Hellobee Boards Topic: How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?

Hellobee Boards Topic: How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 19 Jun 2026 18:48:35 +0000 Lozza on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1013690 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 13:56:03 +0000 Lozza 1013690@https://boards.hellobee.com/ For smoothies, LO is totally more interested in eating it if he gets to help make it. That's true for other things as well- he's way more likely to eat scrambled eggs if he gets to use the spatula to move them around the pan a couple of times. For meat and some veggies, dips make a difference. We have the rule that if you dip your food in something, you can't just lick off the dip or we take the dip away; you have to eat a bite. That's helpful. For extra protein I'll mix silky tofu into smoothies or yogurt and LO never knows the difference. LO will sometimes eat things off my plate that he wouldn't try if I stuck them on his plate- a lot of the time he'll take one bite and not want anymore, but it's a useful trick for getting him to just try something new if I think he'll actually like it. I can puree anything and stick it under the cheese layer of a homemade pizza, so that works for getting some leafy greens in (not a lot, but better than nothing). regberadaisy on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1013252 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:11:08 +0000 regberadaisy 1013252@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @irene: do you have the take and toss cups? That's what I use for her smoothies and it's relatively opaque? I just steal straws from coffee places! Ha! Or what about just letting him drink it out of your glass?? Seems everything is better off our plate or glass. ;) Also are you processing it long enough so there are no chunks?? I usually start off with ice crush, then chopped then I let it puree for probably a good 1-2 minutes till there are absolutely no chunks. irene on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1013247 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:10:13 +0000 irene 1013247@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @locavore_mama: Thanks! I'll try that ..... I have a bad feeling though (that I'll be drinking all that green all by myself). LOL. I think I need to buy a smoothies cup that has a big straw and isn't see through so he doesn't see what he's drinking. haha regberadaisy on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1013242 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:08:02 +0000 regberadaisy 1013242@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @irene: oh no! That little stinker! ;) This was the first one I ever made. LO & I think it is delicious! Def use coconut water if you can bc it sweetens it. Or I do half water/half 100% apple juice worked really well also. <a href="http://peachesandcake.com/2013/05/01/avocado-banana-spinach-smoothie/" rel="nofollow">http://peachesandcake.com/2013/05/01/avocado-banana-spinach-smoothie/</a> I love it bc LO doesn't like avocado so it's a good way for me to get a super brain food into her and of course the spinach for calcium. I use this recipe as a base now for proportions. I've done also blueberry, mango & spinach! It makes about one big pint glass plus 2 take and toss? So I usually drink one then half a take and toss for LO and freeze the leftover. irene on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1013233 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 12:06:02 +0000 irene 1013233@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @locavore_mama: I did! I made the green smoothie I read about on here... it has peas, kale, banana, strawberries, all the good stuff. He doesn't want to do anything with it! I drank the whole thing myself afterall. Argh. Do you have any good recipes that you had success with that you don't mind sharing? ;) regberadaisy on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1012426 Tue, 13 Aug 2013 08:23:18 +0000 regberadaisy 1012426@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @HabesBabe: haha yup, she likes steamed eggs as well. I think I introduced dried fruits around 13 or 14 months? I think as long as your LO is a really good chewer you should be OK. Since the fruits are small and very gummy there's a lot of chewing involved. @irene: haha cute! Have you tried green smoothies? That's how I sneak in leafy greens besides quiche. LO loves them! irene on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1011754 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 20:53:07 +0000 irene 1011754@https://boards.hellobee.com/ So creative!! Great post!! I tried making quiche too but he isn't a big fan of it. I should try it again but it was so much work especially when he doesn't eat one bite at the end! We have a problem with leafy greens, and red meat like beef. He eats broccoli and beans, and carrots on good days. He usually eats baked chicken thighs with paprika (I'd add paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, parsley, wrap in foil and bake 30 mins in a 400F oven, flip the chicken halfway or it gets burned on one side), and a hit and miss with meatballs and brown sugar meatloaf. Also hit and miss with baked salmon. On top of that LO is not a great eater... maybe he eats well 50% of the time, and the rest he plays and barely eats. I make Mrs Bee's pancakes with sweet potatoes and zucchini, and I add milk and a box of blueberries and it has been a winner 85% of the time. Then nowadays I cut spinach and arugula leaves very small and mix it with watermelon and makes it a salad. I add some olive oil to it. He eats it, and maybe half that green leaves get stuck onto watermelons. Then this may sound