Tips for getting a 4 year old to eat vegetables

[WheresYouWheelieBin]

My 4 year old used to eat anything I put in front of home but over the last 2 or so years he has become incredibly picky. He will eat a few different types of fruit but won't even have vegetables on his plate, let alone eat them. My older boys eat a huge variety of foods including fruit and vegetables, so I had just assumed my 4 year old would eventually follow their good example. That doesn't seem to be the case. Any tips for getting him to at least try vegetables? He won't look at mashed veg of any kind.
He's very stubborn. Very, very stubborn!

[kittytom]

Have you tried putting gravy on them? I think that is what finally got my son to try veg (though trying gravy took a while too...).

He is also incredibly stubborn. He wouldn't allow so much as a pea on his plate until recently. Luckily he likes tomato sauces so I blended them into those before that (not too many, he could tell!).

I think also, just keeping on casually putting them on the plate (and casually removing them again!) also helped. He eventually stopped bothering to object. I also kept saying how grown up it was to eat veg etc.

(We are still talking a tiny nibble here and there but it is a victory as far as I am concerned!)

[RiaOverTheRainbow]

Try soup. If texture is the issue a well blended soup should be ok, if it's flavour then you can mask a lot with curry or garlic or marmite. And if it's the idea of vegetables then "of course there's no onion in this soup darling" If that works you can also use thick soup as pasta sauce.

[WheresYouWheelieBin]

Gravy is a good idea, I might give that a try.
Ria, I can get him to eat soups and sauces with vegetables blended into them, but I'm really keen to get him trying vegetables that look like vegetables IYSWIM. He won't even allow me to put vegetables on his plate if they look anything like their natural form. I'm sure my bigger kids were eating vegetables by this age, my younger boy is so much harder!

[KanyesVest]

We play the Peter Rabbit game here. I'm Mr McGregor chopping up veg and loudly hoping Peter and Lily Rabbit don't come to steal my carrots, peppers, etc. I got rid of 2 large carrots, 1 large pepper and a bag of sugar snaps before dinner last night with ds and dd giggling hysterically as I chased them away with threats of them going in a pie. Little wretches refuse all vegetables on a dinner plate though.

[Ellieboolou27]

Yes to gravy! It's how my dd finally started to eat veg. Also I do grated carrot and finely chopped white cabbage and add mayo like a coleslaw and fajitas with very finely sliced peppers, go on Pinterest they do a lovely spinach ball recipe that got my dd eating the green stuff.
It took a loooooong time for her but now she finally can have broccoli and carrots in her plate without being disguised

[RiaOverTheRainbow]

That's brilliant Kanye

[rattieofcarcassone]

That's genius Kanye! I'm saving that one for my box of tricks.

The only advice I have OP is to start with very small pieces/slices of things. I was a fruit and veg averse child, my parents thought I'd grow out of it so gave up trying. I didn't grow out of it. It turned into a full-blown aversion, if not a phobia, of fruit and vegetables and it took me years to 'train' myself out of it and I still struggle with some things sometimes now. Starting with very tiny pieces and slices in other foods like bolognaise, curry and sweet and sour with fake meat chunks (vegetarian) was the starting point for me, but obviously I wasn't a four year old child when I started doing it!

Still can't eat a tomato though.

[KanyesVest]

Glad my lunacy might come in handy for others actually, just remembered, ds will also eat broccoli trees if he's being a plant eating dinosaur that day. In case that's any use...

[kittytom]

Oh, yes DS only tried a nibble of broccoli because I told him it was a mini tree... Love the peter rabbit game idea!