my child do not eat veggies

Joy - posted on 02/26/2010

I have four kids and they all ate there veggies. When my son was only two I would call brocoli trees and I would say watch I'm going to eat a tree! He would laugh and say I want to eat a tree and we would have a contest to see who could eat the most trees. I supplied Ranch dressing for a dip for us to dip them in. He's loved brocoli ever since!

Claudia - posted on 02/26/2010

Give him a high quality chewable vitamin.

Sue - posted on 02/26/2010

I have the same problem with my grandaughter who I am raising. She is 3 1/2, to get the vegetable in her I have been giving her V8 Fusion juice, it has a full serving of fruits and vegetables, she won't eat fresh fruit or any vegetables either but will drink the juice. She also won't eat cheese and is a very picky eater. Unfortunatly before she came to live with me all she was fed most of the time consisted of cold hot dogs, top ramen, corn dogs, chips, juice all day and milk. Since I have had her I have finally gotten her to drink water in between the juice and milk but still working on the regular meals. The V8 Fusion is a little spendy but if it is the only way to get the veg. in her I am willing to spend the extra money. Good luck with your son.

Anne - posted on 02/25/2010

All of the above are great suggestions, most importantly that you are MOM and they the CHILD. I never made a big thing about meals, my children went from baby food to junior food to chopped up dinner. They were always told to try one bite, if they didn't like they didn't have to eat it! Also, from a very early age, we ate dinners as a family. Besides being a great time to communicate, children learn by example.

One thing you can do as you're trying to turn this around is to give them a good supplement to help provide the nutrition they're missing. One that I've found is exceptional and natural: http://HealthyWealth.myshaklee.com . Click on videos and scroll down to the children one. Good luck to you, my daughter is in exactly the same boat. ~ Anne

Renae - posted on 02/25/2010

There are several recipes out there that have veggies in them that you can't taste....I have made cupcakes with beets and they are really good....mashed potatoes with califlower,etc...lemon poppyseed muffins with zucchini...I know there is a cookbook, but unfortunately I can't remember the name!!

Grammy - posted on 02/25/2010

I worked at my church's daycare cooking for anywhere from 40-65 kids. Other kids (and teachers too) can ruin a child from 'trying' food in a heartbeat. in a blink of an eye they decide they dont like something. I have a feeling that might be part of the issue...not just taste. I liked Charmaine's suggestion on how to spruce veggies up. I did that as well because that is the first half of the battle. I would use use a little sugar on com, add yogurt on top of their fruit, I made the veggies more colorful by mixing them, cheese works great too. I made eating fun, I used different voices when serving them, I also would get them excited about the next day about what we were going to have " oooh, tomorrow miss beth is making corn PUDDDDDINGGGG" pudding being the key word, sounded so much better than baked corn. then my #1 rule...they had to try 1 bite. more times than not the kids liked it....it is a mind set. Then when they would like it I would get all dramatic and say - 'like sure give me a hard time and now you love my food...and walk out of the room sighing and breathing hard and wiping my forehead. they would just laugh : ) the highlight working there was one day i put the trays down and megan said under her breath "i dont like carrots"! as i was walking away Emily who was 5 said, ' MEGAN, just TRY it! how do you know you don't like something if you dont TRY! If you TRY it and dont like it...you DONT HAVE to eat it..but at least you tried! ' it was all I could do to not bust a gut and her teacher heard too, but those were the exact words I said everyday for over 8 months. The BONUS- if everyone in the room TRIED that day, then I would make their afternoon treat extra special on the next day. I agree that for nutritional purposes you mght need to have to fool your children, but if they like the taste of veggies and fruits in drinks they should begin to like them on a plate. The fact is our tastebuds change, and our kids need to follow our rules.... I am not a picky eater but I still take a bite of everything if I am a guest and I try new things all the time. Raw oysters....dont care how ya fix em, they will never find a place in my heart! Good luck with meal time, I hope at least 1 of the suggestions I made can be of help.

Sharon - posted on 02/25/2010

hi i am 49years old and i still dont eat vegies my 2 girls do they are 26 and 29 and i am very healthy i eat meat...chicken...fish and fruit and dairy ..please dont force him introduce him slowly he may begin to like them as he gets older if he dosnt dont stress i am a very healthy person

Brenda Lyn - posted on 02/24/2010

I am sorry Mommie, but you produced this picky eater. I know this sounds harsh, but unfortunately this is true. You're not alone. Many parents have accidentally done this. But you'll do better. You'll see. My heart goes out to you. It isn't always easy being a Mommie sometimes.

