Encouraging vegetarian son to try new food.

[Silverring]

He likes:

plain pasta with grated cheese on top

cheese and tomato pizza

chips and quorn sausage

peanut butter sandwiches

toast with peanut butter

bagels and butter

He has sweet peppers, tomatoes and cucumber with most meals, or baked beans, corn or broccoli.

I make him up snacks of dried dates, apricots, cranberries, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds which he has most days.

He likes apples, grapes, melon and satsumas.

He likes bland flavours, does not like mash, rice, quinoa or couscous and doesn't like eating soup so I can't hide lentils in my soups any more.

I know he's doing okay for iron due to the dried fruit snacks but I would like him to eat more variety so I don't have to keep cooking separate meals for him!

[mumkimum]

Cooking broccoli with the plain pasta & adding parmesan (you can add lemon zest/juice to this and/or white beans) is a good, simple dish with several already familiar foods.  White beans seem to go over best here, for their blandness, so I'd give them a try (meaning cannellini beans specifically). 

Does he like tortillas at all?  I'll do really simple black bean (not too many) cheese quesadillas, sometimes with sour cream for dipping.  Pepper sticks, cooked broccoli, and chopped tomato are good in them too.

I'll also bake them into 'mexican pizzas' with veg refried beans spread all over and topped with veggies, black olives, and cheese.  That may go over well.  (You could also try with pita bread).

You can make simple pita calzones by stuffing with mozzarella, veggies (peppers/tomato/broccoli all good choices) and a bit of tomato sauce and heating in a toaster or regular oven until they get nice and melty.

Would he like a simple peanut sauce on noodles?  Sesame noodles might also work and are a little blander than peanut sauces - good with things like bean sprouts, cucumber, grated carrot.

[marsupial-mom]

Involve him in cooking and shopping. He will be more interested in eating the foods that he has direct input in making.

[es1967]

My Ds is 6 now. These are some of his favorites.  I take him to pick his own fruits and veggies when possible.  The first broccoli we picked when he was around 4 -he ate the entire broccoli. LOL.   Also, got him eating green beans and cherry tomatoes this way.   I steam broccoli it and toss w a little EVOO, butter and garlic.

Hummus w pita and raw veggies

Black beans and brown rice.  I do it Chipotle stylle .  He loves to add avocado, tons of cilantro, vegan sour cream

White beans w rosemary and garlic.  Like the PP said Cannellini are best.

Rice wraps w almond dipping sauce.  Let him make his own w veggies he likes and create a sauce he likes  too.

When I do pasta I mostly do whole wheat and toss in lots of steamed broccoli.  Sometimes I do peas.