BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Eating For Toddlers => Topic started by: maggie2 on February 09, 2008, 19:57:10 pm
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Maybe I'm just a hopeless dreamer, but I make an effort to include veggies on my lo's plate. He basically never touches them :-\ The only thing that he will eat on occassion is broccoli. But I still offer him strips of celery, sweet pepper, peas, green beans, etc. and I'm just wondering if I have an unrealistic view of how toddlers eat...
His diet these days is really crummy - the only way I can get any worthwhile nutrition into him it via his smoothie - usually he'll drink whatever I put in that (including veggies!!! (insert evil laugh)). He's obsessed with nutrigrain bars, which in my book, are basically a cookie :P But I'll give them to him for a snack.
anyway, just wondering if I should continue with my veggie efforts - maybe he'll all of a sudden start eating them one day!!! Does that happen?
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Hasnt with us as yet!!!! but I am with you, silently hoping, praying and offering them :-*
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Henry won't eat veggies except the occasional celery and carrots. :-\
Lily, however, will eat pretty much anything you put in front of her. Literally. Its amazing to see after my picky eater Henry. :)
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wow, broccoli... lucky you ;D ;D ::)
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dd1 only has veg squashed up in pasta sauce!
dd2 eats any veg offered,so it just shows they are all different.
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sorry mine eat anything and my DD...(like Sarah's Lily), will eat anything LITERALLY....DS on the other hand goes through phases...
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones in that department...
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My DS doesn't do veggies, except the occasional corn. I think you are right to keep offering them, I admit, I have gotten lazy and have given up, temporarily.........
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At the age of two my first hardly ate anything and my second was better... but not by much. Now ds will eat cooked carrots (sliced like a french fry) cold and sometimes broccoli with cheese.
Have you heard of Jessica Seinfeld's book "Deceptively Delicious"? It's fantastic and the basic concept is to cook with pureed foods. There are cookies with chick peas (yes bloody chick peas) and you can't even tell they're in there, brownies with spinach and carrot (yep, they're good) and one of our favorites is pink pancakes with beet - I take 1 1/2 cups of Aunt Jemima mix, use 1 cup of milk, 1/4 cup pureed beet and aboug 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. They are so much moister! Oh, and I mix in about 1/3 cup of pureed butternut squash into the girls Kraft Dinner and they're none the wiser! I have to admit even I couldn't taste it and I knew it was in there. Cauliflower in mashed potatoes, carrots in my meatloaf or burgers or meatballs... and I feel so happily sneaky when my kids eat it!!!!!
Anyhow - she has lots of recipes in there and all of them have pureed veggies/fruits in them. It's kind of wierd though how if you start thinking about your foods and what you could add to them how many ideas you come up with on your own. It sounds like a lot of work but really, if you puree on a Sunday and put them into mini baggies, set them in a square baking pan and put them in the freezer they're ready to go when you need them - you just defrost, snip the corner of the bag and squeeze it into whatever you're making. Good Luck!!! Oh, and I should mention that my 7 year old started eating more veggies around the age of six... and did you know Jay Leno says he hasn't had fruits or veggies in fifteen years???
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liv eats cucumber and tomato (which are fruits dang it) and on occassion sauteed onion or red pepper in a stir fry... and wil suddenly try a veg and like it but then not eat it again for 6 mo she loves al fruits though and gets an average of 4 serves of different coloured fruits a day. to get some veg i started letting her have 1 glass of diluted juice a day and bought V8 tropical (mostly carrots and some other veg and fruits ;D)
alex used to be a kid who ate a wide variety of foods including blue cheese on crackers etc but at 3 1/2 cut most of the good stuff out so now eats NO veg and her only fruit is an occassional grape or banana when the mood strikes. since she does not do sauces or any drink besides water i cannot hide veg there. to get veg and fruits in her i 1) make huge batches of the pink pancakes oilerbaby mentioned (she would live on them if i let her) 2) make muffins that have fruit and veg together (like apricot, pumpkin and carrot - al orange and i call them apricot muffins)
i HATE feeding kids :(
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Ketchup's a veggie, right? ;) ;D
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Was going to say NO but ....
Ketchup's a veggie, right?
DS does then ;D and he will eat a pasty with carrots
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Chayse doesn't eat veggies and she's almost 2 years old. I really need to start pureeing them and sneaking them into some of her foods. She's pretty bad. Just won't eat any of them and she won't drink shakes so that's out of the question. Only water and milk and occasionally applejuice. If I try to put ANYTHING else in the milk forget it...she doesn't want it.