gross but it has been saving my day. Usually if he doesn't eat broccoli and veggies, or anything really, off his plate at dinner, I'd take out a cup of yobaby yogurt, and start tricking him by putting a bit of the leftover food mixed in with the yogurt and spoon feed him (thank god he still takes spoon feed). This sweeps up a big portion of leftover food many times! hehe. I also bought these cute food stencils and cut funny shapes out of food. There was one day he had a huge breakfast (we ate breakfast together at a restaurant at almost 9am, and we gave him his lunch at 11:30am before his nap!), and he didn't feel like eating lunch. I sat down and cut out shapes with his bread and cheese, and he gobbled them up when he sees them. teehee :) heffalump on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1011303 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 17:01:45 +0000 heffalump 1011303@https://boards.hellobee.com/ If it's on my plate, she eats it. She only wants to eat mommy's food. BabyBoecksMom on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1011256 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 16:41:53 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 1011256@https://boards.hellobee.com/ She'll eat almost anything if she has something to dip it in, like olive oil, lemon juice or hummus. lemondrop on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1011254 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 16:40:33 +0000 lemondrop 1011254@https://boards.hellobee.com/ When all else fails, I cover it in ketchup or bbq sauce! HabesBabe on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1011195 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 16:20:58 +0000 HabesBabe 1011195@https://boards.hellobee.com/ When do you introduce raisins/other dried fruit? @locavore_mama: @Mrs. Jump Rope: LO is just 12 months but still isn't picky about her food, so she eats pretty much anything healthy we put in front of her. She likes steamed eggs better than scrambled, so that might improve the texture situation! Mrs. Bee posted about steamed eggs awhile back. yin on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010686 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 13:29:36 +0000 yin 1010686@https://boards.hellobee.com/ So Daniel Tiger is my BFF. There is one episode directed at teaching kids to try new foods. We sing the song together, and LO will try all the foods he wants to avoid on his plate. 90% of the time he realized how good it is and eats it up. Every time he says no to a food, we remind him to try new foods with the song and he always takes a bite. Mrsbells on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010623 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 13:07:47 +0000 Mrsbells 1010623@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My LO pretty much loves to eat healthy, so I dont need to do much. Its just that she doesnt like milk, but she loves cheese and yogurt so it makes up for it. autumnlove on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010619 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 13:07:21 +0000 autumnlove 1010619@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Sometimes I grind up spinach or kale and I mix it into red sauce. I usually don't bother! :-) brownie on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010596 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 13:03:03 +0000 brownie 1010596@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @locavore_mama: Just what it sounds like. One egg about a tablespoon of nut or seed butter and one banana. Mix it up and cook on the grill. I think you could make it with sweet potato instead of/ or with the banana. It is delicious. One day my son didn't want eggs so I made eggs in a basket. You cut a whole in the bread and cook the egg inside it. He ate it that way. We also do zuchini and sweet potato hash browns. I am not a big veggie eater so we blend veggies to add to things. KayKay on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010512 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:47:53 +0000 KayKay 1010512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @locavore_mama haha. i feel like we really shouldn't be outsmarted by toddlers, but.... regberadaisy on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010481 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:42:24 +0000 regberadaisy 1010481@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @KayKay: haha we tried that with hummus bc she loves hummus. she just took the whole tub of hummus and ate that. hahah Freckles on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010479 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:41:14 +0000 Freckles 1010479@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @locavore_mama: I give her mini pasta shells, so it's harder to pick out. ;) For the eggs, i make her egg drop soup which makes her more receptive to the eggs. Plus, the texture isn't as weird..much softer. KayKay on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010447 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:33:36 +0000 KayKay 1010447@https://boards.hellobee.com/ LO is same age (almost 16 months) and has recently gotten more selective. She loves to dip her food, though, so we can usually entice her to eat something if we give her (or she finds...) something to dip it in. It makes for some interesting combinations -- shrimp dipped in yogurt? :) Mrs. Jump Rope on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010423 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:27:43 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1010423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Freckles: hahahaha what a smarty