refusing vegetables/ ideas of ways to sneak them in??

[carminex]

Hi, DD used to eat her veggies but has been refusing them for about a month now. (She's 17.5 months old) I know this is very typical toddler behavior. We try to still offer a variety and not make a big deal out of it. But weeks are passing without her getting anything but carrots in her!! She is pretty picky otherwise too and not that open to new things right now. (Thankfully the things she is used to and likes are pretty healthy!!) How have you dealt with this and what are your ways to sneak in veggies. She loves hummus so I made some the other day with spinach ground in really fine. It was a beautiful green color and she loved it! Any other ideas?

[mmgarda]

You might try making some carrot/zuchinni muffins. If you use any nuts or sunflower seeds, they can also be a good source of protein. Using dried fruit (or even leftover canned fruit) helps sweeten them. This is one of the only ways I can get my son to eat fruit OR veges.

[HollyBearsMom]

I second the carrot/zuchini muffins, also pumpkin and/or sweet potato bread.

My son will not eat peas, however mixed into mac and cheese he will gobble them up, same with carrots.

Also you might want to try a few not so standard veggies- my son loves lima beans, okra and broccilli rabe...usually mixed with butter or topped with cheese.

[scribblerkate]

Since she likes hummus, what about adding roasted red pepper to that as yet another variation? Also, around that time we discovered DS liked black olives, either coarsely chopped or in a simple olivada paste (tapenade w/o all the other spices). It sounds like she's a dip girl?

I second the idea about trying more unusual stuff. For a while, DS really liked swiss chard and other greens. But he has never refused veggies as a class of food, so our experience might not be that helpful.

[Jish]

Puree them like baby food and throw them into anything. They blend right in and no one will notice. I threw pureed green beans into my kids mac and cheese and it turned them a strange nearly blue color. The kids asked why they were blue and I told them it was special Blues Clues mac and cheese. They scarfed it down. SUCKERS!!!:LOL :LOL :LOL :LOL

[mmgarda]

LOVE the puree idea! Thanks! Also, we've had a fair amount of success mixing veges in with pasta, especially shells, where they tend to hide inside and DS doesn't notice them. Occasionally, however, he'll manage to extract the veges from the rest of the mouthful and spit them back out. Must have been a cat in another life. . .

[Noey]

Sneaking them in casseroles, pastas, muffins, dips with tofu or the like, burritos too. Also there are some really good green juices out there. Mega Green, Pure Food, etc

[lilyka]

Pureed veggies will go anywhere. Also jucies are good (not as good as the real thing but better than nothing.) carrot juice is good especially mixed with apple. Also add them to jelo (plain gelitin and juice work if you don't like the noirmal jello) and add them to yogert. The last one worked on dd until I got over zelous. zuccinni and carrots both make good muffins.

[gabesmama]

ds is very particular. we get veggies in a few ways. we juice. We bought an inexpensive juicer. he gets so excited over making the juice (carrot, celery, beet, spinach, cucumber, broccoli). if he gets a few sips I am thrilled.

Another way is now dis 18 months and he loves to count and when we cunt so we count out peas or any other bite size veggies

a final way that has worked for us is a great book called eating the alphabet. it goes through the abcs wit fruits and veggies. there are a few veggies that are fun for him to say lie jicima--so whenever we get to jicima he runs to the fridge for a piece.

good luck,

Lori

[mirlee]

The only way I can get Sam to eat his veggies is if I make a fruit/veggie juice combo or buy VRUIT in the berry flavor.

I swear I have the only vegetarian who won't eat his veggies!

edited to add: If it is shaped like a french fry, then there is a possibility. (We sneaked in some sweet potato and carrot fries one day and he loved them. Unfortunately, he will eat these only if Grandma makes them. )

[kaya3]

my son would scarf down oatmeal zuchinni cookies. just add some grated zuch to any oatmeal cookie recipe. anything you can bake into cookies or bread. my almost 4 year old son love4s apple/carrot bread

[guestmama9924]

Re: refusing vegetables/ ideas of ways to sneak them in??

Originally posted by carminex
How have you dealt with this and what are your ways to sneak in veggies. She loves hummus so I made some the other day with spinach ground in really fine. It was a beautiful green color and she loved it! Any other ideas?

That is what I was going to suggest. Also, "smoothies"- when I juice a couple of apples I juice some greens and some carrotts, sweeten with a bit more juice, blend with ice and serve like a 'shake'

baked into bread ( like banana bread but with carrott and zuchini is a HUGE fav around here...)