Now that said, your child will NOT starve to death or become terribly unhealthy when YOU decide that you will change his diet to proper foods. Even if he goes 1-3 days without eating, as long as he has water, and/or whatever else his Pediatrician will recommend during this brief trial/period, HE WILL BE OK, and adapt very quickly WITH your persistance and vigilence. Ask his doctor for confirmation of this, and for advice to help make the veggies and fruits, and whatever elses more palateable WITHOUT furthermore adding other bad eating habits (sugars, etc), or extra work for you (life does not always revolve around a child, although YOUR LOVE WILL). You'll see.

Your son HAS to see that YOU are capable of being the parent HE needs to become a healthier eater. YOU have to be THE mom. Mothers know better, children do not. I agree fully with Catherine Schreiber above. He may respond by not eating several meals. He will eventually eat what you put in front of him WHEN YOU decide you will become strong, consistant, and put ONLY the proper food in front of him, AND do it with a good, happy disposition (so he does not feel punished), and briefly explain the food value so he eventually comes to understand why you want him to eat correctly. 7 years old is old enough, heck, even younger!, to understand that a parent wants what is best and backs it up with example & simple explanations. Let him know that you didn't know better before, but you learned and want the best for him. Serve him the food in NORMAL sized 7yr old portions, and tantalize him with the eggs, healthier noodles, and non-fried chicken, and a healthy dessert, and/or activity WHEN he has COMPLETED THE VEGGIES & FRUITS, & OTHER HEALTHY FOOD ITEMS on his plate for his complete meal.

Everyone IN your home has to be on the same page and become supportive and informed to make this work. IT WILL WORK WHEN ALL ARE IN AGREEMENT, become strong in hearing his complaints, cries, pleas, etc. Children can learn to manipulate parents who aren't too sure of their own parenting skills. They can also learn to make better choices, and manipulate less, when parents learn those parenting skills. YOU CAN DO THIS. HONESTLY :) Good luck, Tammy. You will do fine.

Theresa - posted on 02/24/2010

There is a recipe for chocolate cake that has zucchini in it. It looks yummy. Would you like the recipe?

Catherine - posted on 02/24/2010

My daughter is a fruit and veggie girl, loves whole grains and always asks 'Is this good for me?' when we try new things. My rule is, if you don't eat what I make, you don't eat. And no treats until a reasonable amount of what I've made is eaten. Believe me, after missing a few meals, you'll have a cranky, hungry child who will eat anything.

Kay - posted on 02/20/2010

My 15 year old son will only eat: chicken (normally with Teriyaki sauce only), rice (plain steamed white rice), ramen (beef or chicken flavor), hot dogs (ketchup only), hamburgers (with cheese and ketchup), pork chops (fried or shake-n-bake), spaghetti, pancakes (butter & plain syrup), cheese (cheddar, mont/jack, munster, mozzarella, parmesean), sour cream, plain potato chips, french fries, mac-n-cheese.

Yep- that's really it- that he knows of-

I first saw Jerry Sinefield's wife doing her puree recipes and thought "hmm, wonder if that would work". But mentally put the idea on a back shelf because I knew there was no way I was actually going to steam & puree veggies, and if he saw veggies come into the house then dissapear, he would never eat again. So I couldn't figure a way to make her idea work. Then a few years went by and I noticed he was VERY thin, he looked like a starving child from some 3rd world country. Even with the pouchy tummy like malnourished kids have. So I knew I needed to make a change. I pulled up that information and did a web search. I found sneaky chef recipes online and really studied them. No way my schedule would allow for ALL the labor involved so I broke them down. I noticed that there were recipes for "blue puree, red puree, white puree, green puree, orange puree" and I looked at how those were used. Then a lightbulb went off....

BABY FOOD!!!! I can sneak baby food into the house and put it up where he won't ever find it. He doesn't pay a bit of attention when I cook so I knew I could sneak it in. Now I know to just match the color of the baby food with the color of the food I'm adding it too and he'll never know it's there.

Orange baby food goes into mac-n-cheese, spaghetti sauce.
Purple & blue-ish baby food goes into brownies- YES, brownies, chocolate cake.
Apple/blueberry & applesauce also goes into brownies and chocolate cake. I also have gotten green beans & peas into brownies- his pan of birthday brownies no less- and he ate the whole 13x9 pan by himself. I let him think I was upset with him for eating all that "junk food" in one day but secretly inside I was having my own party.

