How do you get your kids to eat healthily?

[Amethyst8]

My DS is 4.6 and only eats oranges, lemons!!!, Brocolli and quite likes tomato based sauces on pasta etc. Will also drink apple juice, pineapple juice and orange juice. He refuses point blank to even try anything else. Says he is "scared" of fruit and veg. I despair and do not think this is in any way enough variety but have been told I should think myself lucky that he even eats those as a lot of kids don t.

What tips does anyone have to get him to even try other foods?

sneak extra veg into his pasta sauce (puree it), then tell him later (bit underhanded, might backfire).

get him to help you cook (from shopping & choosing a recipe through to finished product) -- start with something he likes, then try something more adventurous.

Thanks. I did actually do this. We bought the Big Cook, Little Cook cook book and made some recipes from there involving veg. We thoroughly enjoyed making them, they looked marvellous on the plate and that is where they remained.

I saw this thing on telly (reliable source of scientific info) that kids need to be presented with new foods multiple times before they will accept them.

My ds rejects a lot of food too I bribe him with dessert sometimes cunterproductive?

oops, that's counterproductive

I usually put unusual looking veg on my plate and not on the lo's. My DD(6) can't bear to be left out of something so will ask "what are those? Can I try?" DS has huge sibling rivalry issues and will immediately demand a portion for himself. Doesn't work every time but it has got fine beans, baby sweetcorn and mangetout into them without any stress on my part.

I often managed to sneek new veg or healthy foods into my dc's diet atthat age when they were really really hungry! The days we had been out early at play group and walked back slowly so no nibbles or snacks along the way, on those days they would be more willing to try anything I put in front of them.
Another thing that worked was to get myself something and they would always want some from my plate too - how could mum dare to get herself food and not them!

Eat together, give him what you're eating and ignore him. If he doesn't eat it he can fill up on dry bread. He'll soon get sick of that and start trying other stuff. Whatever you do, don't be tempted to pander. He's very unlikely to starve himself after all.

gave my 5 lentils yesterday
3 big ones lntil dahl(sp)

2 littles - lentils on pasta
its true - do it when hungry but the number one rule - make it taste nice - simple as that

It also helps that the stuff they don't ask for hasn't already been rejected and we can have another whirl at it another day.

It took ds till he was 5 to try strawberries and melons, till he was 8 to try pineapple and till he was 11 to even consider lettuce.

We kept on trying, and we got there in the end. We still have not managed to get him anywhere near a tomato.

TBH he is most likely to give something a go if he has seen his friends at school eat it. He had a panini for lunch at school yesterday (school dinners) he would not even CONSIDER anything of the sort if I had presented it to him

involve him in the preparation - ds will eat anything if he has had a hand in making it.

and I always tempt him with a favourite pudding if it's a main course he's not mad on....

And of course you have to eat healthily yourself. As my DD so succinctly puts it "why do I need to eat my peas when Daddy doesn't".
You can't expect your lo to want to eat something you wouldn't touch yourself. (although sadly this rule does not apply when they are eating vile multicoloured sweets packed with e numbers which you would not touch with a barge pole.

Lots of good suggestions on here.

DS is the same age as yours. The thing that has worked best for us is something I picked up on another MN thread.
6 months ago he refused to try new stuff.
I told that his taste buds change as he grows. Every time he tries something new (or that he has refused since those golden days aged about 1 when he would try anything) and he likes it it is pleased to declare 'my taste BUGS have changed'!

Oregorenian (like your Hallowe'en name!) DS has finally started eating broccoli after seeing DD tuck into it over 50 times.

Obviously variety is important for healthy eating but good eating habits are just as important and easier to work on at this age. Eg eating food that remembers where it came from rather than processed rubbish, making a sandwich or eating some fruit rather than a choccy bar if you are hungry between meals etc

My DD is almost 4. She has a good diet, but is still reluctant to try new foods. She gets given a piece of pasta for her pasta jar as a reward for trying new foods.

