How can I prepare vegetables in a way that will appeal to a 15 month old?

Question

My son likes grapes, bananas, and peaches. That's about it for fruit, but that's a decent variety. Vegetables? I've tried small pieces of broccoli w/butter, glazed baby carrots, potatoes, etc. and he's not interested in any of them. However, he'll still eat Stage 2 vegetables from a jar (peas, mixed vegetables etc.) I give him those now just to ensure he gets his veggies. Any ideas as to how I can prepare vegetables in such a way that he'll like them? Note - He doesn't have much of a sweet tooth (thankfully). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm particularly interested in ways to prepare them as finger foods. He really doesn't like to be fed anymore, so when I do give him the Stage 2's, I have to let him play in it with his own spoon in order for him to "allow" me to feed him.

Answer 1

kids love to dip food in stuff i have 4 of the pickiest boys and if they can dip it theyll eat it
try veggie dip (ranch flavor0
dip carrots in reg. ranch dressing
let carrots and celery,green beans simmer in onion soup and beef broth but just give him the tender veggies theyll taste great
does he like buttered peas or corn almost all kids do if so thats enough veggies till hes old enough to explore different tastes
fresh smashed peas and carrots from cans to frozen tastes a heck of alot better than baby food
they say if you dont like it dont make them eat it so i always tasted my kids baby food
for broccoli try broccoli and cheese rice bet hell like that (lipton)makes it.try V8 juice too all my kids love that.
good luck,he'll be fine..........

Answer 2

If he'll eat the baby food I'd keep feeding him that. Other than that, I might heat up some plain peas or lima beans or diced carrots as finger foods. If you know he will eat the baby vegetables and is getting what he needs by eating those, I think for now his practice with finger foods might have to be with Cheerios or little pieces of cheese or whatever other finger foods you give him.

For a baby his age there are a few things one hopes he gets when it comes to food::

1. Nutrition 2. Practice feed himself 3. Good Eating Habits

He's already getting the nutrition. He's already practicing feeding himself. He's too young right now to be worried about setting an example for good eating habits or teaching those to him. Right now he's oblivious to the concepts of nutrition and eating habits. In another year or so the setting an example of good eating and talking about it will matter, but not right now.

So relax. Potatos aren't much of a loss anyway. Neither is the glazing. Neither is the butter.

He's better off eating unbuttered baby vegetables from a jar.

Answer 3

You can actually make smoothies with fresh fruit (strong sweet tasting like watermelon, peaches, and bananas) and put some veggies in them and are not noticable.

Also if he doesn't have any cups then you can get a cheap nubby ones and break (not tear out) the holes so it is one big one when he sucks on it and smoothies come out great! My daughter made it a habit to do that with her finger so those are her special smoothie cups.

Yogurt also has a good strong taste.

Another thing you can do is buy stage 3 veggies and add some baby cereal to it to thicken up so he can feed himself a little easier with a spoon. My daughter hasn't let ANYONE feed her since she was 9 months so I have been doing that for a LONG time and she has mastered the spoon.

Anymore questions (I have a 19 month old who just recently started shoving her nose up to veggies) or if you have a juicer you can email me and I can give you a recipe for fruit and veggie juice, it is fresh and great to drink, he will NEVER notice the veggies in it.

Might not be what you are looking for, but you gotta trick them sometimes.

Answer 4

Ranch dressing is a good idea.. but its also adding a lot of extra fat and calories.. which isn't that big of a deal now.. but my boyfriend is almost 30 and still wont eat veggies w/out something to dip them in.. plus.. why not make something the whole family can enjoy..

Buy a pack of the Hidden Valley Ranch mix and instead of following the recipe on the back buy a 16 oz container of Fat Free Cottage Cheese. Put the cottage cheese in a blender until it is smooth. Then put it in a bowl and mix the Ranch mix into it. Let it sit overnight or it will taste like it came from a mix.. the powder has to disolve. This comes to about 80 cal. for a half cup and no fat..

Also.. does he eat eggs yet? My friend chops up broccoli really fine and puts it into scrambled eggs for her daughter.

Does he like fries.. cut the potatoes into wedges, spray them with non-stick cooking spray if you want, and bake them in the oven.. that way they aren't full of fat like fries.. and he might like them

Answer 5

Prepare raw vegetables like capsicum as little sticks that he can dip into tzatziki, hommous, or some other healthy dip. That's great fun. Also buy yourself a juicer. He can drink broccoli juice if it's disguised with some fresh orange juice and a little of that goes a long way.

Answer 6

my kids love broccoli with vinegar. Do you cut them up small like the stage 2 veggies. If they look the same maybe he'll eat them. Good luck

Answer 7

i still feed my 15 month old stage 2 and 3 gerber foods..

and those lil entrees..she loves them! (chicken/mashed potatoes and turkey/mashed potatoes)

my guess would be to just steam the veggies and offer them..carrots, peas, green beans, corn..there just not used to eating them this way..and of course they dont taste the same as froma jar..the jarred has preservatives and all...maybe try the oraganic stuff..see how he does... i started offering the oraganic..and she loves it..the apple/strawberry..peas...carrots..it just has no preservatives..and its real veggies and fruits with nothing added...then try the real veggies again...

Answer 8

Try cooking fresh peas or mixed veggies, something he is used to eating out of a jar already.

Answer 9

Ranch Dressing, the kids love dipping veggies in Ranch.

Answer 10

my son loves green beans, I cook them in a little bit of butter, he also likes corn cooked the same way, potatoes he likes au gratin.