Vegetables

Neither of my girls really eats vegetables. From time to time they'll eat canned pumpkin or steamed carrot slices, but that's about it. I've tried pureed vegetables, raw vegetables, and cooked pieces. I cover them in cheese, put sauce on, and try plain as well, but no luck with anything. They both happily gobble up fruit, but throw all vegetables on the floor.

How do all of you get vegetables into your kids? Are there some secret recipes out there I should be using?

 

I would try a variety of types and forms. For example, my kids won't eat green beans that are cut, but love long ones. One of mine won't eat the stalk of broccoli or califlower, but loves the "leaves" and will only eat cucumbers in whole circles. They also love asparagus and lima beans. How about offering something to dip in. Mine will dip anything in ketsup or yogurt. Nothing tastes better than watermelon and ketsup!

 

I am of the belief that my responsibility is to provide good healthy meals on a predictable schedule in a loving environment and their responsibility is to eat those meals. So I do just that. I provide meals and they either eat them or they don't. My girls have had veggies for every meal. Sometimes they dig in, sometimes they don't, but I do find that after two or three times of putting the same thing in front of them they eventually try it. It's hard not to micro-manage their eating. I learned the hard way though, that if you do you'll promote picky eaters. I have a 14 year-old DS who doesn't eat veggies without a fight and I was a short-order cook for him. So, with these two I've found that following the philosophy that I provide and they choose to eat or not eventually evens out. I have a few "tricks" for getting more veggies in them if I start to worry that their diet isn't well-rounded. Here are a few:

Blend frozen spinach (thawed) with a can of pears and a few mango chunks and serve it with a spoon (they LOVE this, but it's hard to get them to take a spoon from me and they aren't quite ready to do it on their own)

Butternut squash in ravioli

Butternut squash steamed and pureed and stirred into homemade (or box) mac and cheese

Anything stir fried in olive oil with some garlic - especially diced carrots and zuchini

Thawed frozen peas - they eat like candy.

sweet potato fries (baked in the oven with olive oil and a tiny dash of salt or seasoning)

Red potatoes cut into chunks and baked with olive oil and rosemary

meatloaf with tons of veggies

turkey chili with tons of veggies that are diced in the food processor so they are almost unrecognizable

marinara with lots of veggies diced in the processor

homemade chicken noodle soup with lots of veggies

That's about all I can think of right now - hope it helps!

 

You could also try the cookbook "The Sneaky Chef" -- it includes a lot of strategies for getting your kids to eat more veggies and sneaking veggies into everything they eat. I've tried a couple of things in it, but mine actually really like veggies so I'm lucky I guess!

What I generally do is steam veggies, add butter, salt, and pepper, and make sure I eat some too. That is the single biggest factor for them. If they see me eating it suddenly it looks irresistable!

And keep trying. DD did not like broccoli the first 9 or 10 times but lately she has been eating it like a champ.

Oh and the PP mentioned sweet potato fries -- those have been a BIG hit at our house too. DH and I can't get enough of them either!

 

What? They're supposed to eat vegetables? :rofl: I'm totally kidding of course.

This is a big frustration at my house too. I make veggies with every dinner, and continue to offer them some. One daughter will eat almost everything, the other will eat almost nothing. They are on a multivitamin to make up for what they are lacking in that area. Just try, try, try, TRY again.

 

No help here. The ONLY way mine eat them, and they eat a ton, is if they're just the canned peas, carrots, or anything really ON THEIR TRAY. They will take NOTHING absolutely NOTHING from a spoon. It's been that way for about 3 months. Anything they eat is self fed and they cannot use utensils yet which is VERY tough.

Canned vegetables that they can pick up is the only thing. Oh and add some olive oil as that adds fat they need and flavor. I also recently read that we should be eating OUR (when?) veggies w/ olive oil also as it helps our bodies to utilize the nutrition.

Good luck! My kids eat a whole package of fruit bowls a day not so much veggies; I think that's normal. I eat ZERO vegetables cuz I just don't like them. That's terrible, I know.

 

Mine tend to eat most of their veggies before dinner/lunch as special "appetizers". They keep coming to the kitchen gate as I'm trying to prepare meals and I have sliced peppers, slightly steamed carrots, steamed whole green beans, sliced cucumber, edamame (steamed soy beans), steamed lima beans, etc. ready for them. I hand over a piece and the gobble it up. Or I give them a little dish and they sit on the floor and eat them. At dinner, they go right for the meat, pasta, etc. and neglect the veggies but this way they get lots of veggies. I don't know why. Maybe it seems more exciting?

I make sure that my pasta sauce, etc. has lots of little chopped veggies on it. Also I make little pita pizzas that have tonnes of veggies on top. And, I often add pureed sweet potato to their grilled cheese sandwiches - they never know the difference. You can add pureed cauliflower to their mac and cheese as well.

 

A mom at the daycare center asked me this once as we were studying the menu while waiting for our kids to be brought out. Here's what I told her, "That's all we eat at home." We eat meat when we are out but we only eat veggies at home and lots of em and we've never had a problem. If they don't want to eat that's one thing. I've been having that problem a lot lately. I really believe the biggest thing is they have you and the other adults around enjoying veggies.

