19-Month Old Will Not Eat Vegetables!

I know these are a bit pricey, but try the jarred cut up baby veggies for toddlers by Gerber (I think). We found that the kids really liked those because the size, shape and slipperiness was right for the girls when they were learning to eat table food. For some reason the regular foods cut up didn't work as well. For example, cut up adult food carrots were too hard to pick up, but the ones specially made for toddlers were easy. Same with green beans-- adult ones or regular canned ones cut up fell apart when the girls tried to pick them up but the special made ones didn't. We found that true even more so with the fruit. Canned peaches just shot out of the kids fingers but they were able to pick up the ones made for toddlers. After a while once the kids confidence built and dexterity increased we switched to regular food. Goof luck!!

Hi S.,
I had the same issues with my son who is now 4 and eats lots of veggies (but perfers fruits, for sure!) Luckily he loves pancakes, so I'd just steam veggies, puree them and add them to the batter. He would gobble them up. Have you heard of that book Deceptively Delicious? Its a receipe book written by Jerry Seinfield's wife (I think). She tells lots of secret ways to get your kids to eat veggies- even in baked foods. Sometime I cook spinach and puree that and add it to brownie mix. I hope that helps!
blessings,
J.

Perhaps part of the reason is that is is getting used to the bland taste of the jarred baby food. Have you tried pureeing the veggies that your family eats. That will get her used to the real taste of vegetables in the texture that she is used you. Once you get her to eat that and get her used to the taste you can slowly start to make the puree more and more chunky and textured. Fun shapes or sizes may help at this stage too. My son also loves to eat just about anything that he can dip in a variety of sauces (ketchup, hummus, etc). I made all my own baby food and I do think that the taste really makes a difference and it really is not hard at all. Just take whatever you are making and puree it in a blender, food processor, food mill, etc with enough water to give you the texture you are looking for. This is also a heck of a lot healthier as it maintains nutrients that pasteurization process takes out.

Jerry Seinfield's wife was on Oprah talking about her book Deceptively Delicious. It has tons of recipes where you can put pureed veggies in the food. They took brownies, pizza, etc to a grade school and all the kids loved it. They couldn't even tell veggies were in there. Maybe try this... Also, she said to always put veggies on the kids plates too so they know it should always be part of your meal. Also, I know you said your toddler won't eat any veggies no matter how cook them but one recipe I can always get my toddler to enjoy is carrots with brown sugar. I stream the carrots till they are soft, then I mix in brown sugar and butter. My toddler is getting picky on the veggies but will always eat the brown sugar carrots!

Hi S.,

I have the book everyone has mentioned. It is good, get it from the library and read her ideas & see if it's worth the cost for you. I like the concept and add it to some of my stuff.

Also, I loved the idea of doing a puree of the veggies your family eats. I think kids need to get used to our cooking asap since they'll be eating it for the next 18-20 years! lol.

And don't discount nutritiously-dense fruits like berries & other fruits. They're important and will go a long way to help with the nutrition aspect. Keep trying, eventually you'll get there. My little guy goes crazy for diced avocado, maybe it's a texture thing right now, avocado is softer and might help her bridge the gap. Same with diced tomatoes.

Good luck to you.
D.

My daughter is the same way! I also resorted to V8Fusion juice since for every cup there is 2 servings of fruits and veggies!

I spoke to her ped about this and she said as long as she is getting fruits OR veggies it is fine. So, I am doing fruit mostly with no problems unless it is in yogurt and she spits the pieces out then- she has texture issues.

I have found that besides french fries and potatoe chips :) I can get her to eat cucumbers and salads with cherry tomatoes cut after she sucks on them. I use an organic Ranch Dressings and she loves it! When we go to restaurants I also sub the fries for salads and everyone is shocked that she will eat it! She has been doing this since about 18 months... she is almost 3 now!

I have also found that she will eat the single serve carrots from Trader Joes- she thinks Ming Ming from Wonder Pets eats that also since they are not selling the celery and PB single serves anymore that she loved.

Oh yeah... I also have fried up Yams like a pototoe chip in Canola Oil and she LOVES it!

A g-friend of mine calls brocolli Trees and other names. It works for them! I have resorted to calling Oatmeal Elmo Soup and she loves that... ONLY if I change the name! Ughhhhhhh, kids! lol

Good luck and I look forward to coming back to hopefully get some more ideas for myself since I LOVE my veggies and make lots of dinner of just that especially during the S.! Blessings to you and yours!

