My toddler wont eat veg! How can i get him to?

[juliaemma]

I have a 16 month boy and he seems to find any veg i have hidden in his food and spits it out...its so frustrating. I dont want to hide veg too much either as i would love him to just pick it up and eat it!
Has anyone else been through this and what do you do?

just keep offering it, and try and get him to try it. it can take a while for children to get used to flavours and textures.

My ds is two and still does this, despite being constantly offered veg. Does your boy eat fruit? My ds does, as well as avacado, so I don't worry about it too much. When I first knew my stepdaughter she was four and ate little more than pasta, but it doesn't seem to have done her much harm. She's now a healthy veg-eating 11 year old. I think it can help if they see you eating it. I think this is what started my stepdaughter off.

btw if you're worried that he needs the veg then make homemade sauce for pasta

fry a little onion and garlic, add a tin of chopped tomatoes and whatever veg you want in it. Carrot is good, as it's a similar colour, parsnip adds a nice sweetness.

add a bit more water if necessary and boil until veg is soft.
then puree

My DS was the same juliaemma but now tucks into all veg (except tomatoes) - agree with starlover - keep offering. One day he will try it. Don't make it a big deal. I said to DS when he was about 3.5 - "bet you can't taste this broccoli if I put in your mouth" - I nearly fell over when he said "bet I can" and opened his mouth and ate it. And then said "yummy". Now he tries anything new (he's now 4.5), loves cucumber, peppers, carrots especially. Keep trying and don't worry too much.

Does he like fruit? My DS loves smoothies - maybe try them if he doesn't like the texture.

ooh you've just reminded me of another thing I used to do with my charges.

get them to close their eyes and guess what I was putting in their mouth!
worked every time

DS - 24m - wouldn't eat any fruit or veg at first either. I persevered with pureed veg and fruit in everything. He had pureed fruit in his porridge for b/fast, and all of his meals had several different types of pureed veg in them (batch cooked so easy!). As he's gotten older, he will tolerate bigger and bigger pieces. Now I can just roughly chop them and he'll eat them. We're a long way from separate veg and fruit portions, but I know he's getting them anyway, so I don't worry too much any more.

Hopefully one day he'll eat a piece of broccoli!.............

broccoli does have quite a strange texture, which I think is what puts a lot of kids off.

maybe try smoother veg? parsnips go down very well here as do potatoes and carrots

Thanks so much.

He does eat some fruit..its strange cos one week he cant get enough of, eg bannanas then suddenly wont even touch it. Such a waste of food too!
He will eat pears and apple and grapes,and raisins. All other fruit is touch and go, and i do keep introducing it again here and there.

I do also hide mashed fruit in his porridge, which does work.

Will try the veg sauce and see what happens.

Does anyone know how to make veggy nuggets?

Cook some veg, mash or puree.

I always include some potato as it binds well.

Add an egg or two, depending on quantities.

Form into small balls, and fry or bake.

I also form these into burger shapes with a burger maker. You could also add some cheese?

I make tuna fish cakes with tuna fish, potato and a bit of veg the same way.

If you want a coating, dip in flour, then egg, then flour or breadcrumbs. :)

Good luck!

My dd is the same. She used to eat pureed fruit and veg as a baby, but suddenly she will only eat veg if they are in pasta sauce, and the only fruit she will eat are bananas and raisins. I keep trying but she just spits them out. She won't even eat potato. She has a very limited variety in her diet at the moment, but I think at least she is eating something.

give him less of everything else

no pudding

if he is hungry he will eat it

if he knows something nicer on the way then he won't

Just keep putting it on his plate and throwing it away, until one day he will be chatting away merrily and will just have eaten it without realising. Don't make an issue out of it and don't even mention it. Just keep giving him what you eat and don't talk about it - even when you think he isn't listening.

My daughter came home and said (at age 4-5), I don't eat vegetables. I totally ignored her!! I gave her dinner as usual and she talks so much, she just ate all her veg and we didn't hear anything else about it.

Hope you succeed!

My DD (20 months) the same with vegs but eats lots of fruit so I just give her more of this. She has just started eating carrot sticks in the last few weeks. My DS now five was the same at that age but now prefers his veg to his fruit. As has been said just keep giving it to them and it will come

By the way both kids eat veg when smothered in gravy with a roast chicken. I don't know why there is a difference but it could make them easy to eat just high on sodium levels unfortunately.

An older child as a good example can work wonders. DD is 23 months and very aware of what DS does. Also would say at this age just persevere. DD just this week has taken to eating grapes and strawberries where previously she would only eat apples, pears, bananas and any combo of stewed fruit. I have never had a veg issue with her.

He is too young for a "try everything" rule which I have with DS who is 5. He regularly claims he doesn't like food on his plate and I tell him to have one mouthful while I am watching, then I continue with the general conversation/my own food and often (3/4 time) he will have polished off what he didn't like. Doesn't stop him from claiming not to like it next time, mind you.

Finely shred some courgettes and carrots in the mixer.
One egg, a few breadcrumbs, some worcester sauce, mince - make meatballs.
Really works in this house.

Does he like pizza? You can grate or puree veg and mix it in with the cheese then add a bit more cheese on top. He'll never be able to separate veg from cheese. I still do this with DD, aged 3. Last night when I told her she was having pizza for dinner, she said "but no spinach!" I said "ok" and gave her grated carrots under the cheese. (appears I've been going a bit spinache mad lately). I also put chopped spinach in her scrambled eggs. And sometimes some sauteed onion too.