The responses you have received are terrific. My 9 year-old is not the biggest meat and veggie eater, but he loves fruit and is never sick so I stopped worrying. My pediatrician says his palate will grow as he does. However, when he was little I used to use colored toothpicks to get him to eat. Of course, you will have to help your little one with that, but the kids love to pick which color comes first. Also you can try letting her dip the food into what ever she likes to drink. Be creative - call it "Magic-drink" or something. She will think it makes the taste different. The kids book, "I Will Never, Not Ever Eat Another Tomato" is very cute and shows that all kids goes through these phases - we just have to be creative and have patience. Good Luck.
Well, hasn't your pediatrician prescribed a liquid vitamin supplement for her? If not, talk to him about it. Mine did for both my boys when they were babies. My suggestion is that you just keep trying every other day or so without forcing it. One day she'll accept them and eat them. In the meantime, are you making your own, or using purchased food in jars? You may consider switching to see if that has anything at all to do with it. Is she still on breastmilk or formula? That will have everything she needs as well.
We had a similar issue, my son disliked the texture of meat for years, so he ate tofu instead. But eventually I figured out some tricks: I would blend up meat sauces so they were really smooth and pour them over pasta, tried to "hide" the green veggies in a cheese sauce (this didn't always work), referred to green beans as snakes or worms...this worked when he was 3...thought it was funny to "eat the snakes"...I know, your baby is too young for that yet. We also gave him iron fortified cereals and prunes because they are packed w/ iron. Also, your pedi can give you liquid vitamins and check her for anemia if you are really worried. My 10 mo old takes PolyVitamin Drops with flouride daily...she loves them!
I make my kids a delicious vegie soup. Put as many different vegies in that you'd like your daughter to eat ( I use about 8 different vegies!)& after it is cooked blend it until smooth. My kids all love it! I usually saute an onion in some olive oil, then add veggies, chicken & vegie boullion cubes & other seasonings and cook. While it is warm you can blend in some cheese as well to get some added protein. Also, blend in some cooked chicken, that way she'll get some meat...
Good luck!
A Vitamix blender is a great way to sneak healthy foods in. Its not cheap (close to $400), but you can do so many things with it. Since it pulverizes anything, you can also grind seeds so you get mega does of nutrition by leaving seeds in (i.e. apple seeds, mellon seeds, pepper seeds). You can add a leaf of kale or cabbage to your fruit shake and it gives you all the benefits, but you barely taiste it and it won't turn green with just a leaf or two. You can grind chicken into soups and have no meat chunks or texture. We use ours every day and I have a freezer full of home make baby food because of it. Its the greatest kitchen tool I own. It was an investment, but we are able to eat so much healthier because of it.
It really is a never ending battle. There are all kinds of tips on my website, but I always recommend continuing to put it on your little ones tray at least once a day. I put broccoli florets, green beans, edamame, steamed brussel sprouts, sometimes with dipping sauces and shockingly, kids start to dig it after a while. Give it a try-www.weelicious.com
Hi Cerissa,
You could try recipes from cookbooks like Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious"--my son loves her gingerbread (full of carrots and broccoli) and her blueberry oatmeal bars (full of spinach).
If it's the iron you're worried about, your daughter can consume enough iron from beans, nuts, seeds, fortified cereals, raisins, spinach, and dates. If she eats vitamin C (bell peppers. tomatoes/tomato sauce, potatoes, strawberries, broccoli, citrus fruits) with the iron source, it will increase the iron absorption.
Happy eating!
:-) Danielle
Hi...
I got my kid to eat peas with ... ready.... CHOPSTICKS !!!! i went to right start, and they have kids chopsticks with little things at the end to hold them together... he loved the idea, played with it for a while, and while he figures out how to work it, you kinda just shove the peas in his mouth.. so while he's eating it himself, you're helping him with a spoon while he's preoccupied... he now eats peas and corn with no problem and without me... if i can get him to eat grean beans, it'd be great, but he eats broccoli, and peas, and corn, and avacado, and all sorts of different fruit... peppers we dont like, but i'm hoping some day...you can always let her dip it in cheese or ranch, or some kinda sause she's into.... and i dont think any kids like the texture of meat.. if you find out how to get it in them, please let me know..
Thats sooo funny i had the same problem! My daughter is 17 months and she does not like broccoli or spinach. So for the spinach what i do is i make spaghetti and i take about a cup of sause and put it in the blender with some blanched spinach and blend it then i mix it with noodles. my daughter loves it and doesn't know the difference. So far i have done it with squash, spinach, broccoli, and even green beans! Well good luck i hope this bit of info helps
hi! I discovered by accident (!) a way to get my daughter who just made two years, to eat corn and peas. She likes to eat them frozen. I can get her to eat lots of peas and corn if it is right out of the freezer. She asks for them in her own cup and will sit down and eat them! and ask for more. She thinks she is getting a fun snack and I am happy that she is eating!
Maybe you could try that? Hope you find something that will work! Good luck to you!
--Hilary
Wow! I am overwhelmed at all of the helpful responses! Thank you so much. I am definitely going to buy Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook Deceptively Delicious and I am going to try all of the other suggestions as well. Thank you so much. All of the help was very encouraging.