How Do I Get My Son to Eat Veggies?????

D.,
Here is a great link for food for toddlers...
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/solids.htm

Good luck. :)

HI
I didn't even give fruits until we went through all the different veggies first. Now both my girls 3 and 1 eat every veggie. My friends can't stand it. Try the sweet veggies like carrots and sweet potato.
Good Luck

Hi D.,
Here is a great trick that my mom taught me, and I have even tried it on other kids in the neighborhood and everyone loves it!
Make spaghetti at least 2 times a week and if he will eat that, try this:
While the water for the pasta is boiling and while the pasta is cooking, also boil a hand full of carrots in a separate pot the whole time everything else is on the stove. When it is done, take some of the spaghetti sauce and put it into a blender, and add the carrots. The sauce will look kind of orangish, but when you mix it all together it's not as noticable. Also, if you do that every time, all the members of the family will be used to it.
I also do this when I make pasta with alfredo sauce. It makes it an orange color too, but my kids used to ask for it at least 2 or 3 times a month. They loved it and still do (they are now 11 and 12 and will eat veggies on their own now) My son will eat just about every veggie there is except broccoli.

I have also tried this, but it's not as good: add vegetable boullion to things like spaghetti, soups, etc.

I think if you serve the V8 Splash juices (with veggies in it) that would be good for them too.

Good luck!
A. in Boynton
www.BurnLounge.com/soflorida

I also have a 7 month old bouncing baby boy - what a great age!! I have found that if I add fruit to his veggies that it is much more appetizing. I add applesauce to sweet potatoes, pears with chicken, squash and pears, etc.. he really loves friut so it helps to add somwthing he likes to new veggies. I have found that once he gets used to the new flavors that he will eat some without the fruit. Best of luck!!

Is your son able to eat solid food? My daughter wouldn't eat the jarred version of many veggies... especially the green ones. She does, however, love to feed herself and will eat steamed green beans (cooled of course), carrots, peas, etc... There is a sweet potato casserole jarred food that is very sweet (Beechnut) and a broccoli and cheese (Stage 3 Gerber) that is yummy, too. She's always loved the orange veggies: squash, sweet potato, corn, carrots... they tend to be sweeter... If YOU taste them, you know... the green ones were horrible!!!
Good luck.

What I did with my kids is act as if veggies were a great dessert. As they got older I still had to put it on their plates last or they wouldn't eat any other part of their dinner. Now they are 13 and 11 and love vegetables more than I do. I hope this helps.

K.

At 7 months old I wouldn't stress too much about what he is eating. All kids have their preferences. My one year old daughter won't eat most fruits. I just keep offering a different variety and a combination of blended foods and finger foods. Alot of babies will eat foods they can feed themselves, just make the veggies well cooked and small pieces. If he is growing and gaining weight well, he is getting what he needs. Eventually he will eat all the food groups. You want to keep food and eating an enjoyable non-stressful event. Good luck!

DIP COOKED BROCCOLI IN CHEESE. DIP COLD CARROTS, CELERY, CALLIFLOWER, AND BROCCOLI IN RANCH. DIP CELERY IN PEANUT BUTTER. FIX UP SALADS WITH GOOD FOR YOU FOODS AND PUT THEIR FAVORITE DRESSING ON IT, SLOWLY DECREASING THE DRESSING. SQUASH-FRY BATTER AND FRY IT-DON'T TELL THEM WHAT IT IS. VEGETABLE SOUP IS A CLASIC FAVORITE! PUT THEM IN SAUCY MEALS LIKE ALFRADO PASTA. GOOD LUCK

D.,
I would feed him what your eating. Smash it form your plate to his mouth. He will see it's what you have and be eating the same thing.

My daughter did the same thing. Try mixing the veggies with fruit. The babysitter even mixed green veggies with peaches to get her to eat it. I thought it was gross but it worked. That was the only way to get her to eat green veggies. She still never ate green beans or the gerber dinners, though she liked the stage 2 simple dinners like sweet potatoes and turkey, carrots and beef, or apples and ham, etc. Don't fret. Just keep trying. :-)

Hello,

All you have to do is put the veggies on the spoon and then dip the tip of the spoon in fruit.
He will taste the fruit 1st and probably not notice the veggies until its too late.

My mom did it with one of my sisters.
so I know it works....the only down fall is that it will probably be the only way he will eat veggies but if he is not eating them at all then that shouldnt matter.

hope it helps,
S.

