My 3 Year Old Son Doesn't Eat Any Vegetable or Meat - Advice Needed

My 3 year old enjoys food in skewers. Try to see if he likes small pieces of fruit or meat on sticks.

We started taking Flintstones Complete vitamins when my son was 3. This is the only brand the pediatrician said to get. I would take one and my son would take 1/2 (they take 1/2 until they are 4 or 5). Maybe this will help?

Good luck!

Hi,
My children had a hard time eating veggies until I followed a suggestion from some kid's magazine. It said to arrange some vegetables on a small plate, in the shape of a silly face. I started a small carrot for the nose, 2 small round carrot slices for eyes, and a piece of celery for the mouth. After they got to liking to eat the 'face', I added more and more items: ears (mushroom slices), antennae (celery sticks), moustache (broccoli), hair (cauliflower). Be creative and have fun with it! Now both my children love veggies, and the 17 year-old still loves to eat the veggie faces, because she hates lettuce. Good luck. And you can also add in small pieces of meat for face parts.

This tip that someone gave me when my son wouldn't eat "anything" worked great. It gives them lots of exciting choices and is easy for Mom. Use a clean cupcake/muffin tin (the one with 6 holes)and put a little something in each cup. (you can even use the paper liners if that would help with clean up) Some suggestions, small cubes of cheese, small cubes of deli style turkey or ham or even hot dog cubed up. cherry tomatoes, grapes (cut in half so he won't choke)sliced black olives (weird but my kid loved these)then use the other 2 holes for dips...ketchup, ranch, teriyaki sauce whatever works! You can give him fancy cocktail toothpicks to let him pick up each item, it just makes it fun to try new things! Also we love the Juice Plus gummies. All your fruits/veggies including the whole food nutrition, phytonutrients, etc in a yummy gummy form! Oh I just remembered something I used to do with ground turkey. I would make tiny meatballs, like the size of a dice, and cook them in a skillet with some apple juice. Stir them around and the apple juice cooks away and sort of turns into a glaze on the meatball. Both my kids LOVED these. Then you can use the rest of your ground turkey for whatever the rest of the family wants to eat that night. Hope that helps! :-)

I've never had a kid not eat my "apricot chicken". May not be the healthiest but it gives them protein and gets them used to the idea of expanding their food selections. I serve it over rice, which was also a big favorite for my kids. I generally also serve it with a side of vegetables but you may want to add the vege part later. It's a very simple dish to cook too so good luck

4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 can of Apricot Nectar/Juice (Kerns is the common one available in Supermarkets)
1 packet french onion soup mix
1-2 tablespoons flour for coating chicken
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350F
Coat chicken in seasoned flour.
Mix apricot juice and french onion soup mix in a casserole dish and microwave for 20 seconds to blend. Stir to ensure the soup has dissolved into the nectar.
Add chicken to casserole dish and stir to coat.
Cover and place into the oven for 1 hour
Serve over steamed rice.

I understand why you're frustrated. I would start off eating as often as possible with him. Showing him how much YOU love veggies, fruits, etc.. If you live near a farmers market or you pick, take him. It's a great activity with free samples and this way he can she where food comes from. Tell him that he'll get big muscles by eating. Sometimes kids love knowing that part. Don't deceive him. The books about hiding foods in other foods only set up bad patterns! Go with your gut!-www.weelicious.com

I had a 2 (nearly 3 year old) who also would just fill up on cheese yogert, bread, etc. He wouldn't even think about trying anything different, and I quit trying to push them, cause, well he just wouldn't. Anyway, I have 3 older children who I was trying to teach to be "clean platers". To motivate them,I was preparing some sort of dessert each night (whether it be a pudding cup, a cookie,a rice crispy treat, etc.). To be fair, I made my two year old have to live by the same rules--that he had to be a "clean plater" to get "dessert". Of coarse, he threw a fit at first, but I didn't give in. I just encouraged and sat with him, and helped him eat (I even let him feed me some too--this made him laugh. We just took turns taking a bite until it was gone.) Anyway, I was surprised, but he ate things that I had never seen him eat before. Every kid is different, but maybe this kind of motivation would work. With my son, I guess I was giving him too much of a choice, and letting him get away with only eating his favorite foods. My goal now is to start developing his pallet so that he will be willing to eat more things when he is older.(now that I know he can, and will eat them if he has too.)

