Anyone have a clever way to get my 2 year old to eat vegetables of any kind??

Jennifer - posted on 07/01/2010

I heat up frozen spinach in the microwave to soften it then blend it into my sons smoothies. Never notices. Also V8Splash is good. Smoothies are excellent camo for vegis. he he he good luck.

Cassy - posted on 07/01/2010

Sorry I dont get on all the time
But you can go to the book store or just go to Rachael Ray's wed site and/ or Yumo site just do a searchfor both and it should pull up

Carrie - posted on 06/27/2010

the question is do you eat them ... we got lucky with our lil guy but my husband and I are very much veggie eaters

Lynda - posted on 06/27/2010

blend them up to mush and put it into whatever he will eat. ie spagetti sauce, any sauce, etc

Steffi - posted on 06/26/2010

I melt cheese onto it and give it to him it's usually gone, may not work with broccoli or really nasty veggies, i guess with the really nasty ones put more cheese lol

Barbara - posted on 06/26/2010

my daughter is almost 2 and just started to eat veggies. she loves salad. i think she likes dipping in ranch dressing the most. i let her pick it out and she enjoys. if she sees us eating it then she will want it too. make it fun and let him or her do it her way. i have a veggie tray and i load it with snacks for her and she likes being able to choose what she will eat.

Stacey - posted on 06/26/2010

I had the same problem with my 2 year old.. Try making your own pizza's (if your child likes pizza) make your own pizza sauce (you can get lots of veggies in that) and let your child add their own (veggie) toppings. Also try making it fun, you can build little things on a plate with veggies, use broccoli as "trees" around a house of carrots etc.. I just keep offering it to my child until she at least try's it. Oh and chef boyardee ravioli (full serving) :)

Cesly - posted on 06/26/2010

try to cut the veggies into smaller pieces and mixed it into his favorite soup or meal.you could also try to blend it to fruits to make a fruit-veggie shake...

Samantha - posted on 06/25/2010

you can never go wrong with ranch....or try a lil sugar on them and say there candy

Melanie - posted on 06/25/2010

Put tomato sauce on every thing . My two year old loves it and has just advanced to steak sauce

JoLyn - posted on 06/25/2010

Instead of adding calories to them or hiding them, give him something fun to eat them with. For example, a toothpick, chop stix, silly veggie fork..... make it fun...

Sarah - posted on 06/25/2010

My Ped just told me at our 18 month vist to sprinkle a little sugar on his veggies till he starts eating them. We have tried it and so far so good, then wean him off the sugar slowly. Great way to make veggies good. Good luck.

Justine - posted on 06/25/2010

cut the veggies up finely and put them in eggs or sandwiches, try that yet? also try them w cheese or tell him that he cant have any because those are for u only.

Misty-Dawn - posted on 06/25/2010

ahhhh the dreadedv veggies. I did this trick for my son benjamin...it workds well on carrotts. after you cook the carrot coat them in butter and add a little bit of maple syrope. soemtimes brown sugar helps too

Angela - posted on 06/25/2010

hide thiem in things like mash and soups. my son is much happier to try new things if he involved in the cooking, decorating his own pizza for example. we have the advantage of havin a allotment so he can go with his da and pick stuff and try it then and there. sweet tasting veg tends to go better at this age. we had a few months wehere he didn't want to eat anything but baked beans. we had a sticker chart and he got a sticker for each new thing he tried and aprixe of some sort when he got a set number of stickers. hope that helps. good luck.

Tori - posted on 06/24/2010

I agree that "deceptively delicious" is a great book and has great ideas. we also plant a garden every summer and the kids love to go out and "help" take care of it. when we tell them the vegetables are the ones they helped plant, water and pick they are more willing to eat them. good luck, i hope you find something that works for you!

