To feel awful because my children hate almost all vegetables

[Sleepdeprived42long]

I have two boys (8 and 6). They both ate all the fruit and veg going when I weaned but my eldest started getting really fussy at around 2. Fast forward to now and I now have 2 children who will only eat broccoli (in small amounts). They hate any other vegetables. I’ve feel like I’ve tried everything over the years-hiding veg in sauce/soup, serving with meals but not making them eat, no pudding (we don’t have pudding anymore now), asking them to try it even if they don’t like it, explaining the risks associated with obesity etc. It came to a head tonight when I asked my son to try a piece of carrot and he gagged on it repeatedly at the dinner table. I’m at a complete loss and I’m lucky if they’re getting 1 serving a day, never mind 5! I feel awful because I feel I’ve failed them on this and I’m worried about their future health if they continue like this. Anyone have any experience of this and any advice to share?

Broccoli and green beans. As a side for almost everything.

Me too. I think quite a lot of veg have a slight bitter taste that is more pronounced to young children with their undamaged taste buds!

If the rest of their diet is good, this is not the hill you want to die on. The bigger the issue you make, the harder they will dig5 their heels in. Do they like eggs, fruit, grains, meat, etc? Honestly, I wouldn't worry because this is so common for kids their age. Just give them as much broccoli as they will eat!

Mine is 13, will only eat red pepper, carrot (raw) and red grapes.
The 6 yr old will only eat cooked carrots, but is pretty good with fruit.
The 8yr old eats everything
All brought up the same!

I think they often improve when they hit the teenage growth spurt. My 14 yo is.

My older daughter eats everything accept red pepper.
Dd17 only eats raw carrot, cucumber, red pepper, sautéed leek, baby Sweetcorn, tinned Sweetcorn. Grapes, melon and sometimes a banana before her football match. I do worry too.

Just keep hiding the veg (cake made with veg us great for this). One of my kids gagged on bloody peas until they were about 10. Now an adult, will still only eat peas and carrots, but thankfully likes soup and smoothies but still probably not in the 5 a day club 😩🙄

Yeap me to! And th

Yeap me to, and then only with a bribe for a great pudding!!!!

I also have three, one will eat only peas and sweetcorn, one will eat everything (often has a salad as an after school snack!) and one eats pretty well and seems to have reasonable likes/dislikes (will eat peeled cucumber, doesn't like tomatoes).

I keep serving the full range of vegetables and expect them all to try everything but don't insist they eat it.

My ds (6) is awful about veg. He won’t touch most things - raw carrots is about it. He’ll eat sweet potato, which is something I guess. Fruit wise he’s a bit better but not amazing.

I sometimes make stocks with vegetables in them so I can make a soup with that, and he’ll get the nutrients from the vegetables.

I end with expensive packaged snacks and smoothies that contain fruit and veg as they’ll go down him that way!

Do they see you eat much veg?

Do you let them help you cook? Mine are only 2 and eat veg quite well (but they're veggie so haven't got much choice) but they'll eat much more when they've helped cook it (and we all praise how tasty it is). They even are spinach and raw mushrooms the other day while we were cooking as they see it as an extra treat rather than a component of a meal.

Do they like sweet potato fries? Cauliflower mashed in with potatoes? Courgetti spaghetti? Maybe let them spiralise their own veg.

Give them what they like. You have now guaranteed he is not going to try a carrot for decades. probably. I wouldn't!

do they eat fruit?
baked beans?
fruit juice?
tomato soup?

fortified cereals? multivitamins and minerals for childen?

I feel your pain! One of mine would eat carrots, bananas and the tomato-based topping on pizzas. She ate those a lot! She’s grown up to be almost normal 😉

I loathe broccoli, because for a long while that was the only green vegetable my two would eat, although they would also eat cucumber. But it doesn't last forever.

