Getting an almost 3 year old to eat veggies...?

Question

My son will soon be three and will not eat any vegetables. Any suggestions out there for this?

Answer 1

Become a veggie vendor. I must have heard, "Doctor, he won't eat his vegetables" a thousand times. Yet, the child keeps right on growing. Vegetables require some creative marketing, as they seem to be the most contested food in households with young children. How much vegetables do toddlers need? Although kids should be offered three to five servings of veggies a day, for children under five, each serving need be only a tablespoon for each year of age. In other words, a two- year-old should ideally consume two tablespoons of vegetables three to five times a day. So if you aren't the proud parent of a veggie lover, try the following tricks:

Plant a garden with your child. Let her help care for the plants, harvest the ripe vegetables, and wash and prepare them. She will probably be much more interested in eating what she has helped to grow.
Slip grated or diced vegetables into favorite foods. Try adding them to rice, cottage cheese, cream cheese, guacamole, or even macaroni and cheese. Zucchini pancakes are a big hit at our house, as are carrot muffins.
Camouflage vegetables with a favorite sauce.
Use vegetables as finger foods and dip them in a favorite sauce or dip.
Using a small cookie cutter, cut the vegetables into interesting shapes.
Steam your greens. They are much more flavorful and usually sweeter than when raw.
Make veggie art . Create colorful faces with olive- slice eyes, tomato ears, mushroom noses, bell-pepper mustaches, and any other playful features you can think of. Our eighth child, Lauren, loved to put olives on the tip of each finger. "Olive fingers" would then nibble this nutritious and nutrient-dense food off her fingertips. Zucchini pancakes make a terrific face to which you can add pea eyes, a carrot nose, and cheese hair.
Concoct creative camouflages. There are all kinds of possible variations on the old standby "cheese in the trees" (cheese melted on steamed broccoli florets). Or, you can all enjoy the pleasure of veggies topped with peanut- butter sauce, a specialty of Asian cuisines.




***17 Tips for Picky eaters by Dr Sears (Link below)

Offer a nibble tray
Dip it
Spread it
Top it
Drink it
Cut it up
Package it
Become a veggie vendor
Share it
Respect tiny tummies
Make it accessible
Use sit-still strategies
Turn meals upside down
Let them cook
Make every calorie count
Count on inconsistency
Relax

Answer 2

My son is almost six and still won't let a veggie pass his lips. All of the suggestions you've gotten so far are good. The key is to keep trying and don't get too worked up about it.

You might want to consider giving him a children's multivitamin to supplement what he's not getting in his food. Read the label carefully, because some vitamins you have to cut in half for kids younger than 4.

Answer 3

Girl, you are not alone in this dillema but congrats to you for trying anything to get him to eat... so many parents now a days just pass of on it and their kids only eat carbs. Ugh!

I lost my train of thought... sorry!

Try putting some honey drizzled over the warm veggies and they will have a sweeter taste and it not that bad for them. That will get him to try them at least without fully compromising the flavor. Also, roasting veggies bring out a better flavor than boiled or steamed. A dipping complex is something that kids like, so try that too!

Good luck!

Answer 4

Try sweet breads, like a zucchini bread or corn bread. Dipping sauces are also good. My son sometimes like to dip his veggies in ketchup. It looks sort of gross to me, but he likes it, and he's eating his veggies, so I don't worry about it. Also, be sure that you "sell" the veggies. When you sit down, say, "Wow! Don't these look GOOD!!" Eat them with gusto yourself. If you're eating with other people, tell them to do the same. Ask them to not object to anything on the table that you want your son to eat. Kids will eat what they see their parents or caregivers eating. You can also try cutting them into fun shapes or making faces or animals out of them.

Answer 5

How about making a little cheese sauce to put over it. My son, although only 2 loves raw carrots and he loves to dip it in ranch dressing. Just make sure you are watching to make sure he doesn't choke. A lot of people say not to use a lot of spices on kids foods, but my son got a lot of homemade baby food, and he got used to garlic and just a small ammount of salt. If food has some flavor to it they will be more open to trying it. Also, kids that help out in the kitchen will be more open to eating what they helped prepare. Invest in a child's cookbook and get them involved.

Answer 6

Chop it up and hide it within the food he would eat. Or try to season the veggies with some flavor he likes. That works for my son.

Answer 7

Mash up veggies and put it in bread mix, try tempura, bread the veggies then bake them, put mixed veggies inside of a hot pocket,etc. Lots of kids dont like mushy stuff so try raw veggies. There are lots of ways to hide them, so good luck!

Answer 8

Try sneakin it in. However, with your next child, if you have one, start early.

My son won't eat hardly any veggies, but I bribe him with something afterwards. If all else fails, try baby food veggies...at least they are getting the nutrition.

Answer 9

Keep offering them to him and encouraging him to eat them. Make sure he sees you eating veggies too.

Answer 10

MY GIRLS LIKE CUCUMBERS -CARROTS- TOMATOES CELERY

SO MAYBE YOU NEED TO TRY FRESH AND NOT CANNED OR LOOK UP VEGGIES AND SEE IF THEY HAVE SOME SORT OF MIX YOU COULD WHIP UP AND TRY

USE STUFF LIKE RANCH OR OTHER DRESSINGS