On pizza

wrapped in tortillas

finelly chopped or grated mixed in a 'dip' of sourcream, mayo, tahini, whatever medium you can do and serve with some sturdy chips

My girls love cold chick peas and beans too

[mellie-bellie]

I'm the queen of sneaking veggies into our foods, lol! Since we're vegans, I try hard to get my family to eat more veggies. One of our favorites is mashed cartatoes (I made the name up)...you use pureed carrots in place of milk and butter in mashed potatoes, it's sooooooooo good. I also use grated carrots in my homemade pasta sauce..I sautee them along w/ the onions and some sugar, then put a can of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and spices, along w/ steamed spinach. Our newest thing is smoothies w/ Perfect Food (a dietary powdered supplement that contains the equivalent of 5 green veggie servings and lots more good stuff, www.iherb.com sells it for a good price). I make either cream of carrot soup or some kind of squash soup every week, ds likes those. Carrot muffins and zucchini bread are big favorites too. Tofu scramble (kinda the equivalent of eggs) is a big hit, w/ tons of sauteed veggies in it. Cheeseless veggie pizza or focaccia is one of our favorites. Oh, and we do a stirfry once a week too.

Get creative..I enjoy coming up with new ways to incorporate veggies into our meals.

[mmgarda]

Your son's name

Hey, my son is Sebastian, too!! Not too common!

[mellie-bellie]

Neato!! Yeah, I never personally knew a Sebastian and I just loved the name when preggo. Then come to find out, the assistant midwife at the birth attended a birth a few days or weeks after ds' and they named their lil one Sebastian too. Friends teased me cuz I chose that name, because of Little Mermaid. My guy has really grown into his name, although I have to admit I've come up w/ oodles of nicknames for him that spin off of Sebastian, LOL.

[oceanbaby]

These are the ways I get ds to eat some veggies:

Enchiladas! I've made one batch with tofu, zucchini and corn, and another batch with swiss chard.

Mash and add to mashed potatoes.

Toss with olive oil and parmesan cheese.

Sweet potato fries.

Pancakes made with grates zucchini, carrots, etc.

Vegetable soup.

Zucchini, carrot bread with whatever else you can sneak in there.

I like the idea of pureeing and adding to mac and cheese.

And you never know what strange ones they will like. Ds hates carrots, but loves avocado and sometimes swiss chard.

[kaya3]

Another trick that worked for us was applesauce! When my son was about 18 mos, i could chop brocc. up and steam it in the micro and he loved it. sounds gross, i know, but that is what you'll do when your desperate! just be creative!

[queen620]

My son is almost 20 months and anemic so I try hard to get him to eat certain veggies rich in vitamin C when we eat iron rich foods.

My best so far is scrambled eggs with chopped broccoli. DS likes broccoli already so wasn't a big jump. I use free range eggs, but I am sure you could also use an egg substitue. My son almost always asks for seconds on this meal! I also add a little cheese, more for flavor than anything else. YOu could also add tomatoes or salsa to your scramble egg batter.

[Cindi]

My son, who refuses vegetables, loves Amy's veg. lasagna. I know kids are all different and I mostly came here to find more suggestions, but so far that has been his best source of veggies. We can buy them frozen at Costco and microwave or bake. Also from Whole Foods, but much more expensive.

[mmgarda]

SEBASTIAN'S SUPER VERSATILE OKARA MUFFINS
(great for sneaking in veges and fruit)

Note: To make okara, soak soy beans over night, then blend w/ equal amounts water to a fine slurry. Drain out water. The remaining grounds are okara. (If you make your own soy milk, okara is what you have left over.)

2 c. okara
1 c. flour
2 c. other grain (oatmeal, cornmeal, wheat germ, etc.)
1 egg
1 c. liquid (milk, juice, water)
1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. sweetener (honey, molasses, sugar)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. additions (grated zukes/carrots, raisins, dried fruit, coconut, chopped nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin, canned fruit, herbs, spices, whatever!!)

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 min, or until toothpick comes out clean.

These muffins will be small, but very dense and filling. They are very high in protein, too!

Fave combos:
Oatmeal, raisin, carrot, walnut
Whole wheat, mixed dried fruit, sunflower seeds
Cornmeal, creamed corn, chopped red peppers

Enjoy!!! (My kid will eat somewhere between 2 and 4 of these EVERY DAY!!!)

Melina