Is Tomato Juice OK for Babies????

My son LOVES V-8 Fusion. It is actually a fruit juice but it has both fruits and veggies in it. It doesn't have the problem of having all the sodium that regular V-8 has. As well, though I don't think there is any problem with V-8 itself for toddlers I would be careful about how acidic it could be. My son had difficulties with Orange juice even. He didn't spit it up or show signs of reflux, but it left him with a bad diaper rash.

I get the low sodium kind and dilute it a bit. My 17-month-old loves it. She doesn't drink a lot, but it gives her some extra vitamins. But, don't worry too much. Kids are notorious for not eating veggies and not eating at all, and they grow up just fine. Just keep putting the veggies in front of her every day and eventually she'll eat one or two.

I don't know about tomato juice but another way you could get her the veggies she needs is a powder called "Simple Greens". You add the powder to water or juice, it has a spearmintish flavor but if it were mixed with juice it might be unnoticeable. Try the health food store. I got mine from my midwife.

My daughter loves V8 juice! I started giving it to her when she didn't eat enough veggies at the recommendation of her PEDIATRICIAN. We gave her a choice of "would you like this vegetable with dinner or would you like to drink your vegies"? She thought it was a fun choice, usually she picked the juice, and eventually she started chosing the vegetables too. She now loves most vegies and still drinks the V8 occasionaly. I suppose all of you who are overly worried about the salt never give your kids goldfish, pretzels, crackers or anything like that? Her dr. said the benefit of the nutrients in the juice far outweighed any negatives from the salt. Just make sure your children also drink plenty of water. Which is not a problem for us since we all drink lots of water in this family and not a whole lot of junk like sodas or juice. Which those too have salt in them. It's crazy how worked up people get over a little salt, there are much more scary things to fret about.

My daughter will drink green smoothies if they have banana and milk in them. If you have a vitamixer, you can put green veggies in with the banana and milk. If not, you can use a green powder from the health food store. Just make sure that the green powder is just greens and does not contain herbs and other stuff.

You can try V8 Splash which is a combination of your daily fruits and veggies. It tastes more like juice than tomatoes.

Have you tried watering it down a little? Has she ever seemed like her tummy was achey? I personally don't see what it would hurt as long as she isn't getting too much. Maybe ask her pediatrician. They do have chewable vitamins that are specific to veggies.

Hello,
This issue about not accepting veggies comes and goes. You're both in it for the long haul, so hang in there with the veggies! I'd be really cautious about giving he V8, both for the sodium, but also because neither you nor her should think of it as a substitute. My apologies if I sound a bit opinionated about this. Instead, I'd suggest a general strategy of hiding healthy purees in her food as you steadily expose her to visible vegetables. There is a really good book called the Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine that has great strategies for getting lots of veggies in invisibly. That's not enough, however, because your daughter needs to learn to like the visible ones! So just keep on giving them to her, and reinforce the ones she likes as well as introducing new ones. This stuff is really hard! I've been adamant about veggies, and my now 27 month old daughter is really good with them. It has not always been that way. Also try a range of fruits and remember that many of the same vitamins and minerals come via fruits as well. Another standard book I really like is "Child of Mine--Feeding with Love and Good Sense" by Ellen Satter. Really informative. Good luck!

V8 is incredibly high in sodium. I would ask your ped first.

Hi M.

Have you heard of the Nutrilite Kids Chewable Concentrated Fruits and Vegetable supplement? It provides 5 key phytonutrients from fruites and vegetables like Lycopene (from tomatoes), Lutein and Hesperidin, and is organic. The chewables do not contain any vitamins and minerals, they can be obtained from a multi. This is much better than V8 because there is no sodium, and the nutrients are extracted with cold water, so do not get heated - cooking or heating up fruits and veggies lessens the potency of the nutrients in them! I don't know if a 15 month child is old enough to chew the chewables, but you can crush it into food. Fiber can be obtained from whole grains, like whole wheat pasta, bulger wheat, steel cut oats etc. Also puree real fruits and vegetables and hide them in food.

All the best.

M.

