First Time Mom - Abington,PA

My kids also love the raw veggies, they can down a bag of mini carrots in minutes :-) The vegetable/fruit juices are good enough that he will not notice a vegatable taste.

I have a recipe for spinach square soup that you are welcome to. It is the only way i can get my family (including husband and i) to eat spinach.

Please do not force them. My dad did this to us kids and my sisters and i still talk about how much we hated it. We became masters at getting rid of veggies/fish. (Toilet flushing and out the window behind us included!!) I really think you have to try a new veggie untill you find one he likes.

my son LOVES the V8 Fusion Strawberry Banana, tastes like regular juice, and has vegies in it.
Also, Ragu make a jarred cheddar cheese sauce that is actually really good, and once you open it you can store it in the fridge in the jar. I wasn't a big fan of putting cheese on veggies, but......now my boys will eat brocc, cawliflower, almost everthing with the sauce.

Give him raw veggies with a dip as a snack: First, anything they can eat by themselves is more fun for them; second, finger food is much more achievable and fun than using a fork; third, snacks tend to be offered when they're hungriest. You might even put little baggies of pre-cut veggies in the fridge so he can get them himself. Baby carrots cut in half lengthwise, raw greenbeans (my 12-yr. old loved these 10 years ago and still does!), celery, broccolo spears or florets; you can do the same with apples or pears cut into wedges; I also cut oranges cross-wise into half-"smiles" because it's easier than peeling and sectioning and my daughter loved eating them this way.

For a dip:
If you're the prepared-foods kind, just mix up dried onion soup with sour cream. If you're the make-it-yourself organic kind of mom, here's my daughter's continuing favorite: mix a pint of sour cream with about a teaspoon of Spike (a natural vegetable salt available at health food stores; Vege-Sal is also good), about a teaspoon of natural Tamari or soy sauce, about a teaspoon of dried dill.

Make really fun-looking raw veggie salads for dinner, and let him eat his first while you're still getting dinner finished. Red pepper for a mouth, a small baby carrot for a nose, celery slices for eyes, broccoli florets for hair,etc. You might even bring out the prepared veggies and let him construct his own. My boyfriend did this for his daughters when they were little, and they enjoyed it; my daughter loved making a "pick apart", which is what she calles fresh veggie trays: raw spinach leaves for the base, then "artistically" arranged veggies.

Best of luck!

Hi! Try the V8 veggie juice, it has tons of fruits & veggies in it & my son who will be 4 loves it!

This is a tough one. My son turned 2 at the end of January and we have the same problem. He does like tomato sauce so we use that whenever we can. I mix it with rice and parmesan cheese and he eats that up. He also likes canned carrots. I get the Giant brand in a small can because the pieces are smaller and there's less waste. I rinse them under cold water and he eats them cold from the fridge with no problem. Sometimes it seems he would eat the whole can if we didn't stop him! He also eats frozen mixed vegetables on occasion - depends on his mood. Yesterday I did get him to eat some diced peeled English cucumber (seedless). He is really into dipping everything so I told him to dip it in his tomato sauce and he did several bites that way. If your son does like tomato sauce, you can even doctor it up with some spinach or broccoli if you chop it up really small and mix it with the sauce. My son loves any and all fruits and we give him vitamins as well so I'm not too worried about his veggie intake. Just keep offering things to him and he may eventually take it :)

Hi J.,

V8 Fusion! Kids love it. Also I make my daughter acini de pepi or pastina with vegetable bullion, I put frozen spinach in a food processor and add it. She loves it! Good luck.

PLEASE DO NOT LISTEN TO MICHELLE'S ADVICE!!!!! MOMMY DEAREST! thats so sad. kids have taste buds and the right to like and dislike food! We as parents are in charge of finding what they like and how to keep them properly fed and give them what they need to grow and thrive!!! We are not in the great depression! I bet her kids have barbies, spiderman....come on.