Some food ideas:

-Ham rolls: Take ham (with little pepperonis or a slice of cheese) roll it up with a tooth pick. You can also cut these in squares and stack them on a tooth pick.
-Bananas are better with a little hersey's syrup drizzled on top. Again, serve with a tooth pick.
-You can cut up some fresh fruit in small pieces and let him make his out fruit kabob.
-Instead of making a "salad", take larger pieces of romain lettace and let him dip them in ranch.
-When they are watching a movie, sometimes I will make up my own crazy snack mix. You can add anything you want: honey roasted peanuts, cashews, mini marshmellows, any dried fruit (dried cranberries, blueberries, bananas, or apples), add honey nut cherrios (or any other cereal)to the mix. And they love it.

***Tomatoe products have a lot of good vitamins in them.
-There's spagetti.
-You can get the frozen garlic bread (or the fresh french bread with garlic in the bakery section) and let him dip it in spagetti sauce.
-Cooked spagetti squash is really yummy with spagetti sauce on top.
-My kids love chips and salsa. You can make your own or there is the more fresh stuff in the deli section.
-You can warm up a can of refried beans, melt some cheese on top, and let him dip. ***I'm learning that beans are an awesome sources of protein and fiber and affordable.
-You said he likes rice. I warm up a can of black beans, add just a little bit of cumin and lime juice. Serve over the rice. Sounds plain, but all of my kids like this. For a complete meal, add the salad, and maybe quasadillas with salsa to dip.
-Also over rice, try this: In a crockpot, add bitsize-ish pieces of boneless skinless chicken breasts, two cans of cream of chicken soup, about 1 cup sour cream, a little Lawry's seasoning salt for flavor, and cook for about 3 hours on high or about 6 hours on low (the longer it cooks the softer it gets.) This is one of my kids favorite meals. And you can even use frozen chicken breast (no need to thaw) You said you were busy. Crock pots are my friends.
-If you like to steam vegetables, try brocolli, calliflower, carrots and peas. When all done, spread on a plate, sprinkle with a little Lawry's seasoning salt, shredded cheddar cheese, and put in microwave for about 1 minute or till melted. My mom did this, and this is how I learned to like cooked brocolli and calliflower.

This is quite common. I have seen it over and over again (I am a Family Nutrition Coach). Be consistent. Create 5 small meals each day with a variety of choices. Stop feeding him rice, bread, yogurt, apple sauce, milk and juice (especially the juice). Meat is not necessary if he is getting his proteins from other sources. Veggies on the other hand are. Do not try to "hide" what he is eating, this never works. Kids have 8 times the taste buds in their mouths than adults do.

I teach parents (for free) the importance of vitmains and how to make nutritious protein shakes (with fruits and veggies) that have everything necessary for strong cellular growth. My kids have been drinking them for breakfast for over 2 years and LOVE THEM! Healhty than ever, my once very fussy youngest is now asking for broccoli!

Interested?

B. H, B.A.;B.Ed.
Family Nutrition Coach

C.,
If you are looking for some easy family-style vegetable recipes, please check out my web site at www.artfulveggie.com. Not only are the recipes healthy, inexpensive and easy to prepare, they're also creative and fun too!

My 2 year old son is kinda going through the same thing. We're trying to avoid going the "Deceptively Delicious" route ourselves. He used to eat whatever we gave him, but then we had to change it to giving him his meat first, then his veggies, then his rice/pasta/bread, then fruit. We'd have to hide the other food while on a certain step, because we were going in order of his least favorite to his favorite. Well, he wised up and eventually refused meat and veggies. Most of the time we have to sneak tender meat and vegetables within his rice, bread, or pasta. Or, be sure to give him the proteins that he does eat. I did notice that he sometimes will eat refrigerated pre-cooked vegetables. I think then he thinks they're like his fruits he loves so much. Also, if he's hungry, he'll eat pretty much whatever we're eating. That's how I first got him to try cold vegetables, eggs, cottage cheese, and plain yogurt.