It helps if the food has any kind of sauce on it, tomato sauce, cheese sauce, etc.
Before I add any extra liquid to a recipe I add in the baby food & other stuff (eggs, oil, etc.) then mix it up and add water, milk, whatever is called for, to make it the right thickness.

It's totally worth giving it a shot.

One note about cost-
I was initially thinking it was going to cost a fortune, but after I figured out the cost of wasted veggies that were never eaten, the cost of possible medical care (though I have to say my kids never get sick) etc. I realized a jar or two of baby food per meal eaten at home was actually more cost effective. If you can afford organic baby food that makes it even healthier, though baby food on it's own is really pretty healthy.

Good luck. It's a struggle worth not giving up on.

MaryJo - posted on 02/20/2010

Hi, I started reading this post to get more ideas for MY picky eater (9). I call him a carb-ivore because he'd eat plain pasta or rice for every meal if I'd let him. I tried hiding the veggies in food, that didn't work for me. I tried dips (Don't they always try to say that kids will "eat it with dip." Not mine.) I'll share one thing that has worked for me. We give him a small portion of his preferred food at dinner. To get more he has to try an "adventure bite." At first he refused. We told him that his dinner was done then. No dessert, no snacks later. Eventually he started trying foods. He usually will eat a small salad (no dressing) each night. Still working on making the veggie portions larger. Sometimes he's still refuse, but we stick to our guns about no dessert or snacks. It's a process, parenting. Keep trying till you find what works. ;D

BillieSue - posted on 02/13/2010

Get a juicer or food processer and if you make foods like meatloaf or spaghetti juice them veggies up and put the pulp in the sauce or meatloaf. A good multi vitamin can help. my son wont eat veggies either so i hide them in food and homemade juice, When i make meatballs i juice up zuchinni, carrots and spinich and hide them in the meatballs.
I also make him drink V-8 splash which has some veggies in i just put in a glass and tell him i made it. lol I also veggie crackers and spread cream cheese or something like that anything to get him veggies when i can

Liz - posted on 02/11/2010

Oh boy my son was like that too. I think the smelling EVERYTHING got to me the most. We boiled broccoli and put it thru the blender and mixed it with his eggs and made green eggs which he thought was so funny.We also mixed it with boiled potatoes and beat them til fluffy. There are some really good pure juices on the market to make popsicles with. After some time we realised he hated the texture of the cooked veggies so he slowly started to eat a few of them raw. We even made a deal with him that if he would eat a 1/4 cup of veggies/fruit each day we would play a board game with him(his favorate pass time). I measured the veggies and fruit into a container each morning and left it in the fridge where he could reach it. After awhile I was sneaking extra in and he was eating them. As a result I am now a champion snakes and ladders player LOL. Good luck and happy vegging.

Deborah - posted on 02/06/2010

Cheat! Put a cup of veggies in the blender, liquify them and pour them into the pasta sauce.

Make oatmeal cookies with fruit bits like chopped apples.

My kids were adults before they caught me doing this to their kids. It works.

Tammy - posted on 02/03/2010

im just getting back on thank you i will try the smoothies but the broccolli with cheese i tried that he actual smells his food before he eat. he only eat cheese pizza. thank you very much

Charmaine - posted on 01/30/2010

Hi my dear,

I have alway's been called noodle's and i love veg's.Try to spruce up the veg's.

Like cook them with butter and seasoning.

Carrot's just a tad of sugar.

greenbean's, potatoes or bean's, or tomatoes, in the greenbean's.

corn, if baby like's spicy food's use cayenne pepper and butter in corn.

And or whatever pepper's.

Mashed potatoe's try cream of mushroom soup, or cream of chicken soup.

Kid's tend to like the soothing meal's, Sometime's.

Donna - posted on 01/28/2010

Try juicing. Don't tell him what it is. That may work. Good luck

Nelly - posted on 01/28/2010

make a fruit smoothie on the blender; milkshakes with bananas and berries are usually a good choice. If he likes frozen sherberts, use ice cube trays and make a home made lollipops made with fruits. for veggies, it helped me to grow my own tomotoes and they helped in the garden, especially picking them up, so they felt proud of their farming skills. start with "easy ones" like tomatoes, snow peas are fun to eat, broccolli with cheddar cheese may be a good choice. steamed but not raw and melted cheese is appealing most of the time. a veggie pizza could be another option. try veggie burgers and don't tell him they are not meat. if he likes them, then you can tell! stuff tomatoes with bacon and cheese i the oven. mix veggies with stuff they like and see if the combiantion works! good luck!