my 2 year old won't eat vegetables?

Question

Please tell me how you got your kid to eat veggies. I have tried everything. Make it fun, cut it into shapes, keep offering it, blah blah blah. I'm not going to give her veggies and nothing else, I don't believe in that. But there's got to be something I can do. I put different veggies in front of her for 21 days in a row and every day she refused to take a bite. Any ideas? Remember, don't tell me to starve her out because I'm not gonna do it! Thanks

She doesn't like spaghetti so I can't sneak veggies into a sauce. And Franki, you can keep your opinions to yourself, thank you. She's my child and I'll do what I like

Answer 1

It's more stressful for you to worry about what she isn't getting in her daily diet , then it is for her not to eat them.

At her age she is picking and choosing what she wants. She's trying to make decisions and her palate is changing rapidly. Most 2 years and 3 year olds don't care for vegetables. Their taste buds are changing and for whatever reason either taste or texture or both, vegetables are one of the items that get left on the plate almost every meal.

It's proven over and over again that children respond to meals better when there is only a choice of 2 items on thier plates. As long as there is a protein and a vegetable on her plate you can feel good about what you are giving her. If she doesn't eat it, that's okay too. You are being too hard on yourself and possibly on her too. It won't be this way forever. Her taste buds will change and she will explore new flavors and textures eventually. Just continue to serve them and don't really say anything about it. Let her figure it out.

My son is always eating what I have thinking that it's better than what he's getting, so if she is curious about what's on your plate then share with her. If she's on any kind of multivitamin then you have nothing to worry about. All toddlers cut way back on calorie intake and food choices.. it just happens, it will change.

You are a good mommy for worrying, but rest assured that she will go back to veggies in time.

Answer 2

I have 5 kids and have the same problem with 2 of them. What I do is cook vegetables and puree them then mix it with whatever I'm cooking. It can also be cooked in bulk and frozen in small portions so you can just chuck some in to what you make! My children eat bread dipped into soup but they wont eat the soup! I saw something really interesting on the tv, although it may be difficult to organise. They found that kids who hated and refused vegetables would eat them if they saw someone who they admired and looked up to eat them! They had a group of children who had been on the tv go to a school and chat to the other children about how much they loved vegetables and how healthy they are. When it was lunchtime they all sat down together and because the kids who had been on tv ate all their food, the other kids tucked in too! The mothers were amazed! Maybe your little one is a bit young for that but it's worth a try!

Answer 3

My son was the same way. Nothing but meat for him... I would give him v-8 drinks, and at meal time I would give him the meat and veggies and when he would want more meat without eatting the veggies I would tell him as soon as he ate some of the veggies I would give him some more meat. of corse he would fit over it if you will but he started to take bites of his veggies, I would give him a small pice of meat and told him if he still wanted more meat he would have to eat some more veggies. I'd only put a few green beans or a small scoop of spuds on his plate at a time. I knew he hated lima beans and peas so I stayed clear from them. Some days I could only get him to eat veggies if they were fresh. He's four now and knows that once he finishes his first plate, allways small servings, he can pick what he wants on his plate the second time. Dont know if you have tried it yet but mabe if you made a small salad with his meals with grape tomatoes, mushrooms, olives ect she may be more inticed to start eatting them?

Answer 4

You didn't say if she had been eating vegetables when she was younger?? You should have introduced veggies very early on. With that said, try making a soup of all the veggies you want... and then blending them to make a thick paste.
Potatoes are a good base. Try this:
Chicken broth, potatoes (white or yams), butternut squash, celery, carrots, parsley, onion, garlic. Cook it until soft... run it through a blender until veggies are pureed. Add some milk or half&half... and you have a thick base that any kid can dunk their toast into.
When my kid gives me a hard time about veggies, I just blend them all together and serve it up with crackers.
You can also try topping veggie pieces with some melted cheese or salad dressing. Condements are very handy sometimes.

Answer 5

My daughter used to love broccoli, etc. before she turned 2 & then she started terrible 2's & it became more of a control issue.
First, don't let her know it's frustrating you b/c she'll be in control. I would give her (even now & she's 3) a choice of vegies & sometimes she'd eat it, sometimes not. Then I'd wait a few days or a week & try again. Sometimes I'd rotate it. This week, cucumber, then she'd get tired of that, I'd try carrots. I made chicken soup when she was sick & I put vegies in it & she liked it. She loves cheese, so cheese on broccoli was great too.

