My 1 yr old son won't eat his veggies!

Alexandria - posted on 02/05/2009

the thing that worked with my son was giving him something to dip it in like ketchup or ranch, he loved it and will just about each anything with dip, just a thought .... it might help!

Cara - posted on 02/05/2009

Quoting Sherry:

Another idea, give them to him frozen. I know this sounds crazy, but when my son was teething, I had one of those pacifier looking mesh holders and I would put frozen veggies and fruits in it to let him chew on. He didn't choke on the pieces, but would get the flavor and help his gums at the same time. Once he got past the teething stage and able to eat table food, he had no problem eating veggies, because he was used to the flavor. He is 4 now, but he still likes to eat some of his veggies frozen once in a while. If he is starving while I am making dinner, he will ask if he can have some frozen green beans or peas and carrots while I am cooking. That is one snack before meal time that I would never deny him. If he is mashing his food with a spoon, he could be just playing with the texture, or not like the texture so won't eat it. The frozen veggies can't be squished, so maybe he will try it. I also to this day still mix veggies into almost everything he eats and he doesn't know it (works good on husbands too, he has no iead what he eats half the time.) Good luck!

Thanks Sherry!  I don't know why I didn't think of this!!  He eats his fruit frozen and loves it, so I have tried the veggies the same way.  So far we have a hit with carrots, and peas!  And he just started eating with a spoon yesterday....mind you he's not quite an expert...yet!!!

Sherry - posted on 02/02/2009

Another idea, give them to him frozen. I know this sounds crazy, but when my son was teething, I had one of those pacifier looking mesh holders and I would put frozen veggies and fruits in it to let him chew on. He didn't choke on the pieces, but would get the flavor and help his gums at the same time. Once he got past the teething stage and able to eat table food, he had no problem eating veggies, because he was used to the flavor. He is 4 now, but he still likes to eat some of his veggies frozen once in a while. If he is starving while I am making dinner, he will ask if he can have some frozen green beans or peas and carrots while I am cooking. That is one snack before meal time that I would never deny him. If he is mashing his food with a spoon, he could be just playing with the texture, or not like the texture so won't eat it. The frozen veggies can't be squished, so maybe he will try it. I also to this day still mix veggies into almost everything he eats and he doesn't know it (works good on husbands too, he has no iead what he eats half the time.) Good luck!

Amy - posted on 02/01/2009

well i know with my kids eat veggies was defently a chore, untill i introduced raw veggies and dip let them dip there carrots (baby carrots) in dip all by them selves,it will make a mess but whatev.. and make other veggies look fun, like brocoli , stand them up on a plate with a little bit of dip to hold them in place and make them look like trees, and you can make a penutbutter sandwitch open faced with rasins to make a smililey face and use carrots again as the legs and arms and make a penutbutter man.. and load the

Giavanna - posted on 02/01/2009

Don't worry too much. He's eating them, just not the ay you wouls like right now. Just like everything at his age, it's a phase. He's squishing them because he's playing with the texture and squishing feels funny. He's probably batting the spoon because he'd like to grab the spoon and do it himself, but he doesn't have the motor control yet. At this phase, don't stress too much. Just find what works for the time being and do it.

I say...let him squish away...as long as some of it ends up in his mouth, you are doing just fine. Give in to the chaos for a while (and keep a wet washcloth close by)...you don't want to fight about food...it then becomes a battleground 3 times a day. Once they realize it aggrivates you, you're in for trouble. Good luck!

Amanda - posted on 02/01/2009

PS What I mean here "it is not a good idea to engage in a battle of the wills with children" is that there is a big difference between enabling negative behavior and being a supportive, loving parent. :)

Amanda - posted on 02/01/2009

One year olds and veggies! That can be a fun one. Sweet potatoes are usually a hit and better than nothing. If nothing you do can get him to eat the veggies, don't worry too much and if you make it a big deal it may always be a big deal. Its food, its what he gets and even a one year old will not be so stubborn as to starve himself, even if he tries, he'll only do it once. That may sound harsh, but it is not a good idea to engage in a battle of the wills with children. That pattern is far more crazy making and harmful than going a few weeks without veggies. In my experience, which may not be true for you and thats ok, simply maintaining that everyone likes vegetables and trying new foods will keep your child openminded about eating. It also helps to let them choose whats for dinner as they get older and talking about how different food effects their bodies. My daughter finds that stuff fascinating.

Since my daughter was about two, we would have her try one bite of whatever she claimed she didn't like (which still happens weekly) and if she truly did not like it then she did not have to eat it, we acted like we didn't care either way, (it was her loss because it was tasty to the rest of us) and 90% of the time she would eat it. Nutrition is important, but it takes time to build the pattern of eating nutritiously. Pureeing veggies and sneaking them in is a good idea, just don't give up on offering them in other ways. If he thinks he's won now, he won't give in in the future.

Good Luck :)

Blanch - posted on 02/01/2009

The best thing I found for my daughter to eat her veggies is to puree them and hide them in things I know she'll eat. Jerry Seinfields wife has written the best book for doing this called deliciously Deceptive. Still offer the veggies whole along side the main meal, but at least you know they are getting some in them even if they don't touch it! My daughters favorite is Mash potatoes and i puree cauliflower in with it and she (or my husband) don't know they are eating it! she also loves chicken nuggets, so i coat them in puree broccoli after the egg and milk and then coat them breadcrumbs. doesn't taste any different! her book has heaps of tips like these even hiding veggies in biscuits! hope that helps!!

Krista - posted on 02/01/2009

work with sweeter vegies first....then move to others...if yu can get them on his lips he will at least eat some and may find that he likes most

Natalie - posted on 02/01/2009

Your little one sounds like my nephew & my poor sister was at whit's end until I recently came up with an idea. Linken won't eat ANY vegie he can see so we had to decide - is it about the adult winning the food war or about nutritional value? Nutritional value definitely! So I pureed every vegie I could put my hands on & have put them in my sister's freezer. Anytime bubs has anything to eat he has vegies in it (he just doesn't know). He has homemade chocolate cake with potato puree in it, lazagne with pureed carott & tuna casserole with pureed zuchinni! At least your little one doesn't not eat them at all, so he's doing ok. All kids go through phases & they never stop - only go from phase to phase.

Kylie - posted on 02/01/2009

try grating them into a (tomato based) pasta sauce and not telling them about it - it works a treat. You can also puree veggies after cooking them and mix them through something he WILL eat. He'll never know. There is also a recipe book you can get, that has lots of fun recipes such as chocolate brownies - the hidden ingredients? beetroot and spinach. The kids devour them - as long as you don't tell them what's inside.. hehehe.

Megan - posted on 02/01/2009

Try gravy, just packet gravy, worked a treat for my 2 then ya slowly take it away :)

Kristen - posted on 02/01/2009

I have tried putting cut up, cooked carrots into apple sauce.. it worked about 1/2 the time! (1/2 is better than nothing, right?) :)

Charlotte - posted on 02/01/2009

My two year old doesn't like veggies either. We just keep trying different ones. Corn is popular sometimes.