired result here is that yo want her to be healthy and eat a balanced diet. Right now she is probably just staging a protest. Later, she will learn to enjoy veggies.

I used to mash up carrots, butternut squash, even asparagus and put it in my daughter's mac and cheese, spaghetti sauce, rice, etc. She is a healthy 10 year old now and begs for Brussels sprouts, squash, and all kinds of veggies (except asparagus... but that's okay she is entitled not to like some things!). When she got a little older, there were always veggies on her plate-- whatever we were eating usually or if we were having asparagus I would cook a few brocolli pieces with it for her. She usually ate what veggies we gave her, but if she didn't, that was okay because she would probably eat them the next day (nutritionists say kids get their nutrition over the course of a week, not specifically day to day.

Anyway, relax and good luck. Just get the nutrition in her now, and worry about the lessons later.
C.

I totally agree with the sneaking idea...works great with my 2 year old. Also, a daily multivitamin puts my mind at ease.