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DD went through her phases but mostly did not eat veggies. Honestly, I did not worry about it and gave her lots of fruit instead and just kept offering veggies. I also "made" her eat one or two each time in case she decided to like it that day. She is on her way to 5 now and eats what we eat, including salad with everything in it. Oh, except onions and stuff like that.
;)
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Riley lives on fruit and veggies...literally.
Most of his meals are lots of veggies and maybe a small amount of starch or protein. Healthy, but not so good calorie wise.
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Kayla eats her veggies and always has, though I think its because we've literally never given her a choice. She eats them, or she goes hungry.
its very true that children will eat when they're hungry. On average you have to introduce something 10 times before your child will trully like it, or in some cases try it.
I can understand how frustrated you must feel, but give him time and some presistence on your part and he will eventually eat them.
Personally I don't believe in hidding foods so that kids eat them. I personally, while I understand why its done, don't agree with it. To me it is the same as lieing to your child. Besides if you continue to hide foods they can never really get a taste for it. Of course provide the foods you know they'll eat, but also try new foods, and just keep trying. Give it to him at every meal for 3-4 days and he will eventually try it. :) Hard work for parents, but so rewarding when it works.
Like I said though we've always been that way since day one, even when foods were still new. She ate what I picked or she didn't eat. It wont hurt them, they wont starve, they're smart enough to know better, unfortunitly they're also smart enough to know how to get their way ;) If you start early it does help. May as well start now :)
HTH
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Hey french fries is a potatoe and that is a veggie :)
I was so glad to see this post. My 2 1/2 year old will not touch them, but then again he is a very picky eater.
I am going to check into that book. I will hide anything I can in my kids food if he did not know. At this age, they don't want to try new things.
I agree though, keep offering it, don't give up and you never know.
Here is a quote from a book I have about eating:
It is your job as the parent to offer healthy and nutritious foods. (Your job is DONE), It is the kids job to eat it.
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I'll add something to Kimberly's point on hiding foods. The more you cook food the less of the "good" stuff it has. So, if you are cooking to puree, then adding it to something and cooking again - the whole point of eating veggies (for the vitamins and minerals) is sort of lost.
It sounds like the smoothie works well for you. If you are adding raw veggies and fruits (like juicing) you are getting the most of your fruits and veggies.
Also, have you tried sweet potato (baked whole, baked like fries or mashed)? Believe it or not it has a very high nutritional value unlike it's sibling the white potato.
HTH
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Our LO does eat his veggies. One thing that has helped is we always serve veggies as an "appetizer" to the meal, when he is really hungry. We also try to serve at least 2 veggies, so that he has a choice if he really doesn't like one. That being said, we then do expect him to eat a portion of his veggies before we give him all the other meal items (with a few more veggies which he sometimes also eats during the meal). It has become routine at our house, and he now rarely challenges this and has a great variety of veggies and other foods that he eats. Just as an aside, this is the only time that we expect him to eat a food before we give him other things, and we always do it at the beginning of the meal so we are not asking him to keep eating when he is not hungry. After he has eaten a few veggies we will give him a portion of everything else and just let him go and pick and choose what he wants and decide when he's done. HTH
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Thanks for all of the helpful replies, everyone!
I guess it comes down to and idea that I saw posted in a seperate thread - I could probably keep offering veggies along with the foods I know he enjoys (healthy - but I know it's not healthy to eat bread for every meal, either :-\) or maybe I just ONLY offer him new foods and then he tries them because there is no other choice :P
I'm definately in the camp of "he won't starve if he decides to skip a meal" - IL's think I'm horrible in that regard ::) so maybe I try a few meals of only offering new foods? hhmmmmm... is that mean?
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Keep offering the veggies and they will eventually eat them, whatever you do don't make the mistake of trying to force them to eat them as then you will have problems.
Alex will eat them when she feels like, last week she liked cauliflower, this week she hates it. She is consistent with carrots and brocolli so always gets some on her plate and I put everything else but she rarely touches them. Nathan was the same and he refuses nothing now so I'm just repeating what happened with him.
We all eat the same, at the same time and if she leaves it, so be it. as long as she has had enough. Strangely, she hates potato in any shape or form!
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Maggie2...
My now seven year old was probably one of the worse eaters around (other than my nephew who now really only likes KD and fries...). We fought with her every step of the way and tried TONNES of things... if she didn't eat her supper it got put in the fridge for the next morning, no dessert, no bedtime snack unless she ate supper, made her try new foods every meal, one time I even put her supper in a tupperware container when we went out for ice cream and wouldn't let her have ice cream until she finished her supper!
