Which veggies does your toddler eat?

[cdlamis]

Julia used to be so good about eating anything I gave her. Now she is picky which is fine but she hardly eats veggies.

I have tried everything- ranch, etc and still the only two that she will eat are tomatoes and peas (both without ranch thankfully!).

Which ones does your toddler eat? Should I be worried about her limited veggie diet? Any tips to getting her to eat others?

Daniella
Mom to Julia 6-13-02
And baby #2 EDD 12-30-04!!

[raynjen]

Noelle eats lots of veggies - I have problems getting her to eat other stuff. One thing we found is that she turns her nose up at most cooked items. The only veggie that she prefers cooked is corn (but, then again, I haven't let her try it raw ;). Her favorites are: peppers - red, orange, and yellow (not so much green); cucumbers (peeled, I'm working on that); corn; broccoli (we slice and cook the stems too); water chesnuts (is that a veggie?); peas (cooked); soybeans (cooked); carrots; the thick part of the lettuce leaf (the spine?); and a couple of others.

One thing that we instituted is a 'no thank you' serving this is a wee-little serving (maybe two of her spoonfuls) that she HAS to eat. She always has to try everything on her plate, but not necessarily finish it. We also ration out her favorite stuff based on what she has eaten on her plate. So, if we are having Mexican, she gets a 1/3 of a tortilla and we will hand her more depending on what she eats (like if she has a spoon of beans she gets more tortilla). My child loves carbs, so we can bribe her with potatos, rice, bread, etc.

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (2 2/3)
Architect in a previous life...

[bnme]

My DS is only eating broccoli and cucumbers (is that even a veg??). He'll also eat tomatoe sauce but not tomatoes. On occasion I can get him to eat corn, carrots or winter squash -but rarely.

I also wonder if this is something to worry about -- nutrition-wise.

[August Mom]

DS is spotty on the vegetable front right now. Sometimes he eats them and sometimes not. I don't think this is unusual for a toddler. (He's fickle about other types of food too). DS almost always eats colored bell peppers (orange is his favorite). He prefers them raw but will also eat them cooked. He sometimes eats carrots (either raw or cooked in the crockpot), celery (raw), asparagus (steamed) and broccoli (raw or steamed). He generally likes salad, interestingly enough. And, strangely, he likes raw onion. He picked that up completely on his own. My mom is ready to make him an onion sandwich. LOL

[Karenn]

Colin eats very few vegetables. Peas, sweet potatoes, green peppers- that's about it. I was reading Happiest Toddler On The Block this week and he suggested baking zuchini bread, but substituing twice as much pureed broccoli for the zuchini. I'm going try that this week. He had a bunch of other tips, but that's the only one I can remember at the moment. It's hard because I really only like raw veggies myself and those are hard to feed to a toddler!

[hjdong]

I don't know if this will help at all but I find that Jamie will some days eat the same veggie (or anything) that he refused a couple days previously. The first time I noticed was with an artichoke. He ate it once, refused it the next time, the third time, he wanted some, I told him he didn't like it, but finally gave in and he loved it. He's done the same thing several times now (although I no longer tell he he doesn't like something!).

In general, he loves vegetables (meat is the thing he does't like) but for the fun factor, he loves to eat corn on the cob. It has the benefit of being slow eating, so we get to enjoy a leisurely meal. I also find he rarely refuses a category of food when they're all mixed together - like in a stir fry or a casserole - but he'll frequently refuse to eat meat if it's seperate (like a chicken breast or something).

HTH

[lisams]

DD will eat peas and green beans if I melt butter on them. She also likes corn, tomatoes and carrots (and veggy booty if you count that ;-))

I give her a multivitamin just to make myself feel better!

Lisa

[darby24]

My nephew is an odd child. He's just turned 2 and still absolutely loves baby food! Basically he likes the texture of the food, no lumps.

My sister has tried making his favourites - squash, sweet potato and the like and whips it up with a food processor but he still finds lumps. The jars are really only at my place or for going out (zoo, aquarium, etc). And we've got a good deal here at $5.50 for 9 jars - certified organic.

My sister and her kids were over for dinner last night and while we adults enjoyed Chinese take out, J was very happy with a bowl of steamed rice, steamed carrots and celery and then finished it off with a jar of sweet potato and a jar of blueberries and apples. I think that's pretty well balanced for a 2 year old!

What he does eat is homemade french fries, cut up wedges baked with a dash of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Steamed carrots, peas and cooked celery he'll eat. He loves lunch of chicken noodle soup (with all the above veggies.) Cooked soybeans are a huge hit as well. My sister recently gave raw veggies with dip, but he uses the veggies strictly as a carrier for the dip. So that's been taken off the menu.

My sister feels odd sometimes still buying jars, but it's the same food just pureed. As a bonus, we can eat at a regular pace as it's so smooth it takes him a while to carefully feed himself. Lets just hope he won't be packing baby food jars to kindergarten!

[Hallie_D]

According to the teachers at his daycare, DS eats pretty much any vegetable they put in front of him. However, home is a different story. He loves corn, especially when we roast the ears and then cut of the kernels so that they are in long "sticks" that he can pick up. Sometimes he will ask for peas and eat tons of them, other times he refuses to eat them. Sometimes he likes cucumbers, sometimes not. Same with carrots, sweet potatoes, and pretty much any other vegetable. We give him a multivitamin and try not to force the issue because we don't want it to become a huge battle.

[cdmamatutu]

I read an article recently (not sure where...) stating that for many kids, if you try repeatedly (they were talking about 10 or more times) to introduce a rejected food, the child will eventually accept it. This article stressed consistency, and said most parents give up too soon. Haven't tried it in real life, as my kids will eat anything. :)

One of our favorite veggie dishes is summer squash and zucchini, sliced thin and sauteed. I top it with cheese and crumbled crackers, and my family gobbles it up.

Also, you can puree many different types veggies and cook them in pasta sauce to add undetected servings. :)

You may also try taking your child to a farmer's market and having her pick out a couple of new veggies. If she picks them out and helps prepare them, she may be more willing to try them.

Just a few random ideas...HTH :)