 

Lily loves all veggies, mia will not eat a single bite. I give them a daily vitamin and it makes me feel a little better. I continue to offer them to her at every meal, and then either give them to lily or throw them away at the end. I did try some things from "deceptively delicous" that worked good. Pureed butternut squash mixed into mac and cheese, they loved it, it actually tasted better than it does without it. Also, pureed carrots in tomato sauce for pasta, you would never know it was there.. goodl uck!

 

I just figured out that my kiddos love parmesean (sp?) cheese and now they will want to shake some on everything and they seem to eat more of their veggies that way - maybe that will help?

 

Like all children mine go through stages with eating vegetables. I normally just add a little butter to make them tastier. I give them carrots with a little brown sugar and butter. They really like these.

 

I really only have this problem with Lorien. Arwen loves vegetables. Lorien will ONLY eat peas and corn on the cob. Very frustrating so my dad bought me this book: http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com/site/ It's a book by Jessica Seifeld (Jerry Seinfeld's wife) and it gives great recipes for serving some everyday foods and sneaking veggies into them without the kids knowing. I haven't yet had time to do it because I need to get the veggies and do the purees but I"m looking greatly forward to trying some of the recipes. In the meantime, one way that I find I can sometimes sneak SOME veggies to her is to put it in either cous cous or with the mac n cheese (like broccoli or cauliflower) but I have to chop it up really small and mix it all together.

 

I was worried when my son was younger. Now, he loves veggies especially steamed California blend. He started by eating raw veggies with ranch dip. My girls won't eat them now, but I do keep putting them on their plate in hopes of one day they will start to like them.

 

I have a book i think its called 'super baby foods'? It has a lot of good recipes and ideas.
Also, I read somewhere (might have been the super baby food book?) to get jars of baby food and put them in food. Example, last time I made spagetti I put a jar of mixed veggies in their sauce. Hahahah....they had their veggies and didn't even know it!

 

I took the easy way out - V-8 Splash Fruit and Vegetable Medley. When I can't get the boys to eat a veggie I give them the juice at snack time. It tastes more like a fruit juice but has a complete serving of vegetables. It makes me feel less guilty that I can't get them to eat their veggies all the time.

 

QUOTE(double-or-nothing @ Oct 10 2008, 09:23 PM) [snapback]1021389[/snapback]
I really only have this problem with Lorien. Arwen loves vegetables. Lorien will ONLY eat peas and corn on the cob. Very frustrating so my dad bought me this book: http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com/site/ It's a book by Jessica Seifeld (Jerry Seinfeld's wife) and it gives great recipes for serving some everyday foods and sneaking veggies into them without the kids knowing. I haven't yet had time to do it because I need to get the veggies and do the purees but I"m looking greatly forward to trying some of the recipes. In the meantime, one way that I find I can sometimes sneak SOME veggies to her is to put it in either cous cous or with the mac n cheese (like broccoli or cauliflower) but I have to chop it up really small and mix it all together.


This is the book I started using and I LOVE it and so do the kids. Most recipes call for squash or sweet potato and if you just bake until soft you can scoop into little 1/2 cup servings and pop in the freezer than just defrost and use as needed. I didn't even use my food processor. If you are in a real pinch you can use canned or frozen veggies. Some things you can taste that it is different and some you can't but I love the different tastes, adds more flavor!

 

I'm chiming in late...but at least once a week, I put a bunch of fresh broccoli spears, sliced carrots, sweet peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc. in a large lasagna pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and spices (I like Emeril's Original Essence) -- and roast in the oven on at least 400 degrees. Turns out great, and very easy....

I've discovered that my kids won't eat anything bland (I'm Indian, so it's in their genes!), so I don't usually offer plain veggies -- always sauteed with lots of garlic and spices.

I put spinach in lasagna and sometimes stir it into regular pasta sauce. We eat salad often with half spinach/half lettuce blend (the babies can't chew this yet, but Nadia likes it).

Nadia, actually, will eat anything dipped in ranch dressing, and she loves sliced peppers, celery, carrots, etc. with dip. She'll also eat broccoli, cauliflower and such roasted as I described above. And, corn, peas and potatoes usually go down without a fight in any manner.

My little ones don't chew that well yet (Kevan is working on his first molar), so I do a lot of crockpot soups -- beef or chicken with veggies, cook it all day, and you've got a great meal for them! Of course, this is if they still accept spoon feeding or are somewhat competent at feeding themselves...mine will still eat off a spoon when I feed them, although they're starting to grab it out of my hand and try to feed themselves.

I do also have The Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious, and have used a few of the ideas. The meatball recipe from Sneaky Chef is great (has spinach puree) -- although I doctored it with a lot of garlic and spices, of course. My little ones gobbled 'em right up.

For some reason, no one cares for sweet potatoes or squash -- I think it's because I don't like them??

 

Disguising vegetables in everyday foods is the way to sneak it in them, but I read it is also important to keep putting them on their plate with their meals even if you know they will not eat them. Something about seeing them part of the meal will let them know that they should eat them. Eventually they are supposed to get it. Lately, I have been disguising veggies in smoothies for snacks. It is the only way that Austin will get his veggies. I also use the V8 fusion. They love it!!

Get creative and good luck!!