Remember, baked beans count as one of your 5 a day! And finely chopped carrots and celery in bolognese sauce or cottage pie is the usual way to smuggle veg into them. And potatoes in their many forms waffles and oven chips are a good thing to serve.

Just saw something on telly about how you should present veg, let them play with it with no pressure to try it at all and in time hopefully they will try.

As they are young you have time to turn this round - basically go back to baby led weaning for this type of food. They can cut it, bend it, mush it, whatever.

I also think it is good to grow some - pick something easy like radishes or lettuce for rapid results.

Petits pois is one of our favourites. Much sweeter than normal peas.

I remember our health visitor many moons ago saying 'as long as they eat fruit...' so your boys eat fruit, yes?

It was on BBC iPlayer, with Hugh fearnley-whittingsall and Steph thingy, episode two. They helped a family of fussy eaters, similar aged kids.

My pfb was a model of baby led weaning. She dined on broccoli, asparagus, and steak. She chowed down on the tomatoes and beans from my salad. Then a switch flipped just before 2 and the food refusal started. She could only eat a very small list of foods without gagging. We cajoled, we hounded, we bribed. Nothing worked. Eventually we discovered that she has sensory issues. She really can’t help but gag on a piece of perfectly cooked carrot. At 11, the only vegetables she consumes are ground up in smoothies. We’ve been to specialists, there really is nothing to be done except accept her food limitations and hope that as she becomes an adult it gets a bit better. Her father was the same way and his menu did expand a bit as he became an adult. It’s still very limited, but it’s better.

How do you cook it?

My DH hates vegetables and after having PIL cooking, I understand why. They boil everything to a mush. When making a roast dinner, they boil the vegetables at the same time as the roast potatoes that then go into the oven for another 40 mins afterwards . For Christmas Dinner once, I was served something I would have given a baby. The carrots were pureed, the mash was practically liquid and everything was boiled down to an unpalatable slop. Still makes me want to vomit 15 years later.

I like my vegetables crunchy and my DC are similar. You're doing well getting them to eat broccoli. I have never met a child who likes broccoli.

Second pp on helping them to grow their own when the season comes. Doesn't have to be a full on allotment. Just a tomato and strawberry plant each or similar. They might feel they want to try what they've grown?

DS2(8) doesn't like vegetables at all. He says they're 'depression on a plate'. He will tolerate broccoli and carrots, but anything else, nope. He does like cucumber and tomato though, so I chuck those on the side a fair bit - but DP says salad doesn't count (eh?) - whereupon I say 'why don't YOU get him to eat PROPER feckin vegetables then?'

DS(12) is more amenable. He admits to not being keen on vegetables, but eats them because he knows they're good for him. Bless him!

Have you tried carrot sticks with dip, apples with peanut butter etc? We did a fruit n veg taste test at school where we mixed different fruits n veggies with sauces and all sorts. Your DC will be okay without 5 portions a day! Fruit is just as beneficial as veggies so keep them topped up with whatever fruit they'll eat. Applesauce, yoghurts and fruit juices count as a portion and even my pickiest kids gobble them down. They will grow out of this phase! (And perhaps do what my oldest did and have a phase of only wanting vegetables for breakfast)

Just keep offering, small amounts of vegetables in every meal (small amounts as they will likely end up in the bin)

My two are okay, similar age, but I do find that they're not that keen on vegetables just as a side. They will eat broccoli, sweetcorn and raw carrots like this. Other veg I put in things: for example grated courgette and sweetcorn in a quiche they're a big fan of (especially if they make it!), frozen spinach stirred in with pesto pasta, tomato sauces made with every vegetable in my fridge and a tin of tomatoes then blended up.
Also, don't forget pulses are great for kids - red lentil bolognese with grated carrot and chickpeas thrown in a mild curry go down okay with mine.
Tbh though I don't worry, my brother wouldn't eat a vegetable his entire childhood and is now as an adult is a vegan and the biggest champion of veg and pulses out there.