My 6 yr old daughter won't eat vegetables?

Question

I don't know what happened, when she was a baby she ate it all, carrots, peas, tomatoes.....now she won't eat them at all!! Does anyone have any good ideas on how to disguise veggies in food or drinks to help her get the nutrients she needs from eating veggies?

Answer 1

Make sure she takes a multivitamin every day. I like the drink idea. Try V8 Splash. It has carrot juice mixed with fruits.

Try melting cheese on the veggies.

Also, try some reward system to encourage her to eat. I explain things to my 4 yr old son. I just say that he needs the energy to fight off germs that will make him sick and have to go to the doctor. Good luck.

Answer 2

My daughter is also 6 yrs old and will only eat carrots, if they're raw they MUST be accompanied by dip so I know what you're going through. Go back to baby purees, make them yourself and freeze them in ice cube trays then mix them in with anything that has a something that will hide the flavour. We like to use it in pizza sauce, she doesn't know she's eating anything other than tomato sauce. You can even mix a bit in soup (if she'll eat it), or pasta sauce. I've tried putting cheese on top of veggies but she won't go for it.

Answer 3

Good news: She's normal!
I've already seen some good suggestions - definitely worth trying. My kids always liked crunchy raw veggies better than cooked. Ranch dressing as a dip is usually poular with the kids, too. You can shred carrots, zucchini, etc. and add them to meatloaf, chili and spaghetti sauces. I put them in baked goods, too. Pumpkin is very nutritious, so I make muffins and sheet cakes out of it, in addition to pies.

My daughter would not eat salad for years, until I put mandarin oranges and grapes in it. I let her eat it as a finger food (without dressing) on all but the most formal occasions.

Keep serving vegetables and of course YOU need to keep eating them yourself, not just for your health, but as an example to her. It's OK to tell her that brussels sprouts, for example, are a taste you barely tolerate, but you eat them anyway for their nutritional value. When you are serving a vegetable that you particularly like, say how delicious it is, if you can work it into the conversation. She will get the idea that vegetables are a key part of a healthy diet, and that some taste better than others. Encourage her to take a few bites, but don't force her. As she grows, here tastes will change. As long as you keep offering a healthy balance, she will learn to eat a variety of foods.

Answer 4

If she will drink smoothies you can add a little spinach to a fruit smoothie and it won't taste. I know how frustrating it can be. I have a 6 yr old boy and a 9 yr old girl. They both are picky eaters. I have a few vegetables they will eat like raw baby carrots, cucumbers,other than that, I have to bribe them to eat small amounts of corn, broccoli. I threaten to not give them ANY sweets until they eat them. Most times it takes them an hour to eat. They won't eat anything mixed and until this last year neither one of them would touch pizza. I'm still waiting for mealtimes to get better! so I definetly feel for you!!!

Answer 5

Yes, there is a way, pick something she likes and you know she will eat that has some type of sauce, puree the vegetables and mix them in. The sauce disguises the taste and the smell and the bits are too small to see.

My children did the same thing, it is normal, sometimes it has more to do with they just do not like that color that week, and other times it is their independence shining through.

Answer 6

Hello there !! It might help if you get her involved in selecting vegies at the supermarket with you. Make her part of the selection. Talk about the color of the vegie, size , things like that. Kids get interested and are more likely to try the food then. You can also grow a garden ( if you can) and have her involved in the planting and tending to the garden. I use to make pretty shapes out of vegies, for example, with a cucumber make a few cuts (lenghwise down the cucumber) then take the gadget to core an apple and take the seeds out of the cucumber, peel a carrot to the point that it fits in that hole in the cucumber. Cut the cucumber with the carrot in the middle in about half an inch discs. It will look like a flower with an orange center. Things like this kids love. I also use to tell my kids that the brocolli tops were little trees, and that they would get strong eating them. Use your imagination.
Children are the most wonderful gift we could ever receive. We learn so much from them. Remember we are their world, and everything we do has such an impact on them. Best of luck with your angel. Happy holiday !!!!

ONe more thing ,,,,, I use to take bread, butter it on both sides, take the pans to make cupcakes, butter the pan, make an inch slit on each side of the bread. Place the bread in the cupcake molds, folding each side, bake in oven at 350 until toasted. Take out of oven, take some cream of chicken or gravy of your childs choice, some sweet peas or corn, mix together, place in the now little bread cups, put cheese on top, bake for about 3 min until bubbly, kids love this. I use to tell my kids that they were eating veggies cups. ( you can add diced chicken breast to this) Just enjoy each and every moment with your child. Do not get stressed out, they pick up on our tension.

Answer 7

My kids like most veggies, but not fruit, so I make a lot of banana bread, applesauce and oatmeal cupcakes, stuff like that. For veggies, you could try pumpkin or zucchini bread/muffins. Shred carrotts and or zucchini into spaghetti sauce, meat loaf or soups.
This may sound gross, but try putting frozen peas and carrots in lemon jello. It floats and looks neat, my friends kids love it. (My kids don't like Jello, go figure!)
I never liked asparagus until I had it wrapped in a piece ham spread with cream cheese. And a HS boyfriend's mom got me to eat cooked broccoli by dousing it with a few squirts of italian dressing. Pretty good stuff!
Be creative! Try salsas, cheese sauce, ranch dressing, heck even ketchup!
Check out websites like kraftfoods.com and parents.com for ideas.
Best of luck!

Answer 8

Neither of my kids will eat a veggie, either (my husband and I are big fans of the "gag and choke" show that goes on whenever we insist that they try a one! Oscar contenders - both of them!!haha!). They are now 9 and 11! Just continue to give them to her and make her at least try them, then be sure to give her a multi-vitamin every day to make sure she's getting those missing nutrients. Good luck!

Answer 9

Here is what my mom did to us.
We had to eat our age. So if we were 6 we had to eat 6 green beans, or 6 kernels of corn. This way it doesn't seem like you are asking a lot of your daughter, she can see it is only 6 and that isn't a lot. Plus she eats her veggies.
The other option is to melt cheese on them.

Answer 10

Does she like cheese? A lot of children won't eat veggies like broccoli or cauliflower or brussel sprouts unless they have cheese on them. You could try that. Also, try fresh green beans cooked with nothing on them, sometimes they like them when they can pick them up with their fingers.

shapes and designs can also get them interested...
things like carrots or cucumbers you can cut with a crinkle cutter
tomatoes you can cut with a knife to make it look like a little flower by going around the edges in a triangle pattern in the center.