pants! @mediagirl: LOL I don't really like bananas either! regberadaisy on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010414 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:26:16 +0000 regberadaisy 1010414@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Freckles: hah yes we have started making pasta with just fresh tomatoes and add finely minced greens in. While she's stuffing pasta in she inadvertently eats some veggies! Although that little stinker will pick out the veggies on occasion too. @mediagirl: bahahahah. Banana you aren't even worth my time to chuck you off my plate. M likes to take the offensive food off her plate and leave it on the table. mediagirl on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010404 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:24:03 +0000 mediagirl 1010404@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @locavore_mama: same. She has stopped eating eggs. This morning she had sausage, eggs and banana on her plate. She ate the sausage and threw the eggs on the floor. She just gave the banana a dirty look. HA HA. Freckles on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010390 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:19:55 +0000 Freckles 1010390@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mrs. Jump Rope: LO always digs out the raisins from her oatmeal, and once she's done finding her nuggets, she's "all done"! grrr The best way is in pasta sauce. I try to make my own sauce and puree carrots and onions into the sauce and finely mince veggies and meat. Seems to work! regberadaisy on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010386 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:18:24 +0000 regberadaisy 1010386@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Lindsay05: LO use to LOVE eggs. Now she refuses all eggs except in quiche. Go figure. Smoothies might be a great way to get fruits in your LO? Lindsay05 on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010377 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:16:35 +0000 Lindsay05 1010377@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I need some ideas too! LO refuses most fruits and lots of dairy. I try to cook scrambled eggs (which she loves) and throw in cheese and veggies. We have been buying fruit pouches and even those are hard to get her to eat! regberadaisy on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010374 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:16:24 +0000 regberadaisy 1010374@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mrs. Jump Rope: she loves dried raisins, craisins, apricots and prunes!!! I get them from the bulk aisle so no sugar added! @brownie: we don't typically either. But since it's a fave of hers I know it's a good way to trick food into her. She use to LOVE meat but not in the last month or so. We're OCD about her iron intake and meat is the biggest source. So it's really important to us to get some meat in her a few times a week at least. What's the 3 ingredient pancake? I make a banana buckwheat pancake that she loves. And waffles which have only wheat flour, buckwheat and oats. she loves that too and I can throw in whatever fruits I want. brownie on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010359 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:13:21 +0000 brownie 1010359@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I love paleo recipes. We did a pizza on a cauliflower crust and cauliflower rice. I LOVE the 3 ingredient pancakes (sunbutter, eggs, and banana). Salsa is huge in our house and we obliterate it so it is small chunks. I love kale chips and he eats them too. For him (he is 2) it is really hit or miss. One day he will eat everything and the next nothing at all. Then he will eat only meat and then only veggies or fruit. So I just keep offering. My son loves meat and will eat only meat if given the option so that isn't a problem for us. We also don't eat much in the way of carbs (because I am a carb lover). He is so happy with us when he gets bread. Mrs. Jump Rope on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010264 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:49:34 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1010264@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @locavore_mama: you are so smart!! We are pretty lucky (fingers crossed!!) on the food front. Now that I've said this I'm sure shell boycott something :) Raisins have been a huge hit lately! babycanuck on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010230 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:37:36 +0000 babycanuck 1010230@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I feel like I need to favourite this to feed my HUSBAND!!!! He likes his meat but not veggies! regberadaisy on "How do you trick your toddler into eating nutritious food?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-trick-your-toddler-into-eating-nutritious-food#post-1010225 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:36:28 +0000 regberadaisy 1010225@https://boards.hellobee.com/ LO is 15.5 months and has been refusing meats & eggs, does not like leafy greens. But because she's low on iron those are all important! So I have been making quiche for her with spinach and/or kale. She LOVES it. Triple iron = mommy win! I also make smoothies with avocado and spinach or kale. She loves that. She's a carb fiend so I trick her by making waffles and muffins etc with only rolled oats and/or little bit of wheat flour and buckwheat flour! We also douse meats in hummus which works 65% of the time. The other times she sucks all the hummus off and leaves the meat on her plate. Outsmarted! Hehe. I so tricky. How do you trick your LO to eat healthier?