Dear M.,
You can get low sodium V-8 or water it down a bit. I know that some people are concerned about the sodium content, but please realize that sugars in fruit juices, especially apple, are absolutely horrible for little teeth. Just be sure to also give water and brush her teeth.
Both of my children absolutely loved, and still do to this day, anything with tomatoes. They will just eat tomatoes right out of the garden.
I would just say not to give your little one too much of anything acidic at a time.
If she's not getting sores in her mouth or tummy aches, let her have it.
Just keep trying to introduce vegetables. Some kids prefer veggies that aren't cooked so you can try letting her explore things raw. Steamed cauliflower with a little butter, YUM!
Just keep trying to give her all the things you eat and be very excited how delicious it is.

Hi M. C,

My daughter, who is now 9 drank v-8 all the time time,she loved it.. she drank the small ones, at least once a day..

You can't agrue with that.. just don't mix that with milk, she had v8 and then milk shortly therafer.. you can imagine what happened after that.

Have an abundant day

C. K

I used V8 (low sodium for the judgers out there) for my 18 month old son's constipation while we were traveling. It didn't bother him at all and worked a treat on the constipation.

As for the veggie eating, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just try to disguise the veggies elsewhere - any veg can be pureed into pasta sauce, soup, dips, etc. For a few ideas, see 15 Ways to Disguise Veggies at http://life.familyeducation.com/nutrition-and-diet/foods/...

Please keep in mind V8 has a ton of salt. Not the best solution. Consider pureeing veggies and sticking them in other foods such as spaghetti, or in with meat/sauce dishes. There are books on the subject....Deceptively Delicious, etc.

Also, keep trying different veggies and fruit. She may come around with different things!! Make squash sweet with a little brown sugar...

Regular tomato juice, not V8 may be ok, at a minimum. I would try to stick to watered down apple juice,

Good luck!

have you thought about juicing your veggies and fruits? all natural and no added salt. the best combo i think is carrot/apple/beet. add some leafy greens and celery for more nutrition.

Hi M.,
I'm not a nutritionist but I agree with the other Moms that V8 has too much salt for a 15 month old. There are many other brands of juice you could try or you might try making your own.
With fruit or carrot juice you will want to watch the sugar intake. I give my daughter 1 sippy of "juice" a day after her nap. It's really 1/3 apple juice and 2/3 water.
Sorry your girl won't eat her veggies. It's so frustrating when toddlers get so picky.
A.

I am not sure if it is ok, but my 16 month son is the same and I let him drink the V8 Splash(fruit & veggie juice mix) and he loves it and it has never upset his stomach.

15 months is WAY too young to give up on veggies. Try mixing them with other foods. Applesauce and puree pea, baked carrots, etc. Don't give V8--it is way to high in sodium for adults, much less children! If you must give veggie juice, buy a juicer and make your own! That way you know what is in it is good for you all!

Good Luck

it maybe too acidic for your baby. I would just try a lil at first

I am curious to know. My son loves V8, but I will only give it to him a bit at a time. So far he has never had a problem

Hi M.,

I also have a 15 month old daughter and she LOVES V8 juice, especially the low sodium version. She's still a good eater - she still likes her veggies, but she gets excited when she sees the V8 juice. I don't give it to her everyday and I only give her small amounts in a sippy cup. I basically let her decide when she's had enough. She seems to like it and doesn't have much tummy upset from it. If your daughter likes it and shows no symptoms of tummy aches or allergies, I don't see a problem with it. But if you're still worried, you can always talk to her doctor about it. Good luck with the "no veggies" phase.

You can try "hiding" veggies in foods. My mom used to put a little V8 juice in spaghetti sauce when my brother and I were in our picky, "no veggies" phases. (Maybe that's why I love it so much!) There's also a recipe for meatloaf using pureed baby veggies that I saw on the back of a Gerber's cereal box (I think it was oatmeal). Anyway, I haven't tried it yet, but it looks and sounds interesting. It's a hard and frustrating thing to go through, but try to be patient and keep introducing things. She'll like veggies again.

I would be careful of the sodium content of V8 juice, your little one's kidneys cannot handle that much salt. Try the low sodium version and Dilute it at least in Half. Keep offering veggies. I even hide them in pasta or mashed potatoes for my 14 month old. It is also okay to add some butter or cheese to entice them to try and like their veggies Keep trying and model the veggie eating behavior
good luck

M.
Unless your daughter has a medical problem, you do not need to worry about the salt in V8. Keep offering all kinds of foods as what she likes this week she may not like next week. keep up the great work of offering all kinds of yummy foods. A.

I'm a big believer in fresh foods, still living. Can you get a juicer and make your own vegie juice, without all the extra sodium too? Then you can make seasonal juices, and add more variety.