Well, I've got to say that in between 5 and 6 she just started eating more and more... now she pretty much eats everything on her plate and when I look back at the battles and struggles and tears it just wasn't worth it. I know if my brother survived growing up on grilled cheese, spaghetti and fries that anything could be better than that. That being said, we didn't fight with my second, who is now 5 and tries everything all the time because she says that "your tastes always change when you get older" and granted she doesn't always like everything but meal times were more relaxed and enjoyable without the fights. So, now with our third, there are no fights, we just always offer it to him and if he eats it great and if he doesn't, he might the next time.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do and just try to enjoy your meal times with your family.
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I agree with Shauna 100% on this subject. Keep offering, if they don't want it, no worries.
Very very good point Stephanie about the veggies. I was one that would be for hiding vegies in the food, but after reading your point, it really does not make sense. Thank you for pointing that out.
I guess it just makes the parent feel better for hiding them in foods.
I have added baby jar carrots to smoothie before though.
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Maggie - will he dip into sauces? I can get a lot of veg into Matthew if it's been dunked in hummus. would he take hummus / guacamole / salsa dip / cheese dip etc.
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pheeeewwwwwffffffff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *sigh* im not the only one in this then ;D
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Ella is a big dipper too . She will eat pretty much anything if it's dipped in fat free ranch dressing, ketchup, cheese dip, or gravy/juice from meat. ;D She also goes through phases where she will love something and then not touch it for a while. We also offer veggies and the protein at the start of the meal when she is most hungry and she gobbles them up. After she eats some of each, she chooses what and how much she eats of the rest of the dinner.
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All I can say is the ones that eat veggies are lucky!!! Count your blessings.
I was at a restaurant yesterday and there was the little girl about 8 years old. Anyhow, I saw this plate of broccoli (a lot of it). It went right to her. I was just in shock. Then she got up and got her mothers tomatoes and them like they were candy. I seriously was going to ask her mother how she did that.
I was in shock!
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wendy - my younger cousin was like that - they used to tel him "you can't have any more vegetables until you eat some meat" ::)
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He he, Leorah is the same! We went to a 1 year olds birthday party and Leorah kept trying to take pieces of peoples salads!! Everyone was asking how we get her to eat healthy and I can only pinpoint it to the fact we eat together so she eats whatever we are eating which is always lots of veg, sometimes she wont eat something but other days she will eat veg only and leave the rest. I think it helps that she likes garlic and spices so as we like flavoursome food it is a bit more exciting than getting a dollop of boiled cabbage on a plate!
As for the hiding veggies in food, I do this to a lot of my dishes anyway to bulk them out so we eat less meat. I buy the best frozen veg available(picked and then frozen quickly to retain nutrients) and steam them until they are soft enough to blend and add them to the recipes at the end therefore retaining as much goodness as possible.
L also loves dips, it's great for a snack time to have a big plate of cut colourful veggies and some dips you can all share, especially good if it's quite good weather and you can eat outside or anywhere that is not like a traditional mealtime at a table ;)
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i haven't tried the dips; I always thought it would be a big mess; but what meal isn't? ;D
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I have twins and one is a bit picky (getting better by the day) and the other will eat whatever I give. Just yesterday she was eating raw broccoli and raw peppers and loved them - I couldnt' believe it. My other daughter will only eat the veg if it's mashed up well and soft - she's not a fan of anything lumpy. Doc told me though that my daughter who eats all and everything is teething so she might be liking the veggies just for texture......here's hoping it will last longer than that...
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Offer Kayla broccoli (can't spell) or a cookie and she'll take the broccoli ::)
She isn't a big fan of sweets, and actually seems to like savery foods more. She really likes salsa for example, and not mild either, she likes the medium stuff (to hot for me)
Once we were at a reseption were you could pick your own food and she went up to the table, looked at the desserts and walked away, saw the broccoli and exclaimed "TREES!!!" and grabbed it and started eating. LOL cutest thing I have ever seen.
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Count your blessings!!! You are very lucky. Let's hope your new baby is like the same way!
I think Tyler (my DS2) is going to be like Kayla. Zach has always been a small and picky eater. Tyler eats and eats and eats and we just started solids and he loves them!
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My DD1 eats her veggies very well, although she would prefer to eat carbs and any dessert over veggies anytime. ;D
My nutritionist at our Public Health Unit suggests not hiding veggies, because then they will never eat them by choice as they don't know they've been eating them all along. One suggestion she did have that has been helpful is to have your toddler help pick out the veggies while grocery shopping and help prepare them... Grocery shopping is my special weekly outing with my toddler (she loves to help) and she helps Daddy make the salads, put the veggies in the steamer etc. When they've contributed, they are more excited about eating them because there is some ownership there. She also said not to make an issue out of eating or not eating because your toddler sees the importance you attach to it, and will use it as a bargaining tool. Smart little monkeys!!
