My son has always loved his veggies. He would actually choose them above anything. He would have different favorites; zucchini, squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccolli, califlower... Almost seems like overnight, he decided he was not going to eat them anymore. He will not eat any of the previous favorites. And he now refused to try any new. He will only eat tomatoes and black beans. I am looking for any creative suggestions to get him excited about them again. Or any other suggestions on your children's favorites.
My kids all went through this phase at around the same age. It lasted for a while , but eventually they went back to loving veggies. All I can say is just keep offering them. I even went as far as "renaming" the veggies. All you can do is try. If they ask for more chicken (or whatever you may be having) then tell them they have to have one bite of their carrots first. Different little tricks worked like that.
DD did the same thing. Just keep offering and sneak veggies in where you can. Deceptively Delicious and Sneaky Chef will give you some ideas. And definitely model eating the veggies. You never know when they will decide to try something again. DD ate a ton of cauliflower the other night after not touching it for quite a while. It got better with her after a few months.
I don't have any advice, really, but can definitely commiserate. My 14 month old also has always loved veggies, even brussels sprouts and beets (!), but lately seems to be less interested in the veggies and more interested in the carbs. Most of all, she enjoys flinging any food put in front of her onto the floor! It is incredibly frustrating, but I understand it is just a phase. I just keep hoping it is a brief phase. Interestingly, she seems to be really enjoying fish and fruit, so we keep offering her the veggies, with those, with the hope that one of these days she'll come to her senses. Good luck!
I wouldn't worry too much - most toddlers go through a veggie refusal phase, and vegetables are not as important at this age as high quality fats and proteins. Can you sneak avocado into smoothies with fruits and honey? That's a great way to get high quality fat (and a veggie!) into them. Will he take them with yummy whole fat cheese melted on top? Or with a cream cheese or hummus dip? Just throwing out some options. In the end, proteins and fats are most important...my baby gets high vitamin cod liver oil for vitamin A&D, probiotics, and we're starting liver soon for iron. There are ways to get what you need from other foods. =)
Hi..you can try the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. I love it just because it has some great recipes on how to "hide" veggies in great meals. Some people don't "agree" with this concept but sometimes we have no choice if we want healthy eaters:) Just a thought for now!
My kids did the same thing. But they would still eat raw carrots and celery with dip sometimes. So I just started serving a side of that with all our dinners! There is also a great book out there called "The Sneaky Chef" and it is filled with recipes that hide veggies in stuff kids like, even brownies! I made several of these recipes and they taste fine and my kids did not know the difference. In the case of the brownies, you get an organic box of brownie mix with no hydrogenated oils and you make a paste of certain veggies and at least one fruit - I think it was blueberries and you add it to the mix. I also added wheat germ. They ate the whole thing no problem!
My son always loved very different fruits and a good number of veggies when he was little (mango, papaya, zucchini, yellow squash) then we were lucky to get bananas, applesauce and cucumbers into him. He is now going thru this again at age 5. Kids have such a limited amount of foods that we can get into them that I think they get tired of eating the same things all the time but they do eventually go back to them and maybe add a few other favorites to the list. One of the favorites my son had a few months ago that I haven't been able to get him to eat lately was steamed broccoli dipped in ranch dressing (he wouldn't eat the broccoli raw and wouldn't touch it cooked without the ranch dressing) also another favorite of his (sounds strange but he liked it) was green grapes with ketchup - hey whatever works at least he was eating healthy food.
Children go through phases of liking foods and then disliking them. For example, when my son was 9 months, he loved meatballs. Once he turned a year, he hated them. Maybe you should try some of the sweeter veggies like corn and peas. You could also try offering more fruits as opposed to the veggies. In a few months, you may see his taste turn around...good luck!
Ahhh, the joys of a toddler. This age eating isn't their top priority. They are discovering they can move and get into things. I have a 16 month old too. One day he eats one day not so much. Just keep introducing the stuff at mealtime. And if he's not like my 16 month old who has decided he would much rather put the fork or spoon in his mouth himself than have mommy do it then you can even try mixing it with the other food. Put a tiny piece of the veggie on his fork or spoon and then something else to kind of mask that you are giving him a vegetable. Just keep giving him those veggies. If he takes one bite and that's it that's fine too. They go through so many phases of food likes and dislikes at this age.
Hi - Honestly, I would guess this is less aboutt he food and more about exerting a little independence... Little ones go through phases - what may be their fave one day will not the next. Just keep offerring the veggies and modelling healthy eating habits. Your little one will come back around. Don't stress :)
Its the age. He will like them again before you know it.
His tastes will change almost overnight again and again.
There are other ways to introduce veggies into his diet.
There are fruit/veggie combo drinks, there is V-8 ( most seem to really like it) We give our boy veggies and dips. He likes hummus, sour cream dips, celery, carrots ( his favorite) broccoli, cherry tomatos.
But he will only eat two cooked vegetables, corn or peas.
We give a multi vitamin daily for insurance.
Dont worry dear, they seldom if ever, have any terrible side effects from these stages.
Tincture of time, this too, shall pass.
Best wishes and God bless
Grandmother Lowell
Hi C.,
in addition to the other great ideas, I would suggest pesto--which we eat almost daily around here. You can put parsley, spinach, and other greens into it, as well as the traditional basil and season to his taste (probably hold the garlic, or very little!). A great spread on toast, crackers, etc.
Blended vegetable soups that your son helps stir...you can then add the beans and other protein to it to give it texture. Just call the soup broth: e.g. "chicken broth" if it has chunks of chicken in it.
Vegetable pastas. Probably not a lot of veggies, but there are some!
Carrots/parsnips/beets/sweet potatoes/rutabega etc. Try to bring him back to veggies with these sweet roots. You can add honey to them to increase the palatability. Saute until tender. Just call them tubers or something else besides "vegetables."
Quiche or crustless quiche: mix egg/milk with your pesto/greens and a touch of salt and put into a buttered baking dish for 15-20 mins at 350 degrees.
Also, I know that they are not high in some vitamins, but mushrooms like crimini, shiitake, portobello, etc. (not the white button mushrooms, those are not good for the gut) but they are beneficial to health in other ways.
Good luck!
Hi there,
I recommend the book called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. My whole family loves it and everyone eats vegetables without even noticing it! Good luck.
J