I know there weren't too many tips in there. We've obviously haven't completely figured this out yet. Hopefully both of our boys will be back to their non-picky selves.

Best regards,
M.

Only put out the choices you want him to eat and he'll eat them if he knows there is no other choice. The first time he may not eat anything, but quickly he'll figure it out that those are he choices and if he's hungry he'll eat them.

Two of my three (15, 19, 22) kids do not eat veggies. I make a smoothie every morning for them and it takes less than 5 minutes and tastes fantastic. In the blender add about a cup of V8 Fusion (the one with the daily does of veggies), one cup of vanilla soy milk, about 2/3 cup of vanilla yogurt (I use fat free, but my kids are older and don't need the extra fat),two small handfuls of frozen mixed berries and about 5 frozen strawberries. Then I add a packet of powedered "Go Green" (available at Costco). It also contains daily dose of veggies. Blend it all up and yum! This also works for kids who are unable to eat food for breakfast but need an energy booster for school. Experiment with different fruits to change it up for him.

Hi C.,
I agree that no fruit and vegetables for a year is something to be really concerned about. I'm sure many will send you good recipes. If that doesn't work, I think it is time to insist that he eat them. Serve a small amount of fruit or vegetable with every meal, and insist that he stay in his chair until finished. This might not work at first, and he may sit there making your day (and his) miserable until he goes to bed. When you start over again the next day, he still might balk, but within a couple of days it will work if you are firm, consistent and are determined to outlast your child's will power.
Good Luck,
S.

Hi C.
I think that cook book is great actually. It does seem like tricking them in to eating vegetables but it works. If the amount of veggies seems small, add more. The recipes really aren't that hard once you get used to cooking them. It does take a little extra time though. I would also keep putting the veggies in from of him as someone else said, he will eventually try it. My son would never eat carrots until he saw our neighborhood kids eat them, now he love them. Monkey see, monkey do!

Good luck
A.

I would give him a balanced meal. If he doesn't eat it. Then take it away. Maybe start with lunch. Be sure not to give anything to eat an hour or so before dinner, then a balanced diet again. Hopefully he wil be hungry enough to eat. Be sure he takes chewable vitamins. I wouldn't let it go on for too long. Maybe your pediatrician could help. Good luck sandy

i notice he likes juice. You might try a vegie juice.

My 3 year old niece will eat green beans if they are completely slathered in ketchup. She's also willing to eat carrots. Sometimes she'll eat veggies if there's ranch dressing to dip them in. For the most part though she doesn't eat any veggies. We tell her that if she eats 4 bites then she can have dessert. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. Good luck!

you could chop up the veggies and meat to really small pieces and add them to rice or noodles and you could chop up fruits and add them to yogurt.

I do not have any recipes, however, my daughter has been taking a fruit and vegetable concentrate called JuicePlus+ since she was 3 1/2. She is now 6. JuicePlus+ is 17 fruits and vegetables in a capsule, chewable or gummie form. It is a food not a vitamin or supplement. It is all organic and the research is all 3rd party done by reputable universities and published in medical journals. For more information call me (D.)at ###-###-####. You can also visit www.drileyJuicePlus.com

I make very quick simple smoothies for my family.

V-8 fusion (provides both fruit and veggie servings)
Soy milk
fresh Banana
frozen berries (antioxidant) you can get a big bag at Costco

Blend in blender and there you go!