HTH!
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What's funny is that when we go grocery shopping, ds gets so excited in the produce section and yells out "ooooooh!! Vegetables.... DELICIOUS!!!" He picks out his veggies and then when it comes time to eat them he says "yuck". ???
Maybe he'll just come round eventually!
As far as the hiding veggies thing goes - I've always thought it was a good idea to get a little extra nutrition into them - as long as veggies are being offered seperately and frequently. I don't view it as "tricking" them as I would fully disclose all the ingredients if asked. I view it the same way as I view giving a vitamin, except this way you have the advantage of getting vitamins from whole foods. What's wrong with having a vegetable be an ingredient in some other dishes?
Although I have to admit that the argument about the vitamin content being diminished from so much cooking is a really good point - hadn't thought of that one...
thanks again to all of you for your wisdom on this topic!!!!!!!
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fun thread. Of course with so many Mom temperaments adn so many child temperaments, there's no one way that works.
We've taken the approach that we always offer veggies. If they don't finish them or at least eat a few bites, they can't have 2nds of the parts of the meal they do like. So for instance if I'm having a meat with a few veggie sides and cornbread (which they love, but I make with flax and whole wheat) they can't have a 2nd helping of cornbread until some veggies are eaten. If they absolutely hate it they can eat more of the other kind or whatever. It seems to work well, and sometimes they take me up on the offer and sometimes they don't, they can choose. It's not a big struggle and we've been consistant and so it's not new to them.
I also try to offer the stuff they do like often, like peas and carrots.
Funny story. Last night DH made the mac 'n cheese from the pureed book. It has squash in it. In the past the kids loved it. Mac n' cheese is Luke's fav. Last night he served it with peas and green beans on teh side. Luke wouldn't touch the pasta, and just filled up on peas. ;D ;D
I'm all about hiding good nutrients in anything and everything. It's not just for them, it's for me too. But it should never replace any other veggies you'd normally serve so they still learn to eat healthy. I made a choc. cake with beet puree. I told Dominic flat out what was in it while he was eating it. He thought it was funny!
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My DD (22 mths) eats vegies only in the following :
Fried Rice
StirFry Noodles
Pasta sauces, like bolognaise, I add carrots + Celery
Y'know, personally, I don't like vegies when they've just been steamed. I like it to be interesting. Esp stir fry vegetables. That just does wonders for vegies.
I do however, keep adding vegies knowing she jst won't eat it. Still, as a PP said, it's our job to offer it to them right? You cant and shouldn't force them to eat it if they don't want to, that may jsut start a huge aversion to eating and in the future, some form of eating disorder! Thinking long term here....
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Offer Kayla broccoli (can't spell) or a cookie and she'll take the broccoli ::)
She isn't a big fan of sweets, and actually seems to like savery foods more. She really likes salsa for example, and not mild either, she likes the medium stuff (to hot for me)
Once we were at a reseption were you could pick your own food and she went up to the table, looked at the desserts and walked away, saw the broccoli and exclaimed "TREES!!!" and grabbed it and started eating. LOL cutest thing I have ever seen.
That's Alex exactly! although she might take some dessert too just to ensure that she didn't miss out! ::)
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Bella doesn't like veggies either. She loved them (more than fruit actually) in babyfood but no in real life. I just tried avocado mashed up (like guacamole) and let her dip crackers into it - she actually licks all the avocado off and redips not eating the cracker. I keep offering veggies to her but will only nibble, make a face and throw it on the floor ::) We actually do the V8 fruit juice with veggies in it too. She doesn't like regular juice (except grape) but loves this juice enough to drink a whole cup! I bought the "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook too and think it's pretty cool but have yet to try it.
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Lately Colin is really into green beans ??? but fine by me!
Ladies who have mentioned the Deceptively Delicious book, there's a sticky in this forum about it ;D
https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=105078.0
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Oh just started reading this thread ;).
DD eats some veggies but absolutley loves fruit.She only just started eating potatoes a few months ago after refusing them point blank from weaning ::).Loves onions (esp raw!!),peas,sweetworn,carrots,cabbage (again raw).Honestly I think she'd eat more veggies if she could eat them raw-LOL
I think its like some people have said keep putting them on the plate and eventually they will eat them.
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DS would also choose broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bananas and apples over most things!
I read somewhere that you need to offer a food 15 times before they'll eat it. This was certainly true for us last summer.
