Tips on getting a 2 year old to eat vegetables

[mumtoone]

I am looking for any tips other mums might have to get a reluctant 2 year old to eat vegetables. At the moment my ds will only eat vegetables in casseroles or in a tomato sauce. If I put vegetables on a plate with other food such as roast chicken they never get touched.

does he like ketchup or gravy? worked for my cousin (whos 2)

corn on the cob and peas that they can shell and eat raw have been popular with my ds's maybe during a weekend or when you have lots of time available get him to help you cook. you could try taking him to a 'pick your own' farm then deciding with him what you are both going to cook looking at cookbook. then get him his own apron and let him be involved as much as poss. let him make mess, get him stirring the pot when its cold etc. maybe get own play cooker with mini pots and pans and pop some chopped carrots, sweetcorn, peas in the pot for him to make and give out on little plates/bowls.if you have own garden you could try growing your own. i would just keep trying without any pressure and hopefully he will start to try them. make your own pizza is another one - maybe readymade base on try making your own and put lots of chopped peppers in a bowl (different colours going in seperate bowls so he feels he has a choice), sweetcorn in another, onions, aubergine, and cheese etc. all in seperate bowls and have little spoons in each one and let him go round and make his own?

Yesterday I received my free eating fruit and veg sticker chart from the bristish heart foundation.

So far dd who has not eaten veg since before she was 2 (she is now 4 and half) has tried some sweetcorn, banana and apple.
More fruit and veg in one day than she would normally have in a week!

Go onto their website and order. It is free but they have asked me for a donation towards costs.

should add I also got one for ds who is 2 and he has eaten the same, but normally he eats some veg anyway.
He is very pleased with the sticker charts that I have stuck to the kitchen cupboard doors.

Not quite the same I know as this refers to fruit, but similar to sticker charts...My two used to like to collect as many different sticky labels off apples, bananas, satsumas etc from the supermarket, and stick them on a sheet. The rules were that they all had to be different and the fruit had to be eaten, not just stickers pinched from Tescos! Worked wonders for increasing fruit comsumption!

I was going to suggest what shrub said - get him to help prepare if you can. DS2 is 12 now, so a bit different from a stroppy toddler, but he was always a horrendous refusenik; but when he started doing food tech at school he was very keen and now eats loads of things he wouldn't before, as long as he has made it!

He's still not that keen on veg but eats lots of (undisguised) fruit and that's just as good for vitamins etc.