I whole-heartedly agree with a few of the responses so far: (1) smoothies are great and kids love them (plain yogurt for protein, plus ANY fruit and/or soft vegie, maybe add a little protein powder or Instant Breakfast, in the blender), (2) adding puree'd vegies and meats to foods the child likes (I LOVE my food processor!). Seriously, saute'ing and puree'ing are super easy. I never read "Deceptively Delicious" or any other "cookbook." It is not OK to lie to children or anyone else about what is in their food, but you do not necessarily have to tell them exactly how you prepared the meal. I am not at all a chef or extravagant meal planner, and I do NOT spend a lot of time making meals. But my husband and toddler do get plenty of meat and vegies. My favorite ideas:
(1) saute one or two fresh cut-up pepper (red, orange, yellow, or green) in a little olive oil, cook some Italian sausage, then put it all in the food processor to puree. Add this to marinara sauce (homemade, or using canned tomatoes, or from a jar, whatever you like) then eat with any pasta. I even use this as my sauce for lasagna. People really do not realize they are eating meat and vegies.
(2) saute fresh cut-up pepper (orange or yellow) and fresh cut-up orange tomato, then put in the food processor to puree. Add this to any macaroni and cheese (homemade, boxed, or frozen.
Also, my 2 1/2 year-old recently started eating salad because I eat it EVERY day and he eventually asked to try it. I never even offered it to him, so this was totally his choice. I was surprised he liked it--he will eat spinach or lettuce with chicken with either vinaigrette or ranch dressing (I don't even use a lot of dressing).
Finally, it is important to be honest with your child. As adults we often do things because we have to, not because we like to. For example, when I am eating a vegie I do not care for (like corn), I tell my son that I do not like how it tastes, but I eat it because it is very good for me. With boys, getting big muscles and growing strong are important. Every time my son eats some meat, I exclaim how I can see his muscles growing and he gets so happy. We also read a book about a giraffe who "ate his greens" and grew very tall, so when my son eats salad I remind him that those "greens" will help him grow tall like the giraffe.
Good luck!

Hi C.,

Before becoming a stay at home mom I was a personal chef for 3 families with children ages ranging from 2-12. What I learned was the children were very interested in participating in the preparation of the food they ate. I started by allowing the little ones to scoop dry pasta, rice, or beans into a bowl and stir it with a spoon. As they got a little older like 2-3 I'd let them do a little more like handle the carrots, potatoes, celery, broccoli etc. and help me wash them and count out how many we were going to use. I always talked with them about where the vegetables came from and how it gets to the store, to their house, and finally in their tummies.
I did the same thing with my daughter and it works about 75% of the time in getting her to willingly try something new. Start with things your son likes. Let him help you in the kitchen with those things then slowly add something into the mix. Homemade pizza is a great way to start. Trader joe's makes a good pizza dough, and sauce in the chilled section. I add steamed pureed spinach to the sauce before letting my daughter spread it out. Before I steam the spinach we talk about my parents garden and how lot's of vegetables like spinach grow there. I let her put the spinach leaves in the colander and help wash them in the sink. Then once the spinach is cooked and pureed I let her add it to the sauce and stir it herself. I do add vegetable purees to many of her foods like mac and cheese, home made pancakes, waffles, muffins, scrambled eggs etc. But I always tell her what vegetables are in her food before she eats it so there is no "trickery" involved.
If my daughter refuses the meat in her dish for some reason I will supplement the protein with a piece of cheese, or two tablespoons of unsalted pine nuts, or cashews.
By the way, although I use vegetable purees in a lot of my daughters food I also have her eat vegetables the old fashioned way. Her favorites (and I use that word lightly) are steamed green beans with butter, firm cooked carrots, whole spinach leaves in chicken soup, and cold peas like the one's you see at salad bars.
I got her to start eating them by inviting our friends 11 year old daughter to dinner and having her "ooh and ah" about how delicious the vegetables were. Our little one followed the 11 year olds lead and gobbled up her veggies. Now she compliments my veggies, and always mentions how much she and Claudia (the 11 year old) love to eat them.

Have fun with your food and please feel to contact me with any kids cooking questions.

G.

So it's time to get creative. My 2 yr old is yogurt crazy so when he doesn't get the fruits he should, I blend a banana or something with a like flavored yogurt and a dash of milk to get the same consistancy.

You can do broccoli rice. All you do is cook rice as normal and them mix in cooked and very very finely chopped broccoli. Tell him it's a special green rice day. Start making some bread at home and use pumpkin, etc. Will he eat plain pasta? You can get pasta made of veggies (more or less made of veggies but better than nothing) and put a little butter on it.