Hi,

I dont know the name of the book but if you go to your local barnes and noble in the cooking section there are a few books that help you "hide" vegiies and fruit in your food with out your kids knowing. My friend has had to use these books with wonderful success. You end up pureeing the veggies and putting them in the mixes of desserts and just normal dinners and you cant even tell they are in there. I also subscribe to parenting magazine and there are sometimes recipes in there that tell you to put baby food like bananas and blueberry applesauce and carrots in food. You cannot tell that they are mixed in. Good Luck@!!!

Try adding them in tiny pieces to foods like casseroles and soups. I've heard people are now pureeing veggies and adding them to foods, like burgers and such. They do have veggie crackers and stuff. Try experimenting with some healthy dips and see what he may like. If he likes tomatoes, buy a bunch of cherry tomatoes to snack on.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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Right before dinner is when my boys are the hungriest. I will set out a platter of cut veggies with ranch dip in the center of the table, and they will come by and snack on them. Also, this will sound weird, but they love frozen corn and peas, so I will also give these before dinner.

Make sure you and your husband are modeling good behavior, and eating veggies at every meal time. Do not make a big deal of it, give them a little, tell him he must try it, but he does not have to eat it all. Then let it go if he doesn't want to eat it.

I also make my own appllesauce in a crock pot, very easy to do, so I have that and cranberry sauce on hand for days that I want to add some nutrition in.

Try the recipes in Deceptively Delicious cookbook. You put cauliflower in mashed potatoes, spinach in brownies, etc. Absolutely wonderful and you cannot taste the veggies!

Tell him "eat it, or you're having it for breakfast/lunch/whatever the next meal is," he doesn't finish by next meal then give it to him for the next meal after that, and so on, but after 1 &1/2 to 2 days throw it away it if still is uneaten. Hunger will get the best of him eventually and he WILL eat it, and given time maybe even learn to like it. Yeah, I know it may sound mean, especially to some of you folks that love to spoil your kids like precious favored pets and can't stand to see them get even a wrinkle in their forehead, much less pout. But guess what? IT WORKS! ... or at least it did for me, I was one helluva stubborn child! :P LOL!
Anyways, you have to train him out of his picky-eating behavior, and you have to do it now while he's really little. We're on the brink of a depression, and in the coming years food may be scarce, so there won't be TIME to be picky and say "I don't want it," tough, it's either that or starving. Teach him to like his veggies now and he won't balk at them later when it matters.

TIP: one way I ended up learning to like veggies was when they were cooked until they were hot and smushy, like in a roaster with a chicken or in soups. Try this and it might help.
P.S. The "no dessert" idea's a good one as well. And don't give your son soy, unfermented soy is really bad for you and contains phytoestrogens, so unless you want a foggy-headed boy-lover with a heart condition and increased caner risk for a son, don't do it.

I have not had any luck with getting my son to try new things... so for the sake of his health, I've become very creative in the kitchen. I never serve spaghetti sauce anymore that is lacking chopped carrots or spinach. I serve pizza pockets now instead of a slice of pizza because I can hide any chopped veggie in there. I also use shredded carrots anytime I'm using shredded cheddar cheese too, because they look the same. Every now and then he'll notice a texture difference, but for the most part, he has no idea. You can also hide veggies in meatballs or meatloaf. I put flax seed in my homemade bread and/or waffles too. Good luck!

PS- And the veggie juice is a great idea too... we rarely let him drink juice (only milk or water) but if we do offer juice, it is always veggie juice. Juicy Juice brand makes 3 different kinds.

Good job knowing he needs them! Vitamins can't hurt, but the real nutrition comes from real food. Definitely be creative and hide them in food, but also, you can teach him to eat them. My step sister has 12 kids, some were picky eaters at first, this worked for all of them.

Make a green veggie in its natural form, but make it really good-spinach sauteed in a little olive oil & garlic, etc. Get the flavors as good as possible.

Cut it up in TINY tiny bits-not big sloppy glops, and put a miniscule amount, like one or two tiny baby bites on his plate.

