To fear DC may get Scurvy?

[TopsyTurvyScurvyLurgy]

I'm only slightly kidding here.

DC2 will refuse to eat any fruit or vegetables at all. It's causing me a huge amount of stress, and I've tried everything. DC happily ate everything until around 2, and then just stopped
My other DC eat a wide range, so I'm not sure what's gone wrong.

Nothing will work - not blending / pureeing / mincing. Not soups or smoothies or sauces. Not bribing, or ignoring, or insisting.
We've read upteen books, visited the doctor, asked SENCO for advice.
I think they don't understand the issue, or think I'm exaggerating.

DC looks really run down, and is quite pale and skinny.

If anyone has any serious advice, or anything that will work, please share this with me!
They are in upper primary by the way,

I mix (frozen finely chopped) spinach into anything that will take it. Macaroni cheese for example. 2yo doesn't even notice.

Oh god, I think we have the same child. I just get them to drink as much Orange juice and boxed smoothie as is sensible, and much teeth brushing. Otherwise he just eats weetabix, chicken or very slightly marmited toast. It's a nightmare.

My ds has recently graduated from only eating skinny fries to eating those little crispy potato cubes. He doesn't eat other potato products. He only eats baked beans and corn on the cob but will eat a small selection of fruit.

Mine wont eat cooked but weirdly raw carrot, cucumbers, peppers

Spag bol? Thinking there is some tomato in that.
Would he eat tinned fruit, instead of fresh? Jelly with a small amount of fruit segments in it? Go soft fruit picking in the summer?

Dd wouldn't eat cooked either

oven baked chips are still potatoes. Full of VitC.

How old is your fussy eater? Took us YEARS to get DS (now 11) to eat 4 different veg. He will eat fruit leathers, too, and grape juice (Schloer). That's his entire repertoire of F+Veg. Yes I resorted to reward system: no veg no pudding. 2 older siblings are fruit fiends. (sigh) DS has also tried the occasional blackberry or raspberry (tastes 1 a year on avg).

If they'll drink fruit juice they won't get scurvy.

Humans are omnivores. We can do well enough on a really shockingly unvaried diet.

Had you tried sitting down with a bowl of chopped fruit, eating it and making a small, not obvious fuss about how nice or is then when they ask for some try and say no because you want it all. Reverse their thinking that fruit and veg is a terrible healthy thing and can be enjoyed..

I don't mean at meal times either, like sitting and watching telly just cut up some fruits, kids loves snacks, if she thinks you have a snack no doubt she'll want some.

Well they eat things like lasagne or shepherd's pie where the veg is part of the sauce?

Have your tried cooking fruit puddings

Unsidedoen apple cake
Orange flan
Charity cake

Get them to help out and fast the mixture

I truly had this fear with DS. He ate normally until a vomiting bug when he was one, Now he is nearly 4, I am truly ashamed of his yellow diet. He likes milk, I bought peadasure after a thread here, he nearly vomited.
He was so sick over Christmas and deathly pale, I tried chewys vitamin drinks, he can detect any smell BUT my lifeline has been got liquid pharmaton for DC orange flavour, it is very light flavour. It is 7ml per day, so I give it at 3.5mls twice so it is not traceable in Robinson's squash orange juice or summer fruits.
He is going to the toilet better, has a colour in his face and his energy has improved loads.

We have been blitzing carrots and peppers into spag Bol and curry for years. I once paid DC £1 to eat 5 peas.
Kids are fussy. I wouldn’t touch veg as a kid but was then was a vegetarian for a decade. I eat more veg now than I ever did.
Just ignore it so it doesn’t become a huge issue and keep with the fruit juice and vitamins and in the summer grow your own strawberries and peas and start eating them straight of the plants and see if she joins in.

I find this so shocking! When did someone put small children in charge. It ain’t rocket science!

You cook, plate up and say ‘this is your dinner, there is nothing else’. All calm, no shouting. If they refuse if, take it away, but they have to sit until everyone else has finished. And remind them that it’s a long drop to breakfast, which is the next time food will be offered.

No, it isn’t cruel. The aim is for them to eat a small amount of everything on their plates. I promise they will soon be eating almost everything.

Do not let it become a battleground. It must all be calm and firm.

I mix (frozen finely chopped) spinach into anything that will take it. Macaroni cheese for example. 2yo doesn't even notice.

How does spinach (even minced to oblivion)
...not get noticed in macaroni cheese?!

Can you try different kinds of juices? Like applejuice with spinach blended in and then strained? Make sure that they fon't see you make it...

The aim is for them to eat a small amount of everything on their plates. I promise they will soon be eating almost everything.

Hahaha....you haven't met ds!!

Have you tried hiding veg in cakes for example? Eg courgette chocolate cake. Lots of recipes out there.

I agree about the spag Bol blitzing. Dd wouldn’t eat any veg for years so the sauce got made and then puréed. Loads of tomatoes, carrots, courgette maybe some spinach.

Hazyjane
Yeh love that kids will eat a little of everything. Ha ha ha.

Busybusy
You obviously never encountered properly difficult eaters.

I don't think it's a big deal tbh. I never ate a particularly healthy diet as a child (we were the pot noodle family when pot noodles had a lot more flavour/e numbers!). I now eat all sorts of fruit and veg as an adult

What about things like banana pancakes (the banana is part of the batter so not noticeable)

If they will eat pizza, buy a smooth pasta sauce containing red peppers (chock full of vitamin c) to use as the tomato sauce.

My DC enjoy eating frozen peas. It has become a game now - I take the peas from the freezer and put most in one bowl ready to cook and put a smaller amount in a second bowl. DD2 sneaks into the kitchen and steals the smaller bowl and eats them, still frozen. She also steals raw carrot. She usually does not eat the cooked veg I put on her plate.

I can’t remember the poster’s name, but someone on a MN cooking thread posted an amazing seven vegetable pasta sauce/pizza base sauce recipe. Basically you stick seven veggies in a roasting tin in the oven, roast them and then blend them. I will have a look and see if I saved the recipe to let you know what the veggies are.

Found them!

Aubergine, courgette, red onion, peppers, carrot, celery and garlic. Roast for 30 minutes and add one can of tinned cherry tomatoes. Roast again until vegetables are looking done and starting to ‘catch’. Put into blender and add water until you have your desired consistency. Season to taste.

Unfortunately my picture of the recipe in MN didn’t include the poster’s details.

This won't work for every child but ds2 was almost as bad as this. What worked for us was when he was old enough to understand "if, then" statements. Eg "if you eat 1 bite of then, then you can have whatever it is they really want a yoghurt"

With time (and some tantrums) 1 bite became 2, 2 became 3 etc.