I also got my son into smooties. I just blended milk, fruits, and oatmeal or whatever else. If he won't eat it use chocolate milk. I strained it so that there will no chunks and he loves it. He wouldn't drink the chunks...

My son is 3.5 and my daughter is 1.5...she still eats most everything, but like you said at around age 2 my son went from eating everything to eating hardly anything. I put 3 hunks of scrabbled egg on his plate every morning and he knows that he has the choice of those three hunks (3 for his age, when he's 4 he'll get 4)or he can have a full helping like the rest of us...he generally picks the 3 hunks, but I'll take the 3. He's OK on the veggies, but I can't get protein into him, except via CHEESE and MILK...he'd eat cheese and milk all day long if I'd let him.

My biggest trick my mommie friends and I do, is we pack a variety of healthy foods at playdates and/or join each other for dinner now and then...because it seems that one child's favorite food is another child's worst nightmare and when they are together they eat each other's likes and dislikes without a problem. When my son was younger, I had one friend that could feed him anything, so I would pack her daughter's snacks and she'd pack my son's, then when we got together, our children would be begging from the wrong mom, but eating the right food! LOL

***Here are some of my tricks***

My blueberry smoothie has spinach in it.

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup berry juice
1 small cup yogurt (any kind, I use berry, vanilla, etc...and I don't mean measuring cup, I just plop one of those smaller yogurts straight from their plastic cup)
a Handful of fresh spinach leaves

Tastes great and no one knows they are getting SPINACH! :)

I also make a batch of this with two handfuls of spinach and then make popcycles out of the smoothie mixture and on hot days hey devour the berry popcycles.

***

I'm not so great with the sneaky chef stuff either, because I am not so great at cooking, but I do put a jar of sweet potato and a jar of carrots (baby food) into my speghetti sauce and that adds a little extra veggies that my children don't notice. (and I'm using jarred sauce too! LOL) If I can cheat at cooking I will...I really don't enjoy cooking dinner!

I also put sweet potato baby food into mac n cheese and that is not noticed.

I just don't have time to puree my own veggies and cook up some elab recipes. So the earth's best baby food or whatever name brand I can get at the time works great.

***

I also feed frozen veggies as if it's something exciting and on occasion (hot days) my son will think it's fun and eat a few.

He'll eat frozen berries easily, but you're concerned about veggies and those he'll eat sometimes frozen.

***

Hope something there helps!!!

My kids will eat broccoli and a few other veggies without a problem, so I tend to lean towards those veggies at other times.

try putting this stuff called "soyaki" sauce on the veggies..you can get it at Trader Joe's..also try other sauces...like cream of mushroom..i can get my son to eat linguini by slurping the noodle myself and making a game of it..try making games out of eating.

my Daughter is just like your son, likes only ths same foods. I pour apple sauce over diced pork chops. I also give her lots of peanut butter and hummus for protein. good luck

my now 14 year old stopped eating meat at about that age. before then she would eat just about anything. i never used all the recipes that you see now to get all that they need.

i remember that my daughter would eat things if i cut them into small strip and gave her something to dip it in. she called it "dipping sauce" and it turned it into something fun. i would cut chicken like this or vegis too. i would continue to offer them to your child and he will turn around eventually. in the mean time offer a variety of food. fruits, milk products and also beans have protien in them. good luck. you arent alone and he will out grow it. it took my daughter a while and she is now a vegitarian but there could be worse things. :)

Hi C. - Four years ago I started my family on Juice Plus capsules (and chewables for the kids). Juice Plus is the fruit and vegetable powders of 17 fresh fruits, veggies and whole grains. It made sense to me because I knew we weren't eating enough every day and all the independent research on Juice Plus proved to me that the nutrients actually get into our bodies and work to improve overall health. Since then it's become my goal to help others make sure their families are getting plenty of whole food nutrition ever day. Your son would like the gummy form and it will give you the peace of mind that he's getting his nutrients from the natural sources. Just remember that MORE MATTERS, so getting him on the Juice Plus gummies AND finding ways to train his taste buds to eat more of the real thing are both excellent steps to protect his health. Feel free to call me at ###-###-####, email at ____@____.com, website: www.Caprice4juiceplus.com, and/or call the free info line at 800-942-1260 for recorded info on the third party research on Juice Plus. You are doing the right thing to work on shaping his tastes now so that he grows up more inclined to make healthy choices. A wonderful book has also been helpful to me that I think should be a guide for all parents is "The Healthiest Kid in the Neigborhood" by Dr. William Sears. It's at Barnes and Noble for $14. Good luck!!

