How to Get Toddlers to Eat Vegetable

My 4yr old is the pickiest eater. I get him veggies through juice. V8 and the harvest jucie juice. That gives him his veggies and i don't have to stress over him not eating them like he should.

My kids love to dip stuff, so ranch dressing with raw veggies might work. I've also given them the veggies first and told them they could have the rest of their dinner when the veggies are done - not angry, just matter of fact. Also, I found that my kids will munch on anything in front of the TV (not something to be proud of, I know). I've cooked some frozen veggies in the microwave and gave them the bowl while they were watching Mickey Mouse. That also seems to work when we are running errands - they are bored so eating lima beans out of a baggie gets an extra serving in and keeps them occupied. Hope that helps some!

Meredith
www.thebabybumstore.com

I agree with the others. Just keep offering them, but don't force him to eat them. (It's okay to encourage him to try them.) Make sure that you're eating your veggies and letting him know that you like them.

Also, try some new veggies or things in a different form -- frozen, fresh, canned (no salt added), etc. Two of my kids really like bell peppers and cucumbers. Another can't get enough sweet potatoes. One loves canned (no salt) green beans and will sometimes eat half a can at a meal. Another loves to nibble broccoli "trees."

Make veggies fun...
-- Offer a dip like ranch dressing, peanut butter, or applesauce. Cooked veggies can even be dipped in ketchup or mustard.

-- Serve them as an "appetizer." My kids went through a phase where they'd eat just about anything if I called it an appetizer. :-) I'd set some reheated peas from the previous night's dinner (or raw carrots or whatever we had) on the table a few minutes before lunch or dinner, and they'd gobble them up. Usually, they'd grab a couple on their way through the kitchen and just keep playing, then come back for a few more.

-- Serve them with toothpicks. Kids love to try new things, and eating with toothpicks can be really fun.

-- Make mini-sandwiches at dinner. My oldest would eat anything in sandwich form when she was about 2 years old. We'd serve a meat, veggie, and some bread. Then, we'd help her tear off tiny pieces of bread and put in a small piece of meat and veggie to make a bite-size sandwich. She loved it!

Hope that gives you a few more ideas!

Hi S.,

I have the same problem at times with my son who is 23 months. I saute or steam veggies and add them to ground turkey or ground beef and make meat/veggie burgers. He loves them! I have also been successful (although not at the moment) with pancakes that have one or two veggies in them (I've used kale, sweet potatoes, potatoes, or squash).

If you have challenges when he's a bit older, these tips may help. Now that my little guy is a bit older, I can begin to reason with him. Sometimes I bargain with him asking him to take a bite of X before I give him a bite of Y (usually bread or something healthy but he really enjoys). I have also been incredibly successful recently telling him that horses (his current favorite animal) eat carrots (umm ... but I also tell him cauliflower or any other vegetable that I'm trying to feed him that day).

The advice I was given by a parent consultant included: 1. Make sure you are setting an example and eating your veggies. 2. Keep trying and keep offering because eventually they will eat some. 3. It is not your responsibility to make your child eat--it is only your responsibility to offer healthy choices at consistent times. The consultant added that no toddler has ever starved him/herself.

Good luck and God Bless,
Julia

My daughter will eat anything with red sauce on it!! I have made spaghetti sauce with tomato sauce spinich purred carrots. Or whatever u can think of. I even used brocolli once. It works wonders. Add cheese to it too.
I have s friend who is on the south beach diet and he adds spaghetti sauce to his green beans and parm cheese. I thought it sounded odd but it tastes pretty good.

Here are a couple ideas, I hope they help.

Try green smoothies... mix fruit (your choice but banana, apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, etc work well) and a little bit of spinich or arugula in a blender. The smoothie tastes like the fruit with the added boost of vitamins from the greens. Great breakfast for you and the kids!

Also juicing has the same hidden benefit for veggies. I hide veggies in my kid's juice when we use our juicer. They never even know. Getting raw fruit and veggies is very healthy and these both can be great ways to get them their veggies without the fight.

Also try zuccini bread (or you can use the pulp from juicing in bread, soups, chili, etc.) I use my blender and blend the pulp or other veggies for soup and chili with water into a liquid and no one is the wiser.

Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions.

www.HealthyUBiz.com
www.greenmoms4kids.blogspot.com

Jerry Seinfelds wife wrote a cook book on how to get children to eat their veggies...http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com/site/ This is the website for her book. She cooks veggies in with 'yummy' stuff. I think she puts sweeet potatoes in with brownies and the kids cant taste the veggie! Hope this helps!!!

Check out Jerry Seinfeld's wife's cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious." It is all about hiding the vegetables for picky eaters. Some of the recipes are really great! I want to teach my son to eat his vegetables, but I am married to a man who doesn't like to eat his! This is a good way to make sure everyone gets their veggies. Even if you don't want to disguise the vegetables, there are some great recipes in there (like zucchini cake) that are just good and have more vitamins in them than typical cakes. Check it out!

