Author Topic: Fun natural veggies for tot  (Read 1446 times)

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Offline BabyKain12

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Fun natural veggies for tot
« on: June 12, 2014, 15:27:22 pm »
Before I get suggestions to hide them, I've BTDT... He just picks through and won't eat it... I've tries pureeing carrots and cheese to spread on sandwiches, he scrapes it off and eats the meat, hide veggies in casseroles, he pulls them out and eats everything else... Licks cheese off of them... But, he loves corn on the cob(but not off the cob) and baked potatoes (anything potato really, I make baked fries but they take so long). I'd like some ideas on veggies he may eat without hiding them. Fun ideas that he can't just scrape off, but still enjoys eating.

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Re: Fun natural veggies for tot
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2014, 18:09:28 pm »
If he likes baked fries made with potato maybe try th same with other veg. We could have 'chips' every night of the week and still be healthy because I used a range of veg.  DS knows what they are and each time I introduced a new one I put it separately on his plate and told him what it was, "this is a sweet potato chip, it's like a chip", "this is a celeriac chip, it's another type of chip". I actually use just a small amount of white potato as other veg offer more in the way of vits etc. So, sweet pot is a good one to start as it is so sweet and the edges caramelize making it even sweeter which is appealing to kids and adults!
parsnip
carrot
celeriac
turnip
swede
butternut squash (although much less chip/fry like because of the shape)

I often toss them in a small amount of oil then season with garlic powder or dried herbs, rosemary for instance. We all eat them and my family now don't bat an eye when they are given 'chips' and they are a variety of flavours.  I usually let DS have a bit of tom ketchup or mayo for dipping in too as that's fun.

Otherwise I'd just steam veg and serve them plain so he can see them, name them and try them with or without a bit of dip.
baby corn
carrot batons
asparagus
long stem brocholi (dinosaur trees)
green beans
mange tout
sugar snap peas
These are all things which take very little prep and just throw in the steamer.

When I make a stew I pick out all the veg and put them in their own little pile on DS's plate then take care to point at and name each item so he knows what it is. have never hidden anything, he wouldn't go for it anyway. When he was younger even a carrot chopped in a different shape (eg circles instead of batons) would be questioned, he ate a huge variety of food but had to know exactly what each thing was and for it not to be mixed up (loved the added flavour of veg cooked in stew but couldn't have eaten it all mixed up iyswim)

I'm not big on doing cute food but I do occasionally make a face, or alien, or other kind of picture out of food as I serve it DS. He loves it just for the fun of it. Today I made a sandwich cut in half as a truck with front cab, and strips of red pepper 'logs' piled in the back, cherry tom wheels, cucumber truck panels and driver window.

Mine has also loved counting related food like 1 tom, 2 carrot batons, 3 green beans, 4 quarters of sliced cucumber etc or kidney beans in a line which he can count down as he eats them one by one.


Offline BabyKain12

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Re: Fun natural veggies for tot
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2014, 03:36:18 am »
Thanks, I'll definitely do the chips, he's a sucker for chips and he might go for the different colors of veggies. As for steamed plain, I do that and give him his veggies to eat first and he just refuses to eat... And if I give them to him with the rest of the meal he eats his meats and tosses the veggies around... Chips should be a good way to get him to eat different veggies and show him that they can be yummy. Maybe someday he will finally eat a plain steamed carrot or celery stick or tomato... Or anything else lol

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Re: Fun natural veggies for tot
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2014, 08:21:39 am »
Depending on his age you might be able to ask him to try one small bite of one veg, maybe serve a smaller amount of meat along with just one piece of steamed veg, say a carrot baton, he doesn't have to eat the whole baton, even just putting it to his mouth is a 'try' depending on just how much he dislikes it iyswim. if he can put it to his mouth then ask him to try one very small bite, if he bites it and spits it out this is still a try... I have found with age mine is more willing to try things as I continue to encourage but not demand he eat each item. For us it was the opposite - veg he was fine with but meat and fish were more difficult.