veggie dilemma

[Aiyana's Mama]

help me get my dd to eat all her vegetables?

ok. so our family is primarily vegan & i was always oh-so-proud that my dd LOVES(d) veggies, including those usually detested by kids. my bil used to talk about his 5 year old, who barely survives on mac n cheese and pizza, and i'd sit there like, "yeah yeah, but aiyana eats her vegetables" and he'd tell me, "just wait until she gets older."
and so now she's "older" and it's like.. she eats ONE bean and her entire plate of rice or noodles (the grains are no problem) or she'll only eat 'em in a soup or something. and man.. veggies are important! we're vegetarians, right?!
anyone have any basic strategies? i heard the suggestion to at least push fruit if she won't eat veggies (but i think kids get too much fruit and fruit juice) or try vegetable juice (which i may, but i'm doubtful). i'd really appreciate suggestions.
sorry to be all over the place with this thread... it's late-ish.
blessings, mamas!
joleen
ps- one weird thing is that usually, when she does eat 'em, it's only as a snack or something.

[Artisan]

My DS is a "good" eater -- not picky, doesn't eat junk, etc. But there are quite a few raw veggies he doesn't like. He will, however, eat them cooked with lemon butter. (You could use soy margarine or whatever your family eats.) He will also eat them better if I put some on the fork first, and then put something else on the fork after, so the first thing to touch his tongue is NOT the veggie. Does that make sense? For example, a little piece of broccoli on the fork followed by a piece of potato. If he's in a mood, he won't eat it the other way around.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Veggie ideas,

-Olives! DD loves them.

-Cut them in a cool way like on a mandolin or some cheaper version. I cut a bunch in the morning and save them in water or in the jar with the pickles. They last for several days that way and I just get them out for every meal.

-Grow fresh peas and cherry tomatoes (next summer)

-Try frozen corn or peas...and leave them frozen. I got that idea from my MIL who had her kids eating peas this way for years; DD ate them that way for a little while.

-Pickles

-Fried zuccine

-Tempura

These are the ones that have worked for me. I'm sure you will get some great ideas for breads and soups from some of the parents who cook lots.

My daughter's diet has gone down hill for a while. I get lots of inspiration and help here, which helps me keep focused on her diet. Then, I also give myself a break because I figure if almost everyone's kids are going through the same thing, it must not be all that bad! Maybe they need all those carbs so they can run all over the place all day long!

[kerc]

shred carrots (or zuccini) into tomato sauce

when making mac and cheese, put spinach in the pasta in water at the end (so it gets soft) and then drain and make mac and cheese as usual. (ok you're vegan, don't know how to make vegan mac and cheese or if there is an equivalent).

dips....veggies with yummy dips (p. butter, salad dressing, etc).

veggie bread (zuccini and carrot come to mind)

soup (as you said)

[Aiyana's Mama]

ahh thank you thank you! all very good ideas that i didn't think to try yet! i guess i was just spoiled with the way she just ate up anything. she's a toddler now so she needs everything to be on the entertainment tip, including eating (which is why i love these ideas! finger foods, fun dips, & different shapes)
dd also LOVES olives, but lately, in her just-starting-to-rebel fashion, she's on strike against BLACK ones, and only wants GREEN.
thanks again, mamas
joleen

[Ary99]

This trick has been very successful for us, if a bit time consuming. We make potato or sweet potato balls (what is it about potatoes??? ). We hide veggies inside litle potato balls and DS is oblivious.

[Oklahoma Mama]

My ds used to be a great eater and in the past few months he has started to eat less and not a great variety. Maybe you can use some vegetable juice in some of your grain dishes?

[beanma]

dr sears advocates using a muffin tin or ice cube tray as a "plate" and putting dip in one of the compartments and dippables or other edibles (little sandwich bites) in the others.

hth

[justmama]

My daughter LOVES LOVES LOVES basmati rice cooked in vegetable broth with a little bit of basil, onion powder, and ground pepper. It turns the rice a funny orange color and makes the house smell like popcorn so she adores it!!!!
Meg

[Erin Pavlina]

Cut zucchini and shake in a ziploc with wheat germ to coat.

Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes at 350.

Dip in vegan ranch dressing. Oh so good!

I put zucchini in my vegan cheese lasagna. She doesn't notice.

[boo'smama]

Shred raw or cooked veggies into waffle or pancake batter (assuming she likes waffles or pancakes). Works every time in this house!

Also - fried rice or quinoa with shredded veggies.

Good luck! Love some of the other suggestions - thanks ladies!

[Jennifer Z]

Ds used to eat anything and we have also run into a brick wall. The first thing to go was the veggies, but we didn't worry too much because he ate lots of fruit (no juices, just whole fruit). Lately, even that is way down...he only wants grapes and will once in a while eat a banana (used to eat about 3 bananas, an apple, a pear, some peaches....all in a single day).

I appreciate the suggestions, but just want to post a warning about the veggie juice. Serve it in a different glass than what you normally serve their "favorites" in. Ds LOVES rice milk. We put some V-8 in his glass one time hoping to get some veggies in. Once he spewed it across the room in disgust, we changed it back to rice milk and he wouldn't take it. We dumped it back out and showed him that we were pouring rice milk into it...still wouldn't take it...in fact, ran screaming away from it. After many attempts we finally had to have one of us hold him and the other pour a few drops into his mouth so he knew it was "safe". Finally, he would drink again.

[chrysgee]

quickly adding:

pasterized carrot juice

frozen pre-peeled edamame that's been steamed

pumpkin bread

we also do the spinach in mac and cheese and the frozen peas and corn thing.

those "just pea"/"just corn" freeze dried veggies. they also have a veggie blend. they are light weight adn make good snacks for outings becasue the are so small and lightweight.

I do wish ketsup could be considered a vegtatble though!