How can I incorporate more vegetables into my 4 year old son's diet.?

Question

Like most kids, he won't go near them....but I believe the principles of a healthy life start in childhood. Please include any receipies or ways I can "disguise" the veggies. Thanks.

Answer 1

Our 10 year old has been like that for a long time. We are all lacto- vegetarian and grow most of our food here too. I have to blend-hide all sorts of veggies into everything we make (esp dark greens like kale, spinach, collards. We also grind up broccolli, cauliflower, carrots, misc squash in our misc recipes too.) We are great at hiding so much stuff in and he never knows! We are amazed at how many awesome veggies we get into each gallon of spaghetti sauce or a vegetarian sloppy joe type sauce! As long as the sauce is mostly red in color and not too green we get away with it! He is sensitive to herbs I use too, so little by little I add more and he is adjusting and developing gradually, a more sophisticated palate. I use a Vita Mix and both the small hand held blenders, but any blenders can work.

He is good about the fruit.

Now that he is ten and learning more details about nutrition as a science, we are asking him to start logging his diet into a computer program so he can see how high or low he was in his misc daily nutrients. He will be in fifth grade and he is good on the computer, so we are starting that this fall. (I have been a nutriton prof for decades) If he refuses to eat what we make for him, he is not allowed to make any of his favorites like ramen noodles or mac and cheese unless he adds a cup of veggies to it. I hope to teach him how to make some foods he has liked so he can take pride in his nutriton and skill in making something.

We make the following:

vegetarian chili (lots of veggies in the sauce blended in!)
veggie burgers (with lots of veggies to add on top like tomatoes, spinach leaves, cucumbers, grated carrots)
sloppy joes with TVP (veggies hidden in sauce)
spaghetti sauce with TVP (veggies hidden in sauce)
pizza (with lots of veggies hidden in sauce) he picks veggies to put on pizza...self serve veggie toppings before we put it in the oven
stir fries with his favorite veggies
raw finger veggies he likes with a healthy salad dressing type dip
falafels with pita bread and he puts his "salad" in the pocket
bean tostadas with lots of "salad" for him to put on top
white bean soup in a spagheti sauce type sauce (lots of veggies blended in)
vegetarian eggless quiches with lots of veggies he likes
veggie tempura type thing with different indian spices in the batter

These have worked great. If he lived alone he would probably just eat junk, but gradually he will learn what he needs to know.

Answer 2

When my son was 4, he was in Head Start, a very good program not just for kids who have learning problems. They taught me how to overcome the "yucky" veggie situation. They put several dishes of assorted veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, carrot sticks, cucumber slices and such on the table for all the kids. Then, they put a bowl of dipping sauce out, which could be ranch dressing or something that was pre-mixed special for the meal (like honey & peanut butter mixed together). Then they let the kids help themselves to an assortment of the veggies & the dip. When they found out that those "yucky" veggies tasted really great with dip on them, they had no problem with being encouraged to take more. Contact your local Head Start for recipes. I'm sure their cook would love to share those dip recipes with you. Also, if you really can't get them to eat it, even with the dip, then you'll have to find ways to disguise it, like shredding carrots and putting it in hamburgers, meat loaf and meat balls. Remember, if you can puree it, you can put it in any meat mixture. They'll still get the vitamins, and they'll never know what hit them. You can put any meat in a blender, mix it with veggies & other ingredients, and make it into mini meat loaves. Remember, you can name it whatever you want, and they won't know what's really in it. The idea is to feed them a healthy diet, so if they won't do it the easy way, do it the sneaky way! When they have kids of their own, you can then let them know what you did, so that they can pass it on. <*)))><

Answer 3

I used Food Coloring in Mashed Potatoes it makes it fun. Blue/Red Potatoes. For 4th of July you can make Red, White and Blue Potatoes. I know people down on Sugar, but, a very small amount may help on Sweet Potatoes/Yams (add a little Cinnamon). All I know. What I did was start my son on veggies & fruits @ 12-14 months.

Answer 4

I find that children will eat veggies if they have a choice. Try having 2 different vegetable, and give them a choice between the 2.

Answer 5

I like that guy's suggestion.. wish my parents had done that. But mine used to say I couldn't leave the table till I ate them. I sat there for two hours staring at a pile of peas sometime, but it worked.

Answer 6

blend them in a blender and add them to other things like meatloaf or when you make chicken and rice, pour in the pureed vegatables. He won't know he's eating them. Cut it up so small they just look like colored flecks in his food. Then maybe he can eat them without knowing he is eating them.

Answer 7

try putting cheese on them