Won't eat her veggies! (or fruits)

[Wink's Marmy]

Hi. DD is like your average kid who isn't interested in fruits & veggies, only she's going on 10 months, not 5 yrs....    She eats mostly finger foods by her choice. She USED to love avocado but I guess grew tired of it. Anyway, I start each meal with fruit/veggies. Well, TBH, mostly fruit bec. she detests veggies. I leave her with the fruit/veggies as her only option and after 20 min. of her whining, I give her the yogurt, the cheese toast, etc... She plays around with the fruit/veggies, takes one or two bites, but then starts throwing them and moaning. Lately I can give her a big (peeled) slice of apple, but she mostly just sucks it and spits out the chunks that break off in her mouth. I guess I am tired of buying fruit/veggies, preparing them if need be, just to have her poo poo them. And not the type of poo poo in the diaper! 

Any suggestions? Or better yet, any similar LO's out there? Every Mom I know says, "we didn't have that problem!"... When DD was spoonfed on the baby food mush, she refused to eat anything green and only ate a couple of the fruits... But she will eat anything else - she eats what we are eating for dinner, minus the veggies. Has Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern food all the time... whats the deal here? Unless the veggies are SMOTHERED in cheese or sauce, she won't eat them...

A friend suggested I try a juicer but I'm not sure...

[*Kimberly*]

My son is the same way and has been for some time.  The best advice is just to stick with it and keep offering her some fruits and veggies with every meal.  Don't stress if she doesn't eat them but offer them.  Try to sneak fruits or veggies into your meals in ways that she can't tell or can't separate.  Also, start looking into some of the alternative ways to get her to eat fruits and veggies.  Dip the apple in yogurt.  Sprinkle a little sugar on the sweet potatoes.     Try the dried apple chips.  Try the fruit and veggie chips.  Try the Gerber stars, wagon wheels, etc that have some fruit/veggies in them.  I also add some 100% fruit/veggie juice to my son's water.

Above all- don't stress, she is okay and will be okay.   

[Wink's Marmy]

Thanks Kimberly. It's amazing how my emotions can hinge on weather or not she eats some mango for lunch... DD is still BF and I keep telling myself, she is getting that, so this is OK.... Thanks for the tips!

[*Kimberly*]

I totally understand.  There are days when my son eats nothing but Cheerios.  It drives me crazy.  Since he is 18 months and on milk I will sometimes substitute one cup of milk for a pediasure so that he is getting *some* nutrients. 

Another idea- applesauce.  They have the *natural* ones with no added sugar in many different varieties.  However, if your lo is in that *I want to feed myself* stage (which I remember fondly) then applesauce won't work.   

[Wink's Marmy]

She is coming out of the "I want to feed myself stage" thankfully and has been letting me feed her a *few* bites of applesauce - I found organic, no sugar added with cinnamon to be the only one she lets me feed her! When she was born, my LC said she was a gourmet eater, since it took her so long to eat - well, proves true with solids too!!! We had a breakthrough yesterday and today - she ate frozen peas last night! I thought she might like them bc. her top teeth have just broken the gums and it was a success. Then today, she ate some concord grapes! I am just going to keep offering, like you suggest. Hey, at least I am getting my full 5 servings, eating what she doesn't!!!

[*Kimberly*]

Yea!  I am glad you tried the peas- I totally forgot about them but my lo loves them too.  And grapes.