Toddlers and Food

[HeartRN]

I think we've talked about this before, but I couldn't find the posts. I know kids may not eat certain foods for a LONG time ( if ever), but I thought I'd still ask. I've tried to disguise vegetables with DD, but no matter what, she's not having them! I guess at daycare she generally doesn't eat them either (plus almost every main dish they serve, too) although there are weird moments where I get a report like "she ate every bit of her vegetable lasagna" Any hints on the veggie thing? I just keep putting them on her plate in hopes that maybe she'll try them one day. She eats a lot of fruit, though (almost any type!). Thanks.

P.S. Toddlers are the most bizarre little people, aren't they?! Between their weird OCD stuff and the "miney, miney, miney" I think I need to go have a cold one! :!

I think that continuing to offer it and put it on her plate is the way to go. I think I heard/read that kids have to see something...20 times???....or so before they get used to it.
Does she like soup? That is a good way to sneak them in.

[Cumberland]

On this subject, is it possible for a child to gain weight or grow if their diet is 100% raisins?

[Auspicious]

On this subject, is it possible for a child to gain weight or grow if their diet is 100% raisins?

Well at least she won't have an iron deficiency. Keep her away from strong magnets.

[Rapunzel]

I'd go the "sneaky" way mentioned by lunatic. You can also offer her frozen peas - for some reason a couple of my kids thought this was a real treat as toddlers! They had to be frozen, though. Apparently room-temp. or warm peas were nasty.

I have to remind myself that tomato sauce counts as a fruit/veggie so spaghetti IS a sneaky way to get them to eat a good thing.

Zucchini IS really good in baked goods - so are grated carrots. I know it's fruit, but you can also substitute apple sauce for oil/shortening in many baking recipes.

Something else you might try is take your child with you to a store or market where the produce is very attractive. Show him/her how beautiful and yummy the different veggies are and have him/her pick out what they would like to eat for the next meal. Sometimes that helps my kids. They are more apt to eat something if they think it looks appealing and they got to choose it. At least it gets them to try the food - and that's my goal, really.

This reminds me of something that happened recently when we went out to eat at an Italian restaraunt as a family. My husband and I really like calamari and so he ordered a plate of it. We agreed not to tell the kids what it "really" was and just have them eat it. The kids LOVED it. Jon insinuated it was onion rings or something because of the way it looked. Only after we were in the car on the way home did we say, "Guess what you ate tonight?!" Their reactions were funny. One of them was completely grossed out but the others were surprised and said that they would not have eaten it if they'd known but they would now eat it again because they thought fried squid was yummy! Lesson learned: DISGUISE THE FOOD!

Jennifer

[SueC]

I've disguised veggies in some of the meals I feed to the kids and they are none the wiser. I read recently to add pureed carrots (which you can achieve just by adding a can of baby food) to just about anything. I've also shredded carrots and red and green pepper and added to meat loaf and other ground beef dishes. They really don't notice it in there if there is a tomato based sause. Heres one of my kids (and dh's) favorites--you take a can of refrig. biscuits and form them to the inside of muffin cups. Bake them for 10 minutes or so (maybe less, I can't remember) and then fill them with a mixture of ground beef, BBQ sauce, and whatever grated up veggies you have on hand (carrots, red peppers, zucchini).

[Sheherezade]

Have you tried offering a large variety of cut up veggies with a dip (or without) for her to snack on? That may be crazy....but for me, it has always been better to be low pressure and offer a ton of choice. I usually leave a tray of cut up veggies out - with things like carrots, celery, snap peas, red peppers, green peppers and maybe some olives and some cut up cheese and nuts. A little buffet . Some times I put these out when we are going to read books and make some drinks. The kids always try things then, but not if we are sitting at a dinner table and I'm telling them to eat it. Red peppers and snap peas are both kind of sweet and the peas are fun to pick apart. (Obviously, we play with our food in this house....) Also, you could try the celery sticks filled with PB and dotted with raisins or chocolate chips. I also have had a lot of luck with making food sculpture and getting them to eat it - cucumber eyes with a carrot nose and a red pepper smile on a bowl of buttered pasta - that kind of thing. Good luck - my kids won't eat meat!

I usually leave a tray of cut up veggies out - with things like carrots, celery, snap peas, red peppers, green peppers and maybe some olives and some cut up cheese and nuts. A little buffet .

Can I come over?

I grew up not eating any meat and turned out fine! (I think )