Amanda - posted on 06/24/2010

I hide veggies in a spaghetti bolanaise. I blitz the veggies and the mince till it's smooth, my 2 yr doesnt have a clue it cram packed with veggies he refuses to eat, he normally goes back for 2nds 3rds and 4ths

MICHELLE - posted on 06/24/2010

TRY CORN OR BROCCOLI,MY BABY LOVES HER TREES,BUT THATS ABOUT ALL SHELL EAT,OH YEA CARROTS W/RANCH!! I TRY TO MAKE IT FUN OR OFFER BRIBES!!LOL

Dani - posted on 06/24/2010

i blend silver beet up and add it to the mash potato (it turns out green) and some times i add food colouring to the water when boiling cauliflower and make it pink or blue so my 2 year old will eat them we tell her to give her broccoli a hair cut and she loves doing that. i grate carrot and add it in my meat patties or spag bol. good luck :)

Sheila - posted on 06/24/2010

Stir fry!!! I wok fry mine with a touch of olive oil and just a dash of low-salt soya sauce. Mix with noodles, chicken, whatever you want. We're sometimes 'naughty' and have a picnic on the kitchen floor, or outside in the garden. Sx

Malin - posted on 06/24/2010

put some cheese on them, works like a beauty for me and my son is an extremely pickie eater.

Stefanie - posted on 06/24/2010

My daughter will eat ANYTHING if you put a little ketchup on it...green beans, carrots, etc...sounds gross, but it works!

Cathy - posted on 06/23/2010

If he eats any type of spagetti or meatloaf I add extra vegetables to that finely chopped of course .

Lea - posted on 06/23/2010

Ranch dip. Also, eat them yourself. My son loves to play the game, he eats one, then he feeds me one, and so on. V8 fusion is good, and my son also will drink plain V8 juice.

Erica - posted on 06/23/2010

my son seems to like the broccoli and cheese that you can buy in the frozen thing or you look up a recipe for it. but that is the only way he will eat a veggie. he loves it that way. if it dont have cheese on it he wont touch it. i found that is the best thing for him for now. I love broccoli and cheese as well so if i make it up myself then i would have enough extra to freeze i just have not had the time to make it with the move that we just made. when i get the time i will make up a big batch and then freeze it.

Andrea - posted on 06/23/2010

Buy that cookbook Deceptively Delicious. It has great ways of hiding veggies in food. It also suggests that even though the veggies are in the food you shouldn't omit them from their plate.

Danielle - posted on 06/23/2010

Mix them with his fruits or buy the fruit juices made just for that problem. If they dont know that its in there then they wont make such a fuss about eating it. When we would try to get our daughter to eat her green beans we would put some macaroni and cheese on the fork then put a green bean on there followed by more mac and cheese. Now she loves her veggies!

Monica - posted on 06/23/2010

Never stop having them on his plate. Most moms make a huge error by omitting foods because he tried them once and he won't eat them. Where it is true that we all have foods that we simply won't touch, children go through phases more often than adults. If you get it into your mind that your son hates broccoli, he will. My children love veggies, but I am always saying how good they are when I am eating them. ''These beans are awesome! You wanna try some? No? Well, more for me then...'' Reverse psychology works like a charm on toddlers also. ''I will not let you eat any carrots for a whole week if you are not nicer to your sister...'' Remember also that there is no dessert for leaving the veggies. I do not make dessert very often. When I do, it is a special occasion, special occasions call for a (somewhat) clean plate. So you tell them in advance "Guess what?! Cake for dessert tonight if we clean our plates!'' tell this to them early and often so when dinner time comes, they know what they are in store for. Have them dish up their own veggies (and all other food for that matter) If someone else loaded up your plate, could you eat it all? If they take it, they eat it. Finally, rest assured that no child will starve to death without a meal or two. If you are constantly making their meals different from what the rest of the family is eating (special diet, special child) they will never learn to eat what is good for them, because they are used to getting the meal they want....and we all want cake.

Jessica - posted on 06/23/2010

how old is your son?have you tried to have him eat 'em with you?? my son is 2 yrs old and loves vegetables only cuz mommy loves them and wants to eat 'em with me. try giving him fresh vegitable with ranch for dipping. or raw celery with peanut butter spread on top. I've known kids to love those.

Laura - posted on 06/23/2010

try " the sneaky chef" cookbook. i disagree with the fact that it wont help learn healthy habits. after he is about four and can rationalize and understand then talk to him and explain that you have been putting veggies in the muffins or whatever and he never even knew! or maybe have him help you plant some vegetables in your garden. helping you grow them and water them and getting to watch the whole proccess makes it more fun!