Let him know he has to eat that before he eats the rest of his food (something he likes).

Make sure he is hungry before the meal-no snacks. Be super light hearted and happy about it, and celebrate if he takes a bite.

If he doesn't eat it, don't get upset or make a big deal of it. Don't coax too long or allow a power struggle, he just misses that meal. No snacks until the next meal.

Don't discipline or force him in regards to eating, but do enforce normal rules and table etiquette. Discipline for tantrums or throwing food. Don't let him rebel against your food prep duties!

It won't take long (usually one missed meal!) for him to eat the tiny bite of veggies. Over time, you can increase the portions. In the beginning, make ever new serving VERY TINY, and big bob of veggies is too scary to a picky eater.

This is if you want to draw the hard line, if you don't want to do that-disguising the veggies is the best way. Good luck!

The Healthy Harvest juice is also really good. Mostly contains carrot juice, but it's something!
Also, get sneaky....look at Jessica Seinfeld's book for recipes for kids/picky eaters.
I used to put green peppers in the blender and put into the ground meat for stuffed peppers since no O. seemed to actually eat the pepper part, yet they wanted the flavor!

I have a picky 3 1/2 yr old, and she's been that way since about 2 yrs old. I'm not into hiding veggies in other foods, because I think kids should be exposed to the real thing. What works for us is to always offer a small amount of veggies at most lunches and every dinner. We let her choose her dip (ranch, ketchup, honey mustard) for carrots sliced red peppers, etc., and that works wonders. We also ask that she have at LEAST 2 or 3 bites of veggies. If she refuses, she gets no dessert, which usually means she chooses to eat the veggies because she can't stand going without dessert. If you don't want to go that route, you could offer incentives (extra nighttime book, etc.)to your son for trying or finishing his veggies. I've noticed that it's true about what they say - it sometimes takes 10+ tries of something before they'll accept it. At first my daughter would gag at the taste of broccoli, but with persistence in insisting on those 2 bites, she's now eating MOST of the broccoli put on her plate, and says "I like it"! We consider that a small miracle in our house. :) Another tip you might try: frozen corn & peas - not warmed. Both of my girls enjoy eating those 2 veggies cold.
Here's one veggie that my picky one eats every time, that a lot of people have never heard of: EDAMAME. They're soybeans, and they taste sort of nutty. You can buy a bag in the frozen section of the grocery store and just heat in the microwave, sprinkle a little salt on top, and toss. We buy them in the shells (they look like sugarsnap peas) and my girls LOVE popping them out and eating them. Make it fun and be sure you are modeling good eating habits. In another year, your 3 yr old may surprise you and reach over to your salad and start picking things out to eat - mine did!
Best wishes to you!

I recently bought a bottle of Juicy Juice Healthy Harvest (I think that is the name) and my kids drank it all without complaint. To me it smelled liked carrots but tasted like fruit punch.

I also hide veggies in the foods I'm making. Most often I hide them in ground beef (meatloaf, meatballs, hamburgers, etc) and spaghetti sauce. I will puree or finely chop peppers, celery, carrots and mix them in the ground beef or sauce. I've even put baby food in because I was able to get a greater variety with less work (though probably a bit more money).

Have you tried offering dips with veggies - cream cheese, applesauce, ranch dressing, yogurt, etc? Let him experiment. My son went through a short phase where he would only eat apples if they were dipped in ketchup. (He was 2 1/2 then. Now he is almost 5 and tells me that sounds like a crazy idea!) My daughter once insisted on dipping her prune in bbq sauce. (Yuck - I know!)

My kids didn't eat tomatoes until last summer when I got them each their own grape tomato plant. Each day we would check to see if any were ready to be picked. They picked them, washed them and ate them with their snack. They loved it. Maybe something like that would be fun, motivation for your son.

What about a sticker chart? For every meal that he eats (or at least tries) a veggie he gets a sticker. At the end of the week maybe he can get a small treat/prize.

Good luck!