Hello S. C:

First of all take a deep breath and STOP WORRYING ABOUT IT.
I have a vast experience with children and their healthy eating habits. Follow the following 3 basic rules recommended by psychologisists and peditricians
1. Do not show your child that you are concerned about the foods she/he does not eat. Be calm.
2. Hide vegetables in the rest of the meal. for example, in Pizza or Spaghatti with sauce. Make faux macroni and cheese with cauliflower etc.
3. Always serve food with a little bit of vegetables on the side and do not ask her to eat it. This will make her familiar with vegetables. You will be surprised that one day without reminder your child will pick up the vegetables and eat it.

I hope this works for you

Hi S. Puree her vegetables. They will resemble her baby food ones and try putting them in her food. Also put them in a juicer she like them that way. If you juice them put some pulp in there( from the vegetables) for fiber. And give her solid food with the juice because it may give her a loose stool. Check with her pediatrican first about the juice. It should be okay to give to her because it just vegetable but because of her age, see what he/she saids.

Just give them to her, and eventually, she will eat them. As long as you keep giving her the baby food, she has no reason to adapt to the texture of regular veggies.

While she is getting use to the textures, give her soup for one meal a day --with a good healthy stock and the veggies pureed in it. My daughter loves Potato/Leek soup. I use Alton Brown's recipe. Simple, and yummy.

My kids loved carrot sticks and I got them to eat veggies with ranch dressing. Also they love the salad peas from traders. It has peas and rice in it. How about celery with peanut butter or cream cheese. Zucchini bread. Most kids like corn or even creamed corn. Good luck.

I too have a 21 mos. old daughter that won't eat veggies or meats. It drives me nuts! I have tried everything to hide them in things & she still won't eat them. My only suggestion is to try V-8 veggie juice (low sodium). I know they have the fusion which is a combo of veggies/fruit, but this is all veggies. My daughter has texture issues & is EXTREMELY fussy, but for some reason loves this stuff! I have also heard there are various cookbooks that offer receipes for picky eaters, you could google & see what comes up. Good luck & I'm sorry I couldn't offer you any more solid advice, but rest assured your not alone in this! :)

My kids have always loved their veggies, if I could only get them to eat more meat once in a while. My babysitter is so used to giving my 15 month old baby food that she still sometimes blends some up for her. I just asked her not to puree it too much. She takes whatever veggies we might have in the house, cooks them euther by boiling or steaming. Then puts them in the blending with a little seasoning and runs on puree for alittle bit. She also adds pieces of cooked chicken. My daughter loves this stuff. And when there is too much I can freeze it or add to soup to thicken it up. My d likes to start eating with a spoon but then she dips her fingers in and eats away. This might work for you.

She has blended spinach, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, carrots, etc. and then added in a clove of garlic, basil, oregano or whatever.

Here's some resources that I hope might give you some helpful ideas...

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030500.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030800.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T031900.asp

Best wishes,
J.

I agree with other posts about still trying to give them to her. Sometimes cute shapes help - cucumber stars or jagged edged carrots. But, I also highly recommend a probiotic that is 100% natural whole food nutrition. Mixed with berry smoothies, in mashed potatoes (turns them somewhat green), orange juice, etc. The highest form of vitamins and minerals that you can give anyone.

I use a powdered form that has the most bacteria count. Yes, we need bacteria to survive. Would love to provide you more information if you wish. Just give me your email address and you can read all about it.

Yours in health,

K.
Wellness Consultant

Try making the vegetables fun. As moms, we spend a lot of time making cupcakes, birthday cakes, and other desserts fun for our kids. Vegetables deserve (and need) the same type of attention. For sample recipe ideas, visit my web site at www.artfulveggie.com.

Really enjoying reading all the posts! My 14-month-old daughter has the same issue. Sometimes we can get away with coating them with cheese or yogurt (she loves both). I also try to pretend like I'm not emotionally invested in whether she eats it or not...which I don't know whether she falls for! Also, we give her vitamins A, C, and D to cover what she might not get (she eats lots of fruit). She will eat Veggie Booty, which tastes like a combo of broccoli and kale. I'm hoping that this will make her more used to a strong vegetable taste. Good luck!