Nicole - posted on 06/23/2010

With the raw vegetables try offering him a 'dip'
I have had success with Ranch, French and Catalina dressings over the years with my day care kids.
Continue to offer him vegetables with each meal. Insist he take one bite and after that leave it be.
He will start eating them as he gets older. The fact he eats fruit is a positive because some fight kids will fight eating both.

I have also had success with putting cheese (whether I made a cheese sauce or just melted it directly on them) cooked vegetables to at least encourage trying them.

I end up making a mixed veggie medley when we have cooked vegetables because the kids I look after all have different tastes. They all get served the medley and then told to eat the ones they like and leave the others on their plate. Most will start eating all of them after a couple of months and others just continue picking out the ones they do eat.

Don't worry about it too much and don't force him to eat every bite or it will become a battle of wills instead.

Good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 06/23/2010

Hi Jennifer,
My 2yr old twins eat pretty good most days but I have a friend whos 3yr old is a very picky eater. She purchased a book called The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods In Kids Meals by Missy Chase Lapine. She most of the recipes are pretty good. Hpoe this helps, best of luck.

Ronel - posted on 06/23/2010

Mine will not eat any fruit or veggies. I need some help too.

Amanda - posted on 06/23/2010

Dont hide food, it doesnt help with good eatting habits. Add sauce to the veggies, give dips for veggies to be dipped into. Try them raw/cooked/frozen, and cook 3 to 4 veggies each dinner, that way if he doesnt like one he might like the others (plus that is what your whole family should be eatting anyway). Also make sure he sees you enjoying your veggies.

Becka - posted on 06/22/2010

hide them in juice's or add cheese to them. My kids love it when i put cheese on them. You can chop real small and mix in muffins. sweet and good for them

Jennifer - posted on 06/22/2010

That's a thought, Megan, maybe he's just not so hungry because it's summer... Thanks!

Megan - posted on 06/22/2010

My daughter is the same age and in winter loves soup. I give her soup for lunch and dinner because in summer I can't really get her to eat anything.

Anna - posted on 06/22/2010

I found them at Kroger's in the Vegan section

Jennifer - posted on 06/22/2010

Wow! Thanks so much, those are great GREAT ideas! Thanks everyone, you've brought new hope to me!

Jessica - posted on 06/22/2010

does he eat mashed potatoes? if so u can hide other white or light colored vegetable in them, just cook the vegetables (like parsnips) and than mash them up with the pototoes. OR try making picture with the vegetables, like the brocoli tops are the trees and carrot stick for the base, lettuce for grass, and that do a "sun" out of a dipping sauce and tell him to be a dinosaur and eat all the trees

Jennifer - posted on 06/22/2010

Where can I find these meals?

Cassy - posted on 06/22/2010

Hiding them in sausescan work but carrots with a honey glaze worked well with my son. Go to book store and look up Rachel Rays Yumo Cookbook. I let my son cook with me and he will try anything I try and make look tasty. So if you or anyone else in the house make faces with veggie then he may not try them at all because of the face your making. Good luck

Donna - posted on 06/21/2010

I have read and been told by doctors that you have to introduce food to a child at least 10 times before they might like it so keep at it. I'm not sure if you're looking for this but Jessica Seinfeld put out a book (I'm sure there may be other better ones) called Deceptively Delicious that "hide" veggies in food. Also not sure if this book will help your situation but it is a really good book about nutrition, gives recipes, etc (I love it) called Super Baby Food.

Anna - posted on 06/21/2010

Well I'm back I was looking up ideas for picky eaters and find some interesting tips for you.
They make frozen meals (they are like Kid Cuisine's) but they contain vegan stuff like Chik instead of Chicken, and so on. Your best bet is to go through the list and test each one with him, my daughter hates green beans but she loves sugar snap peas...they are sweet and taste like candy.

Jennifer - posted on 06/21/2010

I've tried those...well V8, he likes, but I want something more substantial, and to instill good eating habits. I've even bought veggie burgers, and smothered them in ketchup and such...I won't give up though, thank you!

Anna - posted on 06/21/2010

Agreed. You could hide them in things, or you can try mixing up the colors for him like add in red peppers or yellow ones.Kids like colors, it keeps them happy.

Bianca - posted on 06/21/2010

Hide them in things. We hide peas in hamburger helper and hide corn in lasagna. Stuff like that. Or V8 fusion juice has a full serving of veggies in it. We have used that stuff before.