Try, "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food (Spiral-bound)". It's a cookbook that hides veggies in all sorts of things...;-)...

My 16 month-old doesn't very much care for green beans, but peas are pretty popular. She's funny about texture, though, so we get those in her through the Gerber DHA spring vegetable purees (which she'll eat with a spoon and lots of help) or freeze dried peas (hard to find, but she loves the crunch). Last night we gave her a stalk of broiled asparagus (with a little salt, pepper and olive oil). She tasted the top and then just put it down on her tray instead of trying to throw it away, which is what she does with anything she really doesn't like. We'll just keep offering whatever veggies we're eating, and the rule in our house is that you have to at least taste everything on your plate at each meal. My Mom said that she discovered that while one day my Sister and I would hate something and the next day we would gobble it down. I've also had success putting 1/4 carrot juice, 1/4 apple juice and 1/2 water in her sippy cup, since she doesn't like cooked or raw carrot sticks. She loves that juice, and the flavor hides the liquid vitamin I also stick in there.

I know it's not the "healthiest" way to get veggies in but the new V-8 Fusions are pretty good. I'm not a veggie eater myself, actually very picky eater, but I love these. They good tasting juice and you get in a fruit and a veggie serving with each cup!

For toddlers, I would make sure that the vegetables are well-cooked and easy to chew.
I think that providing small, bite-sized pieces to eat with the fingers is the best way to encourage eating vegetables.
Peas, corn, grean and wax beans, baked beans, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots,etc.
And today I had some zucchini and carrots prepared in a way that I think might appeal to kids.
There were "strings" of zucchini and carrots which were sauteed in a little oil until tender and they were very good.
The only thing is, I don't know how they got them into "strings"....I mean, it was really like thin noodles.
There must be some tool to use.....I will have to ask and look when I go shopping for kitchen tools.
Simple and inexpensive frozen mixed vegetables (peas, corn,green beans etc.) are easy to fix and give to toddlers.

One thing you can try is to give him Mash Potatoes and put ice cream sprinkles on them (sounds gross) but it seems to work for my boys who don't care for potatoes. Or with Green Beans- try them fresh(raw)they are just as good. When I get them I have one son who will eat a ton as long as I don't steam or cook his.

Hope this helps..
Kathy

hi S.....what about Broccli with melted cheese? fresh or frozen green beans, can green beans are Nasty! what about vegi soup? i know its not as healthy, but i do put butter on all my vegis. peas do taste good mixed with mac and cheese, throw in a can of tuna also..very nummy..and carrots cooked in alil bit of butter and brown sugar (canned carrots). GL :)

Offer, offer, and offer! My dd just recently started eating green beans. We've been trying to get her to eat them forever and one day she just ate one. You can offer a dip with the veg, like ranch or cheese. I know it's not the healthiest thing, but it may get him to at least try the vegetables.

Lots of good advice from others! One thing I haven't seen posted is Trader Joe's has crunchy green beans that are lightly salted. They are tasty. My 3 year old loves them!!

We all feel your pain. You just have to keep putting the veggies in front of them. It's our job to put the good foods in front of them and it's their job to eat it. That being said, we all know your frustration!
Sweet potato fries are pretty easily accepted veggie in my house. You can find them in the freezer section or make them yourself. We also serve "Pac Man" carrots. I just slice up raw carrots and then make a little Pac Man mouth. It worked and he ate them up b/c he just played Pac Man with daddy the day before! Make it fun. Keep putting the veggies in front of them but don't make it a power struggle 'cause you'll lose! Try different ones - you never know what they're going to like.

I started my children on veggies after cereals when they were babies. Most veggies are not real sweet and therefore not a favorite. The results were pretty good, we couldn't keep up with mashing broc, cauli, asparagus, etc. for the youngest one.
Naturally with age comes some other ideas. We found out it has to do with textures as well as taste. French style green beans went over better than cut ones, he would eat raw carrots but not cooked ones, creamed corn is a no-no, give him a cob and let him chew. We also found as disgusting as it sounds that peas, etc., seemed to go down easier if mixed in mashed potatoes.
Just a few suggestions.

You could try Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook "Deceptively Delicious". It is loaded with veggies, and some of the recipes are really yummy.

When my oldest was a toddler (he'll be 12 in 2 weeks) I had the same concerns. My Ped said to just keep offering them, and make a big deal about how much YOU enjoy eating the veggies when you are sitting at the table as a family. NONE of my 4 kids would eat their veggies until about 3-4 months before their second birthday. Then each one of them just picked up a vegetable and ate it willingly! They all started with Spinach, for some odd reason :) I never have had any veggie battles to date, and all I ever did was over-exaggerate how much I was enjoying MY vegetables!
Good luck to you
~Jessa