Veggies and toddlers

[aloha girl]

Hi Mamas,
My 2 1/2 year old simply does not enough veggies. He used to eat some broccoli and spinach but does not eat any now. Raw veggies like cucumber or carrot he won't eat at all, and he is also not into tomatoes, etc...He'll eat corn but I want him to eat more green vegetables.

He will drink a couple of sips of a green smoothie I make every morning but that's it.

He eats fruits but just not vegetables, so I know that he is missing out on some nutrients. I don't think I want to really hide veggies in stuff, I just want to cook them, and them have him eat it... aaargh! Do y'all have any suggestions.

Does your toddler eat vegetables, and how do you give them to him/her?

What is a typical lunch with veggies look like for you? Or snacks?

I've tried so many things, but he is SO resistant. Should I make him try one bite at least, or will this cause food issues if I force him too much. Actually, I have tried that, and sometimes he'll try it and sometimes he won't!

Please help!!!
Thank you!

[RaeDyCo]

I am very lucky that my 3 year old has always eaten veggies, not always a lot at one time, but he will eat almost any kind of veggie.

I make veggies size appropriate for him. DS1 does not like big pieces of anything so broccoli, cauliflower, carrots etc are in very small pieces (no bigger than the finger pad of my pinky) so he can put it all in his mouth in one bit.

We do a lot of stir fries and I use a lot of flavours in my sauces -- not a lot of salt / butter but I do use spices and herbs. DS1 has no interest in bland veggies so maybe try spicing things up. Any stir fry I make also has bok choy, swiss chard or spinach thrown in.

While I don't like "hiding" veggies, I have always (even pre-kids) made meatballs, spagetti sauce with grated carrot, onions, red peppers for added flavour. Spagetti sauce always gets julienned spinach which melts into the sauce and looks just like another herb.

I do dips for raw veggies -- hummus is DS1's fav but he will also dip veggies into avocado / plain yogurt mixed together.

Good luck -- food is so stressful (I know this since my 8 month old DS2 is currently refusing almost all solids!)

[physmom]

DD eats broccoli but we have to pretend their are helicopters (wave our hands over them as they go to her mouth and make helicopter noises). Carrots she'll eat raw but I got her used to those by teaching her to dip them in hummus.

Other veggies, we just make sure they have some flavor. She's not a fan of just steamed veggies but if you had a bit of butter, garlic, etc. She'll eat them. Some sort of sauce also helps. I really don't seem any problem with hiding them either because I cook dishes like spaghetti with them in the sauce and enchiladas with them in the sauce too. I'd cook them that exact same way no matter what but they certainly are more hidden...

[crunchy_mommy]

Our entire meals are veggies pretty much. So I don't know if he just loves veggies or only eats them because there are no other options??? He loves raw tomatoes, avocados, dehydrated green beans, taro or yuca crackers, cooked potatoes, zucchini, broccoli, peas... I can't really think of a veggie he doesn't like but he especially loves mushrooms & carrots lately. We do 'hide' veggies too but that's just how my recipes are, I'm not actually intending to hide them. I see no problem with hiding them as long as sometimes he sees them too though. We use tons of spices in our food -- paprika, tumeric, cumin, basil, garlic, pepper, chili, etc. One of his favorite ways to eat them is roasted. Also I'll often put sauces on them (along with some rice or pasta or whatever) such as Thai peanut sauce, vegan 'cheese' sauce, tabasco sauce, etc.

I should note though that he doesn't eat large quantities (of anything, really, veggies or otherwise) so although he will eat any veggie, it's often just a couple of bites. I guess he's still getting most of his calories & nutrition from nursing.

[globe-trotter]

My son loves veggies which is great, but hard for me since I hate them and don't really know how to cook them! LOL But he actually likes the bigger pieces that you have to hold and eat.

[NewMoonMum]

Maybe you could try something like, putting veggies IN something-but not actually "hiding" them.
My son is not a huge fan of veggies either. But here's a few things we do:

-He does, luckily, quite like tomatoes. Added bonus of preggie-mom munching cherry tomatoes nonstop=I MUST eat that!
-I make and freeze a big bunch of spinach corn muffins. I use a recipe for regular corn muffins(yields 24 regular-sized muffins) and add 5 oz of baby spinach, pureed, and cook as usual. They are very green and flecked-looking, we call them "spinach muffins", but you can't taste a difference.
-I look for simple toddler-friendly veggie recipes he can help make. One has spinach tortillas, shredded carrot, cream cheese and peach jam. He loves these, too.

I'd say just try to keep offering, setting a good example of eating a good variety yourself, look for ways to involve him in the food prep and making the food look as fun as you can. Good luck!!

[aloha girl]

Thanks y'all for all the wonderful, VERY helpful suggestions. I will surely try most of them out. I will even try the hidden veggies in some of the foods which I think is a good idea as long as he get some veggies up front.
oh,and I love the idea of toddler friendly veggie recipes that he can help with! I will def. try that and the corn muffins too.
I am Indian and my husband is Japanese so I have cooked veggies from heavily spiced to very little spiced from different culinary traditions, and used butter, etc.. We love flavor too and love to cook and try various veggies, so I thought that might help my son, but not yet!
ok, I'll keep trying, thank you again for all the empathetic sweet responses!

[AKislandgirl]

DD eats most of her veggies while we are preparing dinner and she "helps" us cook. Some meal times she eats at the table just as much and other times she barely takes any bites during dinner. She's sort of like that with all of her food though. She either eats tons or very little at a time.

Smoothies are something I intend to include more. I figure a few sips here and there throughout the day adds up.

[CinCanada]

I offer veggies at every meal to my daughter & more often than not she doesn't eat them either. For a baby who LOVED avocado & broccoli, she'll barely touch them now at 2 unfortunately. I've resorted to chopping the veg really small most of the time in which case she'll happily eat a wide variety when it is mixed into sauces, scrambled eggs, quinoa etc. Other than corn on the cob & cherry tomatoes the one green she loves actually is kale chips. She loves helping to rip the leaves & then I toss them in a bowl with a tbsp or 2 of olive oil, a tbsp or so of Braggs (if using tamari use much less as this is very salty tasting), a few tbsp of sesame seeds & some nutritional yeast. The oil/seasonings go a very long way & these are the amounts for a very large mixing bowl full of kale. I just toss & put in the oven on parchement at 300 until everything is crispy. (20-25 mins or so) If she helps to prepare them then she gobbles them right up!

[Quinalla]

Try grilling some veggies, mmm delicious! And yeah, just adding a little bit of spice or garlic or something can really make them pop