Here in Greece you can only buy fruit and veg in season, so when DS was 7,8 and 9 mos(summer) he was eating peaches, nectarines and melon. In the winter he ate apples, pears and bananas. Last summer (when he was 18,19 and 20 mos) he refused the peaches, nectarines and melon. I carried on giving him apples etc until they were so tasteless that I decided enough was enough and continued every day to offer the fruits in season. It took about 10 days and then he started scoffing them as he did the winter fruit ::)
Obviously, it wasn't that he didn't like the taste but rather that the texture was different!
So persevere ladies with that fruit and veg!
;) :D
Lis :D
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Thanks again for all the replies! I've cut down on snacks a bit and have been offering veggies cut up with dip just before dinner rather than give in and get him a snack. He's actually tried one or two little nibbles, which is HUGE progress! He didn't like it of course ::), but I honestly am happy with that progress - that's half the battle - getting him to actually give something a shot.
He's also tried chicken on a couple of occasions, which I am also so excited about! And soup, too!!! For us, it seems to come down to really limiting snacks and trying to be active during that afternoon slump. Then of course, just offering some new food items with meals. I've actually flat-out stopped giving him bread or anything like that at dinner (unless its part of our meal as well) and just give him whatever we're having and he's been adjusting to that pretty well. He'll try a few nibbles and then I'll give him some milk. He makes up for anything he didn't eat with breakfast the next morning :)
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I've cut down on snacks a bit and have been offering veggies cut up with dip just before dinner rather than give in and get him a snack. He's actually tried one or two little nibbles, which is HUGE progress! He didn't like it of course ::), but I honestly am happy with that progress - that's half the battle - getting him to actually give something a shot.
this works so well with my 2 older ones. I find it helps the dinner prep craziness get easier too. Luke stands on a little stool at the counter while I make dinner and he has a little veggie snack he can dip in something (ranch dressing or hummus or eggplant dip). He does really well with baby carrot sticks and cucumbers. Not so well with celery, he likes it he just can't chew it enough. I know that he's done when he starts double dipping and just liking the dressing off. ;D
The other night I sauteed napa cabbage with some fresh ginger. The kids loved it. :D I really think the weirder it is and the newer that it is, my kids are more likely to eat it. :D
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The other night I sauteed napa cabbage with some fresh ginger
yum - that sounds really good! ;D
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Oh my.....I'm doing the happy dance right now and being so grateful that my dd (14 mo) LOVES her veggies!!!! Not sure why....she took FOREVER to try them, but once she did, she wants them every day. Not raw, ever....maybe soon? Cooked only, pretty soft, but that's still great! Carrots, peas, corn, broccoli, asparagus.....yay for me!!!!!
*don't be mad....I paid my dues with her, my little silent refluxer!!!! I deserve this reward!!!! ;) *
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;D You are SO lucky, but you're right - you paid so you deserve "easy". ;)
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My DD eats her veggies only at her daycare (private in house kind of daycare). We think that it is because she sits at the table with the other kids to eat lunch (other kids are 3 &4). Also, she gets to pick a veggie from the pantry. Maybe you could try that.
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that sounds like a good idea - she's a control freak right now so maybe I'll try that. thanks.
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I allow Rachel to choose what veggies she wants but even then she won't always eat them. on different days/moods she will eat cauli, peas, sweetcorn, corn on cob, mange tout, butternut squash and carrots but you never can tell. I have learned to just relax and let her eat what she eats. and my top tip is to have friends round, she eats everything when she's got people watching - unless it's one of the kids that won't eat anything :o
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My lo loves her veggies too and all fruits especially brocoli and blue berries she could eat a tub of the latter. I think it is mainly due to her being so independent and she can eat veggies with fingers. :D
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My lo loves her veggies too and all fruits especially brocoli and blue berries she could eat a tub of the latter. I think it is mainly due to her being so independent and she can eat veggies with fingers. :D
You've reminded me - can I give those of you with littler ones a tip I've learnt the hard way? - If they are eating a fruit/veg well, DON'T stop giving it to them, be consistent. My ds absolutely LOVED fresh blueberries, used to pop them in his mouth like sweets, then, one winter they were harder to come by, I got out of the habit, I tried him with them again in the spring - he wouldn't eat them, and never has since :(
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Yep, totally agree with that! As I said on a prev post here we can only get fruit in season and last summer DS refused the summer fruit (that he had eaten the summer before that).
But I didn't give up and kept on offering it every couple of days. After about a week or so, he started eating it ;) ;D
So don't give up and keep offering every food/fruit/veg you can find ;)
Lis
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