We also have a rule that she only has fruit for snacks in the morning, Crisps are not a snack food - they can be eaten at meal times, but she is never given them as a packet just to eat. Chocolate etc she does have, but only when out and about with friends, we don't keep that kind of food at home, so she doesn't expect it.

Lunch usually consists of salad - which is a sandwich, cheese, something protein - fish or egg (we don't eat meat), nuts and seeds, and the salad stuff - tomatoes etc. The salad changes every day and I often try to put something new in there. She has salad so often (about three / four lunches a week) that she accepts it as a meal, and will at least nibble the something new. Tea time, we tend to put the exciting things on our plates and let her nibble from ours... whilst giving her something she accepts. Again, she is rewarded for trying new foods.

HTH

LOLLOLOLOL at NotanOtter's no 1 rule "Make it taste nice!"
So that is where I am going wrong? I make it taste shite ... [slaps head]

Sorry ... ahem ... will be more serious now ...
My DD has limited tastes (likes apples, grapes and broccoli - the only fruit or veg she will happily tuck into)
Likes meat and potatoes, pasta on its own, rice on its own. Won't do casseroles or pasta sauces (except home made spaghetti bolognese sauce) In fact she doesn't like stuff all mushed in together ...
So I make 'lava sauce' to go with pasta dinosaur shapes ... loads of veggies with bacon and diced tomatoes, spinach etc, pureed up and mixed in with the pasta and a bit of parmasan cheese sprinkled over the top. We have that once a week so I know she has a veggie injection once a week. On all other days she has broccoli with whatever I am cooking.
DS had a similarly limited diet at 3 but now loves absolutely EVERYTHING ... from kidneys to seafood ... he is 7. The only thing he doesn't like is porridge oats.

In some kind of bizarre twist, DD's favourite take away is Sushi

Lots of good suggestions here.

I think the main think is to be consistent. Keep offering varied healthy foods.

You can also present raw veg stick rather than cooked. With dips.
Grill new meats/fish/seafood etc on wooden sticks
Make fishcakes/mince patties with funny shapes
Try corn on the cob/mini vegetables
Basically, fun finger foods to introduce novelty.
Give crusty bread to dip in casseroles

I don't think they need variety. If they get their 5 a day in the form of broccoli, oranges and tomato sauce every day, does it matter? I think the less fuss you make about food the better. My ds doesn't eat fruit at all (not even strawberries!) but he loves broccoli, carrots, raisins and bizarrely, sprouts, so that's what he has. He'll change as he gets older. Makes for pretty boring cooking though!

Best typo on Mumsnet, Oregon!

DS1 would not eat any veg other than grated carrots and tomatoes, but has never met a fruit he didn't like. I'd made up my mind not to stress about it, as with fruit plus carrots he must be getting pretty much all of his essential nutrients, but yesterday he decided to try broccoli (victory!!!) He isn't eating it entirely willingly and has to be bribed, but he's evolving.

I know several children who will accept raw carrot when no other veggie is acceptable.

I think that some kids are just more resistant to new foods than others and you can't do much other than be patient and wait for them to grow out of it.

Amethyst, FWIW, I think your DS is eating healthily! That's 6 different fruits/veg you've named that he'll eat - so I think he is eating healthily, it's just not as varied as is ideal (and there's plenty of time to worry about that later - vitamin drops for now if you're really worried?) I second the idea about mushing up other veg into pasta sauces - that's the main way I hide veg for DD. The other thing you could try is tricking him and telling him after, like this: my daughter is the same as age as your DS and she loves peas but 'hates' courgettes. I diced some courgette (green part only) and told DD that it was 'square peas'. She ate the lot and when she'd finished I said something along the lines of "Surprise! I tricked you, they were actually courgettes, so now we've found out that you actually DO like courgettes after all - how funny!" etc. and share the joke about it (obviously not in a gloating way!) With your DS's veg maybe cauliflower could be 'white broccoli'? Oh, speaking of cauliflower, I used to disguise loads of different veg in cauliflower cheese when DD was little, that's another idea... and homemade soup is also good for getting veg down them. Good luck and don't beat yourself up - sounds like you're doing better than you give yourself credit for.