Vegetable/bean burger/bhaji/pakora recipes for vegetable refusing 2 year old

[abigboydidit]

DS has just turned 2 and will only eat boiled carrots. He will eat veg if chopped up into tiny pieces in mince & potatoes or spaghetti bolognese but will meticulously pick it out of other pasta sauces so am getting fed up of having to constantly blend it into pasta sauces (and he's starting to only ask for pasta as he gets it so often). We were at a BBQ the other day and he loved getting a burger in a bun so I tried a veggie burger recipe that I had but it was so bland that I had to agree with him for not eating it! He wasn't weaned onto purees so loves finger foods (sometimes he will eat crudities if can dip them into hummus etc) so I would rather try this than soups but acknowledge if he so much as recognises a sweetcorn kernel before it gets in his mouth, it is likely never to make it that far!

Thanks in advance

Bhajis/ pakoras etc wont work are veg pieces are rec

Bhajis/ pakoras etc wont work are veg pieces are recognizable. Same with tempura or middle eastern ajjeh type recipes.
Your best bet is making a batter out of completely pureed veggies.
Try Japanese style pumpkin korokke maybe? here

That said, am of the school of keeping it on their plate anyway and eventually they'll eat it.

If you hate waste though, just try a simply raw veg or 2 with every meal.
I ALWAYS put a couple of small bowls on the table. Halced tomato, cucumber slices, crunchy radishes, olives....whatever you have.
And dont be shy with seasoning. Simply salt, squeeze of lime, olive oil to liven it up.

If he lived the burger why not just grate veggies into mince lamb or chicken or fish?
Courgette, pumpkin, cartot, sweet potato, shredded spinach/kale/greens etc...

You just really need to up the spice content.
Try combining the following into raw meat and veg mix before you fry the patties:

For red meat:
Garlic/shallot(grated) + cumin,paprika,a touch of cinamon & finely chopped parsley. Salt and pepper.

For white meat:
Garlic/ shallot again, maybe a touch of ginger, tumeric, lime juice & finely chopped coriander. Salt and pepper.

Lime and salt generally make everything lipsmacking.
From what you describe, he wants tastier food.

Why not try a proper curry? Was chocked to see mine crave a bit of hot curry at the age. They just wanted tasty food.
"Hide" some veg with the chicken. Cook the veg to a mush and mix the veg and curry sauce with rice or pasta.

Very at all the spelling mistakes!

Thanks! yes - you are absolutely right re tasty food and I think I have been guilty of under-seasoning. I do give him bits of veg every meal (he just gets what we're having - we just add salt at the table) and he is good at trying things. That's why I thought pakora/bhaji as I reckon they look unusual enough that he wont recognise the veg! It was more the burger that I was worried about as the recipe I had was just squished together soggy veg (and that actually makes it sound nicer than it was!!) and since there was no other spices etc he could make out the ingredients.

Gah - hit post too soon there. Meant to add I made Pork Mimosa last night and had no expectations of him eating it but he wolfed down a bowl of the rice and sauce (including yellow peppers that he clearly hadn't noticed, though the mushrooms got picked out). Thanks for the links!

Mmm, there you go!
My mum always said : salt and spice if you want them to eat.
Does he like rice? How about risotto recipes?
Grate or finely shred any veg and mix with rice. Add chicken broth, cook for 20mn then add a knob of butter and copious amounts of grated parmesan for saltiness!

My DS is now 27 months and has only just in the last two or three months started eating veg, but is doin g so increasingly enthusiastically so yy to keeping putting it on the plate.

In the meantime, random veg successes were a moussaka, aubergine and all, with extra spinach in the lamb, mushrooms and peppers on pizza, corn on the cob despite a hatred for canned sweetcorn, and green veg in a pesto-heavy risotto.

If you're after dips, I found mixing hummus with puréed butternut squash, beetroot and carrot worked well. HFW has a nice recipe for carrot hummus, and white bean and artichoke. I reckon you could make up loads of your own by simply mixing a bean, a veg then a sticky ingredient like tahini or cream cheese. Oh, and smoked mackerel pâté works beautifully with cream cheese and cucumber whizzed in.

Thanks. He used to love sweet corn and corn on the cob but not any more. He is growing out of a cows milk protein allergy and is still wary of cheese and won't touch pizza

To liven up bland food, you could give him a dip to enhance the flavours...ketchup, pesto, hummus, sour cream, salsa anything really. Combinations that seem funny to us may just work with toddlers.

For bhajis - finely chop/grate by hand or in processor/mill assorted veggies - corn, carrots, beans, onions etc. Squeeze out any excess juice. Add some boiled mashed potato and seasoning. Add enough breadcrumbs/ plain flour/ chickpea flour to be able to make small balls of the mix. Optionally roll in beaten egg and breadcrumbs. Deep fry.