Vegetable ideas for 2 and a half year old

[Cutesbabasmummy]

Hi all! My 30 month old son will eat carrots, potatoes (most forms), broccoli and cauliflower. He used to eat baked beans but now wont. He doesn't like peas or sweetcorn. I'm worried that he will get bored with this small selection and need ideas on how to get him to eat more/different veg. He is ok on fruits too. He has rejected cabbage and green beans! I don't really want to "blend stuff into a sauce" as I'd rather he learned to eat veg as a side on its own. All ideas welcomed! Thank you x

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

How about raw veg, cucumber, carrot and celery sticks with a dip.
Do you encorporate veg into meals, veg curries, chilliest, fritata etc
How about roasting veg with garlic, I'm thinking peppers, onions courgettes etc? It changes both flavour and texture.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

What abouty chunky veg soup/ minestone? Veg is still veg but is in a different context. Or Corn on the cob instead of the kernals? Sir fry with baby corn, sugar snap peas etc If he likes mash potato then howabout other vegetables mash like sweet potato or carrot and swede, celeriac etc?

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Not all the veg I eat is dumped on the side of my plate :) It's okay to have meals that the veg is part of rather than as a side. ALso maybe wraps with lettuce and tomato and cucumber?

Ratatouie? (or however you spell it)

[booellesmum]

Asparagus
Raw mushrooms
Beetroot

[abc12345]

Will he eat spag Bol? You can put every veg imaginable in a bolognaise sauce! Even spinach if you chop it up

Or cottage/shepherds pie - that's the ideal place to hide peas and sweet corn (as well as onion, garlic, celery, tomatoes, carrot and anything else you fancy)

Baby pepper and cucumbers seem to go down better than full sized ones

Avocado, banana and yogurt mashed together is nice

You can make all kinds of interesting cakes/muffins with hidden beetroot etc

[Cutesbabasmummy]

Sadly he won't eat raw carrot or cucumber (although he went through a phase of liking cucumber!!) and wont eat chilli, curry or frittata! He is VERY fussy! He will eat vegetable soup which is something! If I hide peas and sweetcorn in say, a shepherd's pie, he somehow manages to filter them and spit them out!! I don't know how he does that?! I'm going to give muffins with courgette a try at the weekend with plenty of cheese! He does like tomatoes although they have to have the skin taken off - I think this is why he doesn't like sweetcorn or peas - due to the "shell". I find it hard as with the exception of celery and fennel I will eat everything!

[WaxOnFeckOff]

I get you with the shell thing. DS1 now 17 is the same and also doesn't eat smarties or minstrels etc becasue of the shell.

[Cutesbabasmummy]

Actually now I think about it he doesn't like smarties either even though he is already a chocolate monster!

[SarahJonesS]

He's not fussy really is he? My dd eats most potato formats, peas, sweetcorn, tomato, avocado, cucumber and almost all fruit. She's not keen on tomato based dishes or chilli, so not too dissimilar to your DC but I wouldn't describe her as fussy.
Overall she eats a quite wide variety of food. (sorry, I don't mean to be snarky but there are plenty of people posting on here whose dcs only eat beige food)

But, in order to help what about coleslaw or sauerkraut? Different veg on pizza/bruschetta.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Oh, and mini eggs, I mean who doesn't like mini eggs!!?!

[Cutesbabasmummy]

SarahJonesS he is pretty fussy! Today at nursery he is supposed to have chicken curry and then frittata for tea. After 6 weeks of eating nothing but a bit of fruit and flapjack I had a chat with nursery and they cook him a special meal of chicken pasta and cheese on toast for tea! Last year on holiday he lost 4lbs in a week by refusing to eat. He's just not motivated by food. He wont eat pizza anymore! And in terms of fruit wont eat grapes or orange now although he used to. It baffles me as to why he wont eat things he used to love?

At one point every meal time ended in tears for both of us as he wouldn't eat and I cant force him. I have taken the pressure off but he will quite happily starve if he doesn't like what's offered!

[sunbird17]

Roasted butternut squash?

[Fishcalledlola]

Have got a fussy 2year old. He used to like mashed carrot and swede, my dd loves it.
I sometimes mash potatoes, when it cools I scoop a sausage sized amount, roll in flour, then raw egg then in a mixture of crushed cornflakes and parmesan (so it looks like a fish finger) and bake for a bit. You can add all sorts of root veg to the mash.
Tbh, I have gone back to blending veg for him, to stressful otherwise. He won't eat fruit either.

[TheWeeWitch]

Corn fritters might be a good option.

Also, are you near an IKEA? My kids like eating these as a break from regular "vegetables". I'm sure you could make something similar but who, I ask, would bother.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/food-beverages/vegetables-side-dishes/allemansrätten-vegetable-balls-frozen-100-vegetables-art-40346434/