2) When I eat it, sometimes she'll start eating it too.

3) There's nothing wrong w/ cutting food into shapes (I've read this in one book too) b/c when we go to eat sushi or a fine dining restaurant, the food looks like art, so why not do it at home?

4) Try ants on a log: celery, pb & raisins

5)Try different versions of carrots, for ex.: grated, sliced, sticks & my daughter's fave: baby carrots (she liked the fact that it was called "baby" & that it looked cute)

6) Then there's the sneak it in approach: blending & pureeing (like pizza sauce); try recipes from this month's Parenting magazine

7) Try pumpkin muffin, carrot muffin or banana bread/muffin (there are some recipes in What to Expect the First Year)

8) My daughter loves spinach ravioli that you can get from the store that is in the fresh pasta aisle.

9) Sweet potato or russet potato Baked fries (drizzled with some olive oil) Top the russets with parmesan if you like before baking.

Finally, don't give up! If they don't like it this week, wait & try again. Maybe they don't eat it everyday, but if they see it often enough or once in a while, they'll try it eventually. I hope!

Answer 6

Waffles!!! You can bake almost anything into a waffle. It also works with pancakes and muffins. Start with a basic waffle recipe and add a small amount of whatever vegetable you're trying to introduce at first. Increase the amount of vegetable a little at a time. My son gobbles up waffles with carmelized onions, zuchinni and spinach. The bonus for us was that after he ate the waffle with the veggies baked in for awhile, he eventually go to like most of the veggies by themselves.

This is my basic recipe for whole wheat waffles and pancakes:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp flaxseed meal (optional)
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Sift together dry ingredients. Mix together egg, milk and butter. Stir wet milk mixture into dry ingredients until just incorporated. (Small lumps are fine) Add up to 2/3 cups vegetables.

Some I've tried that work well, alone or in combinations:
Peas, pureed
carrots, grated
zuchinni, grated
broccoli, cooked and finely chopped
spinach, cooked and finely chopped
onions, thinly sliced and caramelized
sweet potatoes, grated
leeks, thinly sliced and sauteed
corn, pureed if he doesn't like the kernels
beans, pureed
Cauliflower, cooked and finely chopped

Answer 7

It is a lot of work, but worth it, make your own ravioli, stuff it with spinach a little ground beef and some cheese, I like feta, but not all kids take to that, cheddar they all love. Put this under a nice spagetti sauce and make the raviolli small, bite sized. If you have no pasta making time, try stuffing shells with healthy precooked and artfully hidden foods, sauces hide a lot.

One of my kids is a chef now. I think we teach them to eat well best when they are youngest.

Good Luck.

P.S. It never hurts to have some cupcakes or cookies available as treats for eating other stuff.

It gets a little like collective bargaining, but that too is an education for you both.

Answer 8

only save attempting. I have a 2 3 hundred and sixty 5 days previous with really an same issue. i eventually were given him to eat steamed broccoli (no longer a lot besides the indisputable fact that that is extra valuable than no longer some thing) & eco-friendly beans & sparkling peas. the different vegetable he spits out; he will bite it yet received't swallow! till then you really really could attempt to puree vegetables into foodstuff, they heavily won't be able to style the version extraordinarily squash puree blended with mac & cheese or cauliflower puree blended with mashed potatoes. also, once your son finally 'takes the bait' serve it to him at each meal for no less than a week so he really receives used to this growing the norm.

Answer 9

What do you eat? All I can say is children generally copy their parents. If you make a big deal out of loving your veggies, they will too. But if mom and dad insist they eat their veggies because they're good for them like it's some kind of chore, well no wonder. They tend to copy their parents at that age. But you didn't say what kind. I would never eat or force my kids to eat the garbage out of jars or special baby veggies either. That stuff tastes like crap, and is mostly sugar and salt. .

Answer 10

Hi tough one try making a face with mash potato and using carrot and different vegies to make a face , try smaller amounts and then offering some icecream afterwards only if they eat their vegies, try a little bit of honey with your carrots , cut out all snacks and any treats until they eat some vegetables i wish you luck cheers