Veg refuser ideas.

[DeathMetalMum]

Just wanting a few ideas on how to get my 2yo to 'try' veg at dinner times. Pretty much anything that is veg (apart from onions, carrots sometimes and tinned sweetcorn) she wont even try she tried to give it to us straight away or pushes it around the plate.

We already do things like hiding veg pasta saice and she will eat beans (baked,kidney,cannelini) plus tonnes of fruit, so I'm not too worried on a nutritional point of view. Though it is fustrating when we eat our meal and all thats left is veg. I don't want to go along the lines of witholding dessert as I'm not keen on that approach plus its fruit and yoghurt anyway which she needs.

Perhaps try involve her in cooking the dinner and she may be more interested - e.g a pizza and she can put the topping on (peppers, sweetcorn, mushroom etc).

Would she be interested in raw vegetables? You could try a slice or two of cucumber which a lot of children like. Or carrot sticks which she can pick up and try? Cherry tomatoes are a bit sweeter than ordinary ones so they may be worth a try.

Tomatoes she eats, well sucks the middle out of. Shes not keen on cucumber at all though she's tried it quite a few times so it doesnt bother me that much iyswim. It's the not trying thats getting to me the most.

As its mostly the green veg such as cabbage, broccoli, grern beans, mange tout, peast etc that she won't try how could I involve her with preparing those type of veg espically when it something simple like fish, wedges and peas.

When DS was about 2 I used to mash broccoli into potato. As he got older I used to make faces with the dinner (flattened mash for a face, broccoli for "hair", carrots for nose, peas for smile etc)

Also used to take bets who could eat a green bean the fastest, lods of similar games and reverse psychology

Grate courgette into anything mince based

Let her grow a few plants eg tomatoes grow fast

Peas and sweetcorn straight from the freezer. Yet to meet a child that doesn't like them. DS would gladly eat a bowlful, but cook them and there's no chance!

I used to mash broccoli into potato - green mash, and also carrot into potato - orange mash. You do have to cook carrot for quite a long time for it to mash. You could mash cabbage in but it wouldn't colour the mash in the same way. My DD was quite interested in her coloured mash as everyone else had plain old 'white mash'. It worked at the time though.

We found that soup always went down well - green, orange or red - with lots of Parmesan on top. The veg eating has over the years got better and better but it is only now that he will try an unfamiliar vegetable without coercion (he's 7) and I think a lot of that is down to us growing vegetables. He's always happy to eat anything that comes out of the garden, even cabbage!

My 1 year old will only eat hidden veg and fruit.

One thing that I do that he loves is steam carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and mix it with mashed potato and gruyere cheese, roll into balls, coat in breadcrumbs and shallow fry. You could put any veg you like in there.

He loves them (as does DM!) I also blend mushrooms, carrot, peppers, courgette and anything else I can get away with into tomato sauce and bolognaise.

Raw veg and a selection of dips. Which dip do you like best with X?

I tried allsorts of new veg when DS got fussy, and found he liked Asparagus! Epensive tastes :)

He still at 17 doesn't eat tomatp or cucumber, but loves baby leaf salads, peppers, carrots etc.

I second raw veg and letting wee folk hack away them with a dinner knife so they've "prepared" them. Courgettes, mushrooms, celery, peppers and green beans all work well. Carrots too hard. Also, peas in the pod, DD loves them, and soya beans in the pod aka "magic beans". Cauliflower and broccoli in cheese sauce always a winner too in this house and also minestrone soup with added cabbage. If only she'd eat fruit!

Will have a try at some raw veg with dips thanks.

We are generally good at 'hidden veg' we do pasta sauce, soup (leek +pot, butternut squash are favourites), cheese sauce with mashed broccoli occasionally. Dd isn't keen on mash so I don't think additions would make a difference.

Think I will try some frozen veg too I'm sure I remember trying to remove dd from a frozen pea spillage so I could clean them up before she ate them!

Dd is 2 and a veg refuser too but tonight happily ate mangetout peas, carrot, cabbage, beansprouts, water chestnuts, peppers etc in a chicken stir fry with egg fried rice (peas in the egg fried rice too). No idea why she likes it so much (maybe the salt...) but it works. I don't use packet sauce, just a bit of light soy sauce, lemon juice and honey mixed together (marinating the chicken too). Just in case it's one you haven't tried...