Hi, my son is 13 months old and still will not eat veggies! I have tried him with everything and he still refuses to eat any of them....he is physically wretching!
I am concerned about this but am just trying every few days and hoping he will eventually take to them.

My husband actually watched my first child for the first half of his first year while I worked full-time, and this is what he did to get him hooked on veggies.

First, when he was ready to feed by mouth, my husband started him with carrots instead of apple sauce or bananas. Because he liked carrots and was familiar with the color, my husband went onto squash and sweet potatoes. He chose peas next because they were the sweetest of the green veggies, and my son loved it. Only after he was accustomed to eating veggies did my husband start giving him fruits. To this day, my son, who's four now, clamors for broccoli, green beans, carrots, etc. and all without drowning them in butter or cheese.

My mother watched my daughter for the first six months of her life and she started her with veggies too although she also introduced her to more exotic fare as baby bok choy, bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts (my mother is Filipino). My daughter (who's two), just like my son, LOVES veggies. Her favorite is broccoli, which she eats straight up either cold or hot...it grosses her strictly-sweet eating cousins out. :)

In your case, I would suggest you get your child hooked on the sweeter veggies and then slowly work your way to the greens. It may be hard, but don't give up. I can tell you that whatever it takes, get your kids to eat veggies. All the younger kids in our extended family who don't eat veggies and fruits are way under the average norm for height and weight. The older kids have no problem gaining weight, but not the safe kind, and so end up being short and pudgy. From there, if they don't change their eating habits drastically, they're going to have a slew of health problems. Blessings to you and yours!

I had a very picky eater too... I found that if I made mashed potatoes I could put just about anything in there for her(spaghetti noodles worked well also)...Carrots, broccoli, beans and cauliflower were some of the easiest to use, they have the least flavor of most veggies and have no seed casings like corn does. Almost over cook the veggies so they are soft and run them through a baby food grinder, then mix them in with the mashed potatoes You may want to mix and match veggies for a different flavor. If you need them sweetend a bit for him, mix in some applesauce.

My son likes his veggies frozen. He loves corn & peas.

feed him a bite of fruit or something he likes and then feed him veggies...go back to fruit then veggies. go back and forth. my son wouldnt eat veggies either. that worked for me.

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't worry about it. My boys are 17 months old and I haven't been able to get them to eat many veggies since they went off baby food. At first I was able to "hide" it in cottage cheese, but then they started eating off the cottage cheese and spitting out the veggie! My pedi said not to worry too much- all toddlers are picky and he's known some who survive off mac & cheese. Plus, I read that as long as they are eating fruits, fruits & veggies are in the same food group, so it's not a big deal. I just give them veggie crackers, carrot wheels, veggie puffs, and Target sells all natural veggie chips.

Good luck & don't stress out!
K. :)

Hi D. G. I kind of had that problem, at first, too. What I did was started out by mixing applesauce with Squash, add a little cinnamon, too; you could mix peaches with sweet potatoes; bananas with corn....you just have to get creative. I know it sounds gross, to us...but they love it b'c they are still getting their "sweet", but also getting the veggies, too. I also used to put a little cinnamon in the sweet potatoes. IT worked really well, for us. Try it out and see. Oh...and you can try mixing any fruit with green beans....

GOod Luck.
L.

I'll tell you I read this in a magazine and it WORKED! Put sprinkles(orlet them shake them with help of course!) to make the veggiew more fun to eat! It really worked. Don't go over board though! ALso I found with my 1st son, he loves ketchup so I gave him ketchup with veggies for dipping and it worked!

Hope this helps!

dont worry! I think that most kids dont eat veggies...if you are really concerned ask your pediatrition about vitamin drops..other than that I wouldnt worry too much

He might not like the taste of the gerbers. Have you tried making the food yourself? I know it sounds like more work as if you weren't busy enough but for example. If I wanted to give my daughter a sweet potato at that age. I would just buy one and cook it until it was really mushy, then feed it to her just as I would baby food. Don't be afraid to get creative they make a great baby food maker super cheap so you can create your own stuff. It may be that he just doesn't like the taste of the jared meals.. Good Luck and don't give up trying!

Try mixing it with his cereal, if he likes it with fruit then give it a shot. Also when he gets a little bigger try giving him the veggies that gerber grads makes. I'm not sure of the age group they are for also another thing my youngest loved (when she was about 12 months and older) was frozen peas. Sounds crazy but she loved them :) Hope that helps alittle bit :) Good Luck!