I've started buying the baby food purees again and mix them in with my daughters yogurt. She doesn't seem to notice. I've gotten away with even adding the pureed green beans and garden vegetables, but naturally she prefers the carrots and sweet potatoes in with her yogurt.

Toddlers are such picky eaters, yet somehow they live through this, and amazingly, thrive!

Personally I don't think books like Deceptively Delicious are all that great.
First off, the amount of squash, or cauliflower, etc are so miniscule that they don't add that much nutritional value to your toddler's meal.
Secondly, I don't think that tricking kids into eating anything is very nice. I remember I hated sweet potatoes (any potatoes, really) for many years and someone gave me a piece of sweet potato pie and called it "pumpkin." I became physically ill when I found out what it was (even though they taste pretty much the same!), not to mention I was angry and hurt that a family member would lie to me like that.

I don't know what kind of rice you are giving him but if it is white, could you switch to brown? Try some other healthy whole grains? Make sure the bread is whole grain or sprouted grain if he is eating plain wheat or white. You want to at least make sure that what he *is* eating is full of nutrients.

If he likes juice you could get (borrow one first to try it out) a juicer or a good, powerful blender and throw some veggies in there - my daughter likes orange-pineapple-kale-banana. There are hundreds of combos of juice that you can make, and have him help you make it - he'll enjoy it that much more. You can add flax seeds or flax seed oil or coconut oil for some "good" fats since he doesn't eat much protein.

Keep putting the veggies in front of him and eventually he will taste them. Don't make a big deal out of it. "You don't want any? Sorry, I thought you might want to try them." And then try again tomorrow, maybe with a different veggie. Have you tried adding a little dab of butter? I know that isn't ideal but it's better than no vegetables at all.

He'll survive - millions of other picky toddlers have! Good luck!

Hi C. Y,
I used to have a hard time with my daughter eating meat and veggies. she use to eat em when she was one but stopped eating it. maybe the taste was a bit strong for her. but one thing, i never stopped offering it to her and model it for her by eating it in front of her. i would get creative and just so she could get the nutrition i would hide it in her food. she went a year with out eating meat and lil veggies but i found other ways to make sure she got her protein (eggs...). now as she understands more (she is 3) i tell her things like "oh its good for your eyes" or "it makes your teeth pretty". it has helped her to want to eat it. now she is a pretty good eater trying things at least once.i'm sure its a stage and he'll eat it again.

Check out my website and look at the Gummies, my kids LOVE them and I can rest knowing they are getting what they need.

www.doyoujuiceplus.com

If you are interested, contact me and I would be happy to send you more information!

I love my Juice Plus+
W.

Deceptively Delicious and Jessica Seinfeld's book are not complicated. I made lots of the meals in those books for my daughter when she wouldn't eat veggies and she ate them right up. Another thought is only offering healthier choices.....only offer fruit and some chicken. He might not eat, but trust me, he will eventually eat what you give him if he's hungry enough. If he knows that you'll give in every time he complains by handing him yogurt, bread, etc....then he'll just keep refusing to eat the stuff you want him too. I saw a television show with a pediatrician that said that sometimes you have to introduce foods up to 9 times before a kid will eat it...he was talking about babies being introduced to solids, but I'm sure it's similar with a 3 year old. The good thing is that your 3-year old is old enough to understand..."This is what's for dinner. You can eat it or you can go hungry, but you cannot have yogurt or apple sauce until you eat what's on your plate." AFter he gets in the habit of trying new things, he'll realize there is lots out there that he likes.

The others have had some terrific sneaky tactics I wish I knew when mine went through this phase. I call it a phase, because is 8.5 yrs now and orders salad and wants veggies at restaurants. Eats fruit for every snack and loves chicken.

