Any suggestions on getting a 2.5 year old to eat vegetables?

Niloufer - posted on 05/11/2010

My 1.5 year old son started this recently. Hes only on milk...6-8 ozs 4 times a day. He used to eat a whole banana and now he wont eat a bite. I am worried out of my mind about poor nutrition stunting his growth. So I hear you... mine never tries it in the first place. i am gaining weight with the leftovers ...I will cook 3 diff things in one day for him to eat...What can i do?

Leta - posted on 01/29/2009

I have a 2 and a 6 year old and a partner that aren't fussed on vegies - but when I add honey to the water when I cook them or add it after I've steamed them, they are always eaten straight away!

Randi - posted on 01/29/2009

dress them up, let him put ketchup on them or gravy or about any thing else a toddler likes. The extra things on them will not take away from their nutrition. But most of all, let him see you eating and ENJOYING them (even if you have to be over dramatic)

Angela - posted on 01/29/2009

My 21/2 year old won't touch any veges at all. So now I give him a glass of the fruit and vege juice each morning, he thinks it's just orange juice. Also grow our own cherrie tomatoes and he'll eat these straight off the bush. Not much but at least it something

Andrea - posted on 01/29/2009

Oh My!  I am so glad that I'm not the only Mom with a 2 1/2 year old that won't eat well or if at all!  It is so frustrating when your child only eats certain foods especially when we go out to eat or over to someone's house, we either have to bring something with or have him starve.    My 2 1/2 year old son will ONLY eat....Chicken nuggets, Pizza, Ramen Noodles(I make them with the least amount of seasoning possible to avoid all the sodium), yogurt, waffles/pancakes and spaghetti.  He will not try new things at all...he instantly will say, "I don't like it".  I just hope he grows out of this soon!!!

Kelly - posted on 01/29/2009

Hi all!  I have a similar issue with my oldest son who will be three next Friday (the 6th) He has never been a good eater, but it has gotten much worse lately.  He will not eat ANY veggies or fruit unless it is pureed like gerber.  He only wants yogart or pizza.  I can occasionally get him to eat peanut butter on bread but not much else.  I keep hoping that it is just a phase and will end someday.  I don't want him going to school eating baby food :)

Deepa - posted on 01/28/2009

thanks for all the replies. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only mom who has problems getting her toddler to eat right. : ) I do give him vitamin supplements every day (those Poly vitamin drops). I just put them into his milk in the morning and he has no clue. He won't touch the stuff straight from the dropper. And, I do have Jessica Seinfeld's recipe book. I just haven't had time to puree a bunch of vegetables and make the recipes. I really should. It's such a good idea -- to hide vegetables in the food they like to eat. Anyway, thanks again!

Neethu - posted on 01/27/2009

Hi ... my son is 23 months . He was born preemie .  I had to supplement his diet since he was 1 year old .  I had to give him supplements .

It has improved his appetite , Immune system & Learning Ability .

If you would like to Do what I did , Let me know nshekhar@yahoo.com

Kerri - posted on 01/27/2009

I've got the same problem. My 2.5 yr old son snubs just about everything. And vegetables - HA! He won't touch them with a ten foot pole! So we make a lot of spaghetti, since he'll eat that, and I use the Prego/Ragu veggie sauces. That way he is at least getting some veggies. Other nights, I just put the veggies on his plate, but I don't try to force him to eat them. I understand forcing them to eat stuff can cause eating disorders later on in life - besides, who needs all that drama at the dinner table?!



I just bought a cookbook called "Deceptively Delicious" written by Jerry Seinfeld's wife. It's all about how to sneak veggies into the foods that your kid actually will eat. It's mostly pureeing veggies like squash and adding it to the mash potatoes, or brownie mix etc. That way the kid doesn't even know they are eating veggies. Neat concept, I thought. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet. Hope they work as well as they sound! There's also another cookbook called "The Sneaky Chef", which is virtually the same thing, just written by a diff author. Good luck!

Heather - posted on 01/27/2009

I have the same problem. I give my 2.5 year old son vegetable pasta and the Morning Star chickenless nuggets. At least he's getting a little vegetables that way.  I also just started him on a chewy vitamin supplement called Juice Plus. There are fruit and vegetable ones. He takes the fruit in the morning and vegetable at night. I can give you more information if you are interested.

Heather - posted on 01/27/2009

I have the same problem. I give my 2.5 year old son vegetable pasta and the Morning Star chickenless nuggets. At least he's getting a little vegetables that way.  I also just started him on a chewy vitamin supplement called Juice Plus. There are fruit and vegetable ones. He takes the fruit in the morning and vegetable at night. I can give you more information if you are interested.

Tanya - posted on 01/27/2009

my mom used to cook them with a tablespoon of brown sugar it does change the tast a bit, but not much. i steem mine with chicken flavor, brown or white suger, my daughter love chinesse so its always mixed with something.

Christina - posted on 01/27/2009

Don't worry about it. Your stress causes him stress. Get him to try everything that he will try. Try adding veggies to his favorite meals. My older daughter went through a stage where all she would eat was pasta so we had a lot of pasta dishes for quite a while. I mentioned it to my mother and she said she was worried about one of my brothers around the same age because all that he would eat was bananas and "yemon yogort" until he found out that the yogort had real lemon pieces in it. Then it was just bananas. :) She called the doctor and told him of her concern. His response was as long as he eats and isn't eating just junk, it doesn't matter much what he eats. If you are really concerned about him getting the vitimins that his body needs, most pharmacies sell vitimins for toddlers but typically children this young will only eat what the need to and only need a small amount of nutritious food to get the vitimins that they need.