Veggies and My Little One

Hey all,
Im new to the board. Im the proud father of a 18 month old named Katie. Maybe some of the experienced parents can offer some advice on this topic. How do you get your children at this age to eat vegies? My daughter is very happy to scrunch up her face when she even sees a "green thing" on her plate. A few times ive slipped a piece of brocoli into her mouth with a bite of meatloaf, she reaches in and pulls out the brocoli and happily eats the meat. Our dog is also growing quite fond of eating food she throws off her plate onto the floor. Any advice would be much appreciate it. By the way, how do I post pictures? Thanks in advance.
-Mike

We have been fortunate for our kids to like most veggies that we consume. We are not broccoli eaters so we never introduced that until recently, and we are not pushing that issue since we would then be hypocrites having them eat something we will not. I like broccoli just not in big pieces.

Moving on, check out this website. It was developed by Hidden Valley Ranch people, and they are full of veggies tucked inside of food that most kids love anyways. Smallbites Stores have a small recipe book/pamphlet in stores but this is just the version online.

Be an example to her as well, if she sees you eating something that looks tasty maybe she will eventually give it ago too. One piece of advice my mother told me, was "when you are hungry you will eat anything" that was later on in my years, but still that is why I like many of the things now, that I did not as a child. Or use the ol' "just take one bite" thing.

I am sure other great advice will come along from experienced parents, dealing/having dealt with the same issues as you. Best wishes!

hi Mike!

welcome to PC!
sorry i had to laugh about your veggie dilemma but it happens to most of us. i have learned to be creative with that problem. when making pasta sauce, shred in carrots, finely dice peppers or even brocolli if you want lol. put in soups, dips, sauces.. they will never know and you can rest easy

eta: you can upload photos directly from your PC if you hit "Browse" below the dialogue box. we just ask that you disable your signature (once you make one) when posting pictures. if you get an error, it likely means the file is too large or is not in the right format.. (should be .jpeg). if you need help, just ask

This post has been edited by kimberley on Jul 7 2006, 11:47 AM

and welcome to the boards!

My kids have always eaten their veggies... I don't know why because I expected different.

Welcome to the board.

Welcome Mike!

The best thing you can do is keep offering it to her. It can sometimes take up to 10 times of exposure before children will even try something. Modeling good eating habits in front of her is very important, which I know can sometimes be hard. Give her plenty of other choices too. Does she just not like green veggies? Try cooking them different ways. I have a daycare girl who only likes raw veggies, she will not eat them cooked. It's probably better for her that way anyway. Try seasoning up things with spices, like garlic, etc.

I also wouldn't pay attention too much while she is eating. I noticed when our son was this young, if we would look at him too much he wouldn't eat as well. Children don't want to be hawk-eyed while eating, and sometimes they will throw food off their plates for attention...if you give them that negative attention they will continue to do it. Let her go at her own pace and don't make a big deal about it. If she wants to try it, she will pick it up and eat it herself. If you make a big deal about it, she will know and be less tempted to eat it.

This post has been edited by TannerBugsMom on Jul 12 2006, 03:47 PM