Just keep offering them and make it fun. We still call peas "balls" and the trick is to see how many you can get in your mouth at a time. Broccoli will forever be "trees" and he is the dinosaur who gobbles them up.
I also covered eggs in cheese for a while to get them to eat it, and french toast that was just egg and cinnamon, fully soak the bread in the egg dash on the cinnamon.
I also make sloppy joes and stir in peas and carrots, add cheese and he's sidetracked.

I buy extra soft tofu and puree it. You can hide it in almost anything - yogurt, soup, pasta, etc.

Good luck!

I know how frustrating it can be to have your good little eater turn into a picky 2yo. You can still use some of the ideas from "Deceptively Delicious" without using the recipes. You can just mix either food you have pureed or jars of baby food in with other food. So, if your 3yo likes applesauce, maybe he'll tolerate you mixing in some pureed pears. My 4 and 2yo girls love pasta, so I'll make mac and cheese with squash and carrot puree mixed in, or marinara pasta with peas and pumpkin mixed in. You can mix in just about anything, so long as it doesn't overpower the taste.

I'll give you some hope, too. My now 4 yo daughter went through a long period where the only veggie she would eat were baby carrots (and even then only in order to get dessert). Now, she is a big fan of steamed asparagus and frozen peas. She eats them frozen, not cooked. Doesn't get much easier than that! Luckily, my 2yo is following right along. Good luck to you!

My son is still receptive to eating his veggies *knock on wood*, but here are some simple things I do to get more veggies in him without as much of a fight (not sure if any of these will work for your son, but it's worth a shot):

-I mix Gerber Garden Vegetables and mashed avocado with a touch of onion and garlic powder in with my son's refried beans and melt some cheese in it and let him dip his tortillas in it (or he'll just eat it with a spoon). The cheese and spices really help to hide the Garden Vegetables and avocado. You may want to start out without the avocado because it is more visible in the beans and he may refuse it just for that.

-I mix in Better than Bouillon with frozen veggies and it really helps to improve the flavor.

-I also have mixed in different Gerber veggies in with applesauce, believe it or not. The biggest hit is sweet potatoes and applesauce, but he has also gone for the Garden Vegetables and Squash. I will sometimes mix in a little cinnamon which he LOVES!

-Try offering a variety of toppings or dipping sauces for broccoli and/or carrots. My son likes ketchup (blech), salad dressings, and mild green taco sauce for dipping. If I make a roast chicken or tri tip I make gravy with the drippings and I give him that on his veggies (or on the side for dipping).

-I chop up spinach and tomato and put it in scrambled eggs topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese... but I see your son won't eat eggs anymore so that probably won't work.

-As far as meat goes, he's probably getting good protein from milk and yogurt so I wouldn't worry TOO much about that. Some people (not just kids) just don't like the taste of meat.

I hope at least one of these things will work for you!

E.

I have a hard time getting my three year old to eat his veggies too. He really likes Green Machine smoothies by Naked Juice Co. It's loaded with greens and tastes like jamba juice. You can get a good deal on it at Costco. I also mix cooked broccoli in with his macaroni and cheese. You could mix your younger son's baby food carrots in with applesauce, pasta sauce, soup, etc. Try different kinds of breads with nuts and seeds in them for more variety in his diet. Wheat germ can be mixed in with just about anything and it is high in healthy fats and fiber. And there is always a kids multivitamin and whole food supplements. I give my kids fish oil (omega3) in gel capsules and a whole food supplement loaded with greens that aren't easily incorporated into our daily diet- like spirulina and alfalfa. You can find a lot of healthy alternatives at a health food store. Hope this helps!

try just plain pasta (wagonwheel is a fun shape)and slowly start start adding sauce to it. see if he likes a plain maranara sauce and then you can sneek all kids of veges in. My 3 yr old son only will eat corndogs, hotdogs, chkn strips, Fish Sticks, spaghetti, PB&J, waffles, Etc. But no veggies, or Fruit. I feel your frustration, Whats funny is a studied to be a chef, and I come from a long line of women who are amazing home cooks and yet my kid only loves processed foods. keep trying new things everyday