Toddlers and vegetables

[quietserena]

So, ok, DD is 18 months and up until now she used to eat pretty much whatever she was offered. Unless she was tired of it because she had it too much like baby carrots.

But in the past month, she has slowly refused all cooked vegetables. Except really starchy ones, like sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. She's ok with fresh veggies sometimes but even that is an iffy thing. She mostly plays with them. Meats she eats with no issues. Same with beans.

I also read an article pointing out that kids can taste bitter compounds that adults can't and that's why they refuse spinach and broccoli.

I intend to keep offering her a variety of food but what do I do if she continues to refuse things? Things I think she should eat? Our diet is low in grain (one meal a day at this point and usually rice) and it's mostly veggies and meat and if she refuses the veggies she's just left with meat! She's still mostly breastfed so it's not truly an issue but I'm concerned that it'll become that.

I have a feeling this is one of those 'kids know best' types of things but can you calm my mind about it a little?

[MeadowSong_]

I give my kids super small portions of things they think they don't like. If it's one small piece of something, it seems less intimidating and they are more likely to try it. The large majority of the time, they ask for more. Sometimes they don't and I never try to make an issue of it.

Your right, they do know what they need and when they need it. My kids go through spurts when they eat nothing but veggies and fruits, then for a few weeks will barely touch a green bean. I find this more so when they are younger. My oldest is an excellent eater, but wasn't always. He went through his fair share of pickiness. It seems to even it's way out in the end, as long as you continue to offer good food choices

[kimnt]

my dd went through phases where she ate a lot of meat, but not many veggies. But now she's 2.5, and loves her veggies. I wouldn't worry about it - just keep offering a large selection of raw and cooked veggies and fruits.

[PreggieUBA2C]

I also wouldn't worry about it. Our boys have and still all do that with different foods at different times (except the babe, of course). I worry less about it after reading WAPs article on the subject (on the foundation's site). If I recall correctly, he wrote that young children really need a lot of fats, dense foods like butter, cheese, yogurt, milk, and yams, potatoes, meats, etc, but what they don't digest well enough to warrant forcing them to eat are vegetables. As their bodies gain increasing facility in digesting them, they will desire them more. In spite of fretting over this with ds1, I can look back and see that this is exactly what happened with him.

Babe's calling...

[Ruthla]

She's 18mo? This is completely normal! Lots of kids get picky around that age and stop eating foods they used to eat happily.

If her diet consisted of 100% meat, she'd get enough nutrition (well, as long as it was very fatty cuts if it was her ONLY food). Similarly, if her diet consisted of 100% breastmilk, she'd get enough nutrition. Between those two main staples, plus a few veggies and fruits thrown in, I'm sure she's fine.

[quietserena]

Thanks guys! Even now when I go back and read my question it doesn't seem so bad to me...