Ways of getting veg in toddler!

[Lardolader]

Looking for tips on how to get toddler to eat more veg...

I make a pasta sauce with loads of puréed veg, is there an equivalent for rice?

She'll eat plain rice, most pasta, pizza and breads, but no curries, soups, raw veg, potatoes. Won't even try it.

Help!

Your daughter eats more than mine!! We grate carrot into pizza sauce- can get a whole one into her that way. Although now she peels the cheese off

I have tried lots of tricks with rice and they all failed.

I would just keep trying the whole veg on the side. Corn on the cob, peas, broccoli, carrots, cucumber etc.

I sometimes do sweet potato crisps. They are a faff but delicious.

Stuffed pasta works really well for us. DS will NEVER eat spinach, but he will eat a whole bowl of tortellini stuffed with spinach.

I buy it from the supermarket - def don't make it myself.

If you manage to achieve this miracle let me know the secret 😂.

Mine won't even eat pasta sauce so her veg intake is basically zero :(

Mine will eat butternut squash risotto. Just make plain Risotto then stir purée butternut squash in it. My older two eat it too and call it orange risotto. We also sometimes had red risotto ( oven risotto with tinned tomatoes) or green risotto ( whatever I can find in fridge plus large quantity of pesto to disguise veg!) orange risotto is the favourite though.

My youngest will only eat apple and cucumber if I peel them and cut them into star shapes, if that's something you could try!

Haha ok well I'm glad it isn't just me!
We do risotto sometimes @Luckycatyellowsky maybe I should actually puree more veg in, as she'd probably eat that. I've gone off it at the moment, but might be worth another go.

Shapes is a good idea too @tworedtomatoes she'll eat fruit generally, but maybe cutting up some carrots into shapes might work.

My pizza sauce already has mushrooms, carrot and onions in it 😂 @Kayjay2018 I don't know I can get much more in without her twigging!

@allfurcoatnoknickers yes ravioli is good and she does eat that. Maybe I'll branch out and try some other varieties for her.

@SummerHouse I'm bad at veg on the side actually. We're mostly veggie so there's always veg in the main thing I don't always think to put it on her plate at the side as well. But I definitely should to get her user to it

Ooh I haven't tried adding mushrooms! Might try that next!

I have had success with puréed cauliflower added to mash potatoes. Don’t add too much, but he get a blob stirred into his mash and eats ( but only started eating mash a few months ago )

We can get away with carrots in the mash too but if she won’t eat potato that’s probably not helpful.

Toddlers are a law into themselves. Mine is a veg avoider but I make a thick soup (lentils, split yellow peas, carrots, swede and leeks) with dumplings and she troughs that. Knows when I’ve puréed veg into the pasta sauce like 😬

@Caspianberg @RichardHeed yes no mash here. I think she'd like it as I make mine nice and buttery, but she just won't try it. I hadn't thought of soup and dumplings. Again, she likes soup when I got her to eat it once, but won't try it any more 🤷‍♀️ I'd be so happy if she just at least ate soup. But I was thinking about what to put with some dumplings, so I'm definitely doing that even if she's not interested (she refuses dumplings - even cheesy ones! Usually loves cheese)

I have success with just always having salad veg (peppers, beetroot - surprisingly popular), cucumber etc, or veg done in the microwave - carrot, broccoli, peas, corn on the cob - on the side of the main meal. Often they’ll contemptuously refuse 2 of 3 but happily chow down the third, and it doesn’t stay consistent which is liked and which is hated. So overall they do eat veg. Oh and none of the ‘make sure you eat your veggies! They are so healthy! chat. I think that can be counter productive.

What base do you use to make pizza? I have the same problem with my 14 month old. Don't judge but she really likes the greggs pizza slices. I want to replicate but healthy...

Huge shock because my older kids were always so good. I thought it was my amazing parenting but... clearly not 🤣

@Katieandthekids I'm actually gluten free, so it's a gf base. I wouldn't really recommend if you don't need to be gf.... Not usually recognisable as pizza! But she does eat it so 🤷‍♀️

Mine will eat an amazing variety of veg if it’s cut up very small and in fried rice. He would absolutely refuse the same veg under any other circumstance, but apparently being in fried rice makes all the difference. No idea why. Like many toddler things it makes no sense.

If you chop them very fine and caramelise them, onions break down to a very smooth paste (add some baking soda to speed this up and make it mushier). You can hide this in all kinds of things: meat(free) balls, falafel type patties etc.

Mostly though, try to relax about it. it’s actually ok to just keep offering veg and not worrying about if they eat it. Eventually they may just decide to eat a big chunk of veg when you least expect it. Leave it as a normal part of dinner that it’s on the plate - and on yours too so the toddler sees you eating it. And be very relaxed about it all.

There really is no need to stress about toddler veg avoidance. It doesn’t fix anything, makes you feel worse and can even put the toddler off.

I do a plate of raw veg- cucumber, tomatoes, sweetcorn, red pepper and radish with some houmous and leave it on the table while I cook tea. Most of it will get eaten while they wait. Won’t touch any cooked veg at all though 🤷‍♀️

Mine sounds similar... refuses basically all veg in meals. But she loves roasted chickpeas as a snack (won't eat them in a meal!) and fruit smoothies with lots of spinach or carrot in.

@UsernamePain frozen sweetcorn (still cold 🤷‍♀️) goes in this way. She'll eat that while I get stuff ready, haven't tried radishes yet, will add to my list!
@SquidwardBound yes I know I should relax. We went through a phase of really really trying and it actually just wound me up, so am much more about just getting on with it now. And she eats fruit, so there's some goodness going in.

@SnowmenMadeofIcecream I hadn't thought of smoothies. I guess because she eats fruit, I didn't think they were necessary, but actually if I can get some other things in, spinach would be amazing! I'm pretty terrible at making them taste good tho - do you have any recipe recommendations?

Mine won't eat veg alone, but I'll make him some homemade veg soup with carrots, parsnips, leeks, and potato's and I use a zero salt veg stock (or chicken) with a little buttered baguette. I'll also make him a beef casserole with carrots, leeks, and potato's.

Maybe relax about the trying too. 🤣

It’s fine to decide you’re going to purée some veg and hide it in sauces and things.

You can cook rice in a purée of tomato and other veg. Mexican red rice is made that way.

I just do apple juice plus a big handful of spinach or a small carrot with whatever fruit we happen to have in the house. Sometimes, I put in some nuts too or peanut butter. She loves helping make them.

Don't stress it - adults who don't eat veg are rare. Mine eats an increasing amount the more she helps prep food. Get your toddler a step stool or kitchen helper stand, some toddler safe chopping knives, and let them prep cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms - whatever they're strong enough to chop. Make bean enchiladas and get them chopping the veg, and adding the tinned toms to the pan, and then have them hold a mini wrap and stuff it for the dish etc. Let them "paint" sweet potato wedges with oil and sprinkle with salt. Mine loves making things for her daddy, or granny, and will often eat them when we all sit down to dinner. Repeated exposure will go a long way - just keep dishing the veg up and don't comment on what gets eaten. Cauliflower blends well into cheese sauce, ditto broccoli for "Hulk Pasta". Grated carrot disappears in most dishes. Cauliflower rice mixed with normal rice - and your toddler may enjoy watching it change colour if you add turmeric! Have fun with food and try not to worry about the veg, it'll come in time

We put either carrot, spinach, or beetroot in fruit smoothies! Not loads but a good enough dose. You can freeze the smoothie mix in those homemade ice lolly trays too. Makes a fun pudding