Follow-up Question to the Cow's Milk Question...

my daughter is 9 months old and when i make her baby food i combine spinach with mango and pears. she loves it and you could make it into a smoothie like the other mom suggested. i just buy the bag of fresh spinach and wilt it a little and add fresh pear and fresh or frozen mango (thawed).

I saw a really good idea -- I think Dr. Sears -- took a muffin tin and put baby carrots in one section, broccoli, celery sticks, ranch dressing, etc. and suggested leaving it out and just letting kids graze. (I don't know about leaving the dressing out at room temp all day -- I'd probably put it in a separate container and refrigerate during "off" times...) I've not done this because mine loves fruit and veggies, but I do like the idea a lot.

When she's eating, just go on and on about how yummy and healthy fruits and veggies are. How they make your body feel good, work well, grow, make you more beautiful, etc. It's kiddie propaganda!

Have you heard of Juice Plus? I've heard about it and like the idea of joining. I haven't yet...

My kid used to love broccoli, but then gave it up, too. Drives me crazy. I keep telling him he can't be vegetarian and not eat vegetables!

There are some juices like Odwalla "Superfood" and Bolthouse Farms "Green Goodness" - that have some healthy greens in them. Not as much as a bowl of brocolli, but some. It has a dark color, so if you think it will freak your kid out, put it in some cup with a straw so they can't see that it's a green fruit smoothie.

For spinach, I've been able to add a little chopped spinach to spaghetti sauces. Trader Joe's makes a "Cattiatore Simmer Sauce" and I add some *finely* chopped spinach and faux chicken (vegetarian "chicken") to that and toss it with angelhair pasta. (The simmer sauces are made to go with chicken or other meat, but the Cattiatore would be good enough on it's own.)

It's always easy to add more veggies to a soup recipe. Experiment with soups - my 4 year old has been BEGGING me to make the "Smashed Pea and Barley Soup" recipe that I got from the California Pizza Kitchen Recipe book. (Let me know if you're interested in that recipe.)

To me it is gross but my little boy loves anything with ketchup so I got to thinking.... and yep, he will eat spinach, broccoli, almost anything with ketchup on it! Yes, it does have sugar but it also has antioxidants and I am just glad he's getting his veggies!!

Hey, I have a 15 month old and and a 7 year old and my advice is to remember the veggie stage comes and goes for years. Just keep offering t hem to her. I put them in things and then offer a little on the side so I know she is getting them. Spinach, I do spinach and cheese quiche and she will eat eat eat! Try adding steamed cut up spinach to a creamy pasta sauce or in your spaghetti sauce.
I grate carrots in everything. Make a quesadilla with cream cheese, cheddar and grated carrots and microwave (because its softer). Get veggie cream cheese and spread on bread with slice of tomato or lunch meat. I chop up carrots with my chicken and dumplings. Things like that. Hope it helps. But seriously, this will come and go for years. My daughter is 15 months and my son is almost 7 and he will pick a salad over fries anywhere any day and his favorite fast food is subs! We talk about veggies and fruit and what it does for your body and then we talk about what fast food does to your body and it should only be eaten as a treat.
IT all starts when they are little!
Goodluck.

I am a big fan of hiding veggies. Still offer them at everymeal, like sauteed spinach, but you can cut of spinach and put it in spaghetti or lasagna sauce, puree it and put it in meatloaf; I actually love putting it in brownies (recipe from the Sneaky Chef book), if you want the recipe, let me know. My kids love my mashed potatoes and don't mind there is pureed cauliflower (the only way I personally eat it) in it. I have pureed butternut squash and put it in boxed mac and cheese (makes it a little sweeter).
Good luck (if you are interested in more email me ____@____.com)

there is a good cookbook out by jessica sienfeld about hiding veggies in regular food for kids called "deceptively delicious" you could try soem of those- or what I did with my 19 mos old- he stopped eating cooked veggies- so on a whim I bought some baby food again - green beans, sweet potatoes and corn- mixed veggies and he love sto feed them to himself with a spoon - sometimes I 'll mix it with applesauce or pears- it's a mess - but I figure he gets his veggies and he'll atleast keep the general "taste" for them - does that make sense?
good luck
Nikki
Oh- with spinach - my kids love it raw and dipped into ranch dressing or any other favorite dipping sauce....

It's natural for kids to go through phases where they avoid certain things. There are lots of ways to "hide" veggies. Seinfeld has a good cookbook for hiding veggies in recipes. The most important thing is not to power struggle with her over eating. Don't nag, plead, or force. Just encourage her, keep offering her the foods you want her to eat, and most importantly, you have to eat the foods you want her to eat and let her see how much you like them and how good you feel about eating healthy.

I try to sneak chopped spinach into omelets or sauces. But, when I do that I also serve fruits and veggies on the side so they see it's important to eat those. I just remember as a kid thinking spinach looked gross (and it still does!) so I don't push that one as much as I do the others....and boy do I push the others...half their plates are veggies at dinner and fruit is the first food at breakfast.

Deceptively Delicious (and other books like this) help too. I got one recipe from this cookbook for green eggs. You puree spinach and mix it with eggs and scramble them. My 3 year old thinks it's funny to eat green eggs!

Good luck!

Yes...I'm actually going through the same thing. Spinach is actually an easy one. Do you love smoothies? I know the kids would too. It's more like a fun shake. What a friend of mine does with spinach...I haven't yet...I've been too lazy lately...but what she does is add spinach to their favorite smoothie. Yes it will make it green, but a 1yo wouldn't know when the drink is in her cup. It's a healthy and nutritious way to get that spinach down for younger ones (as well as picky ones). Hope this helps with this one veggie.

Other than that, you just have to keep introducing it to her. Oh, what I did with avacado is make a mild spicy guacamole for my little one. But since your child is so young, I'd just put a tad bit of salt in the avacado....as the child gets older, you can give her some tortilla chips to dip into it. We buy ours from Sams Club, but now my youngest is 2yo and I add salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, a tad of salsa and mix it up (I don't put the yummy chunks of veggies into it) and then I start eating it myself with chips and here she will come along and want to eat it too. My daughter will not want it if I offer it to her. She's so stubborn. lol.

Just keep introducing them onto the plate whether they are eaten or not. They don't need to seem foreign to her...they will if you wait a few months and try again.

A M,
Spinach can be added to soups; just a little really helps the flavor anyway. Vegie soup is a good idea; easy to make; good for you.

If she helps you put the vegies on a plate for everyone to eat, she may be more likely to eat them, too. She may like to dip her vegies in dressing.

If you and the rest of the family eat the vegies with smiles on your faces and tell each other (not her) how good they are, she may be encouraged to try them.

If you juice, you could juice some really high calcium foods and put good tasting fruits in there and see if you can find a combination she'll like.

You may want to consider casseroles, too.

D. S (mom to 5)