Hellobee Boards

I guess we're not much better. We tend to give her corn, carrots, peas, brocoli and kale chips and green beans occasionally since that's what she'll eat. She also gets sweet potatoes (and regular potatoes, too) and black beans. I'm hoping to get her to eat cauliflower soon. That said, she loves the vegetable she does eat, so I am slowly trying to incorporate more. I know for my daughter it's a textural thing. She tends to like crunchy things. Have you thought about trying different ways of cooking vegetables? Also I make sure that they are well-seasoned. My kid's palate is pretty spot on. Usually if she doesn't like something, it's because it's too bland (not saying that your cooking is bland or anything).

I always mix pureed butternut squash into tomato sauce when I make pasta. My LO is an okay veggie eater, but I still make smoothies sometimes (for both of us to drink!) with spinach or kale, banana, almond milk, and some kind of berries.

And I just keep offering. Sometimes she doesn't eat a particular veggie like 14 times in a row, but I just keep offering it when we eat it, and eventually she will try it again. I try not to push it on her though, so it doesn't seem like something she "has" to eat.

We just try to serve a rotating variety of vegetables, to include LO in buying and prepping them, and to keep offering, as pp said. I try to follow the advice to keep food value-neutral, I never tell him that veggies are healthy or good for him, etc. I've read studies where children eat less of foods that are described as healthy, and anyway I don't want to set up a good vs bad food mindset.

Another thing is, I never try to hide or mask veggies, we serve them whole, simply prepared, and resembling their true colors, flavors, shape, etc. I might be in the minority in this opinion, but I dislike the whole idea of sneaking veggies into a kid. It doesn't get to the heart of the issue, which is getting kids familiar with and liking produce. Plus, it sets up a power dynamic and suspicion as the kids is always trying to find hidden stuff in their food. Even when I'm making smoothies or sauce I try to show or tell him what's in there.

Finally, we have the one bite rule. You have to take one bite of the food, and tell me what you think of it, but after that one bite you can refuse the rest. About 50% of the time, he keeps going after the first bite, the other 50% I try to let it go and just offer that veggie again a few meals later.

In my experience, liking veggies comes down to related exposure, value-neutral food discussions, and the kid witnessing their family consistently enjoying veggies in their recognizable form.

My kid loves edaname.... I buy it frozen in the steamer bags at target or trader joes.... she thinks its such fun to "pop" the beans out of the shell and would eat the whole bag if I let her.

I totally count tomatoes in sauce as a veggie, same with sweet potato "fries" and she loves sliced cold cucumber