Parenting Toddlers (1-3) Support Group
This community is focused on the joys, challenges and concerns faced by parents of toddlers (1 to 3 year olds). The major areas of child development include: physical development, perception and sensory development, communication and language development, cognitive development, emotional development and social development. Join to share your stories and get advice.
So when I introduced baby food at five months, I made my own, I introduced veggies first because people told me if I introduced fruit first she wouldn't eat the veggies. Well, up until she was about thirteen months old, Marlow HATED fruit. She wouldn't eat anything, not bananas, not strawberries, nothing. She would pick the broccoli over the applesauce everytime.
Then it was like the fruit switch flipped, and she began devouring both fruit and veggie. We have fresh fruit with breakfast every morning. And blueberries are a big favorite of hers.
Over the last few weeks, I've noticed that her love of vegetables is waning. Now I know that all kids go through the 'I hate veggies' stage so I'm trying not to worry too much, I know I have been lucky up til now(she is nineteen months).
But I still want her to get vegetables in her! Does anyone have any tips to make them more appealing, or to even sneak them into foods? I find she will eat raw peppers and raw onions like they are fruit....but she has started to snub broccoli(GASP! That was my fail safe food for a full year!) and she refuses to eat cooked carrots or celery or anything of that sort either.
On a side note, anyone know how to make her eat meat too? lol She heats hotdogs, and thats it, not even chicken fingers! I have to cook a side of tofu with every meal, and since I have nowhere local that makes it fresh I have to buy the packaged stuff, and it pales in comparison to the fresh stuff!
Then it was like the fruit switch flipped, and she began devouring both fruit and veggie. We have fresh fruit with breakfast every morning. And blueberries are a big favorite of hers.
Over the last few weeks, I've noticed that her love of vegetables is waning. Now I know that all kids go through the 'I hate veggies' stage so I'm trying not to worry too much, I know I have been lucky up til now(she is nineteen months).
But I still want her to get vegetables in her! Does anyone have any tips to make them more appealing, or to even sneak them into foods? I find she will eat raw peppers and raw onions like they are fruit....but she has started to snub broccoli(GASP! That was my fail safe food for a full year!) and she refuses to eat cooked carrots or celery or anything of that sort either.
On a side note, anyone know how to make her eat meat too? lol She heats hotdogs, and thats it, not even chicken fingers! I have to cook a side of tofu with every meal, and since I have nowhere local that makes it fresh I have to buy the packaged stuff, and it pales in comparison to the fresh stuff!
Meat is much harder for us. She will eat deli turkey and hot dogs and that is all. I tried tofu one night and she threw up on me. I have to do some research on how to sneak it in better. She eats a lot of peanut butter, I also use the pasta that is high protein, and I recently started trying to get her to eat greek yogurt -- Chobani makes one that is for kids, and greek yogurt is high protein.
I can't get her to eat slowcooker meat, and I once got her to eat one meatball! lol
alh07, have you tried dessert tofu smoothies?? This is one way I get my daughter to eat it, her favorite is the banana flavour and I blend it with ice or yogurt and some real berries. Also, when I cook her regular stuff it's firm and I cook it in soy sauce, or thai sauce, or sometimes I just sprinkle seasoning salt on it. And as gross as it sounds, she likes to dip it in ketchup....
Does ketchup count as a veggie?? Because she loooooves ketchup! :)
The other day I made mac and cheese and mixed in some steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Some he ate and some he spit out...but I figured whatever stayed in is better than nothing, right? I think the cauliflower mixed well with the cheese and macaroni because it blended in...lol
Last night I roasted carrot sticks, onion and cauliflower in the oven for an hour. I sprayed with cooking spray, used a tsp of oil and sprinkled with Ranch seasoning. Lucas LOVED the carrot sticks!! (I did too!!)
I also have browned some breadcrumbs, added garlic powder and lemon & herb seasoning and mixed into broccoli and cauliflower. This is hit or miss for Lucas...some days he cant get enough and others he wants nothing to do with it.
I was given a book when Lucas was born but I havent looked through it much...I should pull it out again. Its by Jerry Seinfelds wife and its called Deceptively Delicious. Its a cookbook with a lot of recipes that sneak veggies into them. Worth a look, right???
I hate making the side of tofu more then I hate experimenting with veggies. I can't wait until she learns to like meat! And if she never does, well, then I can't wait until she learns to make her own tofu!