Amy Vernon
July 6. 2009 00:45

We got Rafael to love eating bell peppers (any color, even!) by tricking him. Flat out tomfoolery. Told him we had a really special treat, but we weren't sure we could share it with him. Had "special sauce" (ranch dressing, but we buy the brands that don't have high fructose corn syrup and the like, and don't put a ton on the plate). He fell for it hook, line, sinker, rod, the whole deal.

I'm not proud. I have no problem tricking my children into eating vegetables. But right now, Markus pretty much only eats bread and cheese. This, too, shall pass.

Karen
July 6. 2009 15:10

Ummmmm...bell peppers or any other veggie ARE a special treat!  I think changing the way kids think about veggies is an excellent idea!

I'm not using this idea much yet myself, but I've had several friends have great success using veg purees (as in "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld) in just about anything from entrees to desserts (i.e., spinach puree in brownies made with whole wheat flour).  For myself, I add salad dressing to cooked veggies (a recommendation I got from my dietician).  It doesn't take much at all to add a nice zip of flavor and I think it could make straight veggies a little more palatable to some kids.

Donna Chmura
July 6. 2009 15:13

Our daughter was such an adventurous eater as a baby/toddler and then we got into a very bad chicken nugget rut at age 2-4, because we were both working and we didn't want food battles at dinner when we had family time.  So we started just microwaving chicken nuggets for her. Now, at age 7, she loves broccoli, fresh spinach, carrots, red pepper, asparagus, rice, corn, peas, green beans, squash and most fruits.  

My suggestions:

First, model good eating.  We eat a lot of veggies ourselves, so she sees that.  

Offer them often and keep offering.  We make our daughter eat one bite of everything served.  I've read that children need multiple exposures to new foods before they acquire a taste.  If she's hungry, I offer cut up red pepper, baby carrots, grapes, cantaloupe, apples, etc, rather than carbs.  

I have a friend who is an accomplished domestic engineer (wink), and SAHM with more time and talent than I will ever have.  She scratch cooks all her family's foods.  She uses pureed vegetables of all kinds in her tomato sauce.  She uses fresh spinach and broccoli in her homemade pasta.  She adds all kinds of veggies, fruits and nuts into the breads she is baking.  But the tomato sauce thing I think is do-able for us mortals.  

Also, maybe start with the sweet stuff -- carrots and red pepper, melon, etc.  Build from there.  

We also talk all the time about what is healthy and what is on her plate.  She knows she has to have a protein and a vegetable that is not a starch or a fruit at dinner.  She has a working knowledge of what kinds of things are protein and what that does for her body.  Same with different veggies.  It's kind of cool to hear a 7-yo say she needs more protein.  

Donna Chaffins
July 6. 2009 17:55

@Karen - I've not tried the vegetable puree yet... but think that is a real smart way of sneaking it in.

@Donna - My son has been an extremely picky eater, until just recently.  He will at least try things.  However, he just doesn't care for any raw veggies and the only vegetable other than potatoes he'll eat is carrots.  And my husband and I love any and all veggies and eat them all the time.  That's cute that your daughter says she needs more protein.

Melanie Kissell
July 6. 2009 19:00

My four daughters are grown now, but I've fought the battle of the veggies many times over.

When they were little ...

The only way I could get them to eat green beans was to put cream of mushroom soup on top. Yum! Thank goodness they sell fat free soups.

Carrots, zucchini, and cucumber were a bit hit as long as I used my "fancy cutters" with rippled edges, etc., and turned them into some kind of kid-appealing "design". I know what you're thinking.  Sounds like a lot of work.  Yes, it was!  But I got the desired results, so it was worth the extra effort.

My girls never referred to broccoli as "broccoli" - They always asked if we were having "mini trees".  Go figure.  And they devoured their mini trees as long as I put the secret sauce on top - a mixture of fat free mayo and lite soy sauce.  Really delicious!

Donna Chaffins
July 6. 2009 19:15

@Melanie - my son won't eat sauces or condiments (not even ketchup).  So hard to dress up a veggie.   I love "mini trees" for broccoli!

Donna Chaffins
July 6. 2009 22:57

@Stacie - the trouble with my son is there is no way he'd eat cream of mushroom soup.   

I agree the mayo and soy sauce sound yummy!

Surferess
July 7. 2009 10:17

The best way I found is to have raw carrots and celery all cut up in water in the fridge. When they are hungry and saying "When's dinner, I'm hungry" hand them a carrot. They are crunchy and much more nutritious than cooked veggies. Worked for me.

Donna Chaffins
July 7. 2009 10:36

@Kate - I love raw veggies.  But my lil  guy will not touch a raw veggie.

Btw, glad to see you here, dear!