Any ideas about how to get toddlers to eat more veggies? Drew was loving canned pumpkin, but with the pumpkin shortage, that's a no go now.
I admit that I'm not a veggie addict, but I've been working really hard to change to set a better example for Drew. However, I can't expect him to eat a raw cucumber or a piece of celery, and cooked stuff doesn't seem to interest him.
Any ideas? I'm concerned I'm teaching him bad eating habits.
But he did eat grilled polenta tonight. That's gotta count for something.
Try, try again. I read somewhere that it takes babies/toddlers at least 10 times trying something before they really decide if they like it or not. Why can't drew eat cucumbers?? How many teeth does he have? Celery may be a little hard to chew, but both of my kids chow down on the cucumbers.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, Elaine always liked veggies. Adam is our carnivore. For awhile the only veggies I could get him to eat undiguised (not it spaghetti sauce or something) were frozen, and I mean FROZEN green beans and cooked broccoli. Go figure. I kept offering him other options and he would taste them and spit them out - ok sometimes he wouldn't even taste them. And then about a month ago he decided that he likes tomatoes and cucumbers and bell peppers - the colored (not green) kind which you can get for a good price at SPROUTS. I was shocked - was this the same person who had rejected them only a few short days before??
That being said, Adam goes in phases. He will love something for awhile and then it is like he ODs on it and he refuses it for a month or so, and then he likes it again. Which can be frustrating when I've prepared food that I think he will love. *Sigh* So my suggestion is to try. Give him lots of options and over time he will (hopefully) develop a taste for some of them. Good luck!!
I agree with Christine, keep offering him the veggies, even the ones that he has refused.
ReplyDeleteI heard the other day on the Today show from a dietition that it is OK to "disguise" the veggies. Smother them in cheese, or ranch dressing, if that gets them to eat them. Then over time, put less and less cheese/ranch on the veggies. Abby will pretty much eat anything with ranch on it. And cheese is a big hit at our house too.
I've also discovered the frozen mixed veggies (I like the corn, peas, carrot, green beans one) and I just let the girls pick out the veggies that they like. It seems that whatever Lexi doesn't like, Abby does, so somehow all the veggies get eaten.
Also, about the pumkin shortage, have you tried sweet potatoes as a replacement to the pumkin. It's pretty similar in flavor, or even butternut squash? Just a thought.