Getting a 4 year old to eat veggies

[kathie859]

i agree wth trying different ways cooking them. My boys will eat the frozen veggies but do not like the ones from the can. They claim there is a taste to them.
Good Luck!

Smart kids!!! I agree--I LOVE veggies but can't imagine anything worse than a canned pea

 

[Ceila]

I completely disagree with the idea of trying to hide vegetables. How will kids ever learn to eat them if they're always hidden in something else?

For our kids, we served different veggies and prepared them in various ways. Some they liked, some they didn't, but they were always expected to try everything. Eventually they came to like most, although they certainly have their preferences. But I can honestly say that they are now both willing to try just about anything and eat a wide variety of foods.

 

[design_mom]

-- Frozen vegetables, not frozen and then cooked but still frozen. Especially peas. Don't ask me why but he loved them. For a long time frozen peas were the only green veggie he'd eat consistently.

My kids loved still-frozen peas, too. We called them "popsicle peas."

My biggest tip is to serve the veggies as an appetizer. My kids were always ready for a little headstart on dinner. A little bowl of cherry tomatoes, or cucumber slices, or carrot sticks/dip that they could start on before the meal was ready seemed like a "treat." (ETA: I just noticed Styx Fan also made this suggestion.)

 

[Minnesota!]

While I hide some veggies just for the added nutrients for us all - I don't hide them to "get one over" on the kids.

They are served veggies right along with the veggie laced meals.

The rule in our house is you have to try it. If you don't shrivel up and die from it....you need to take 3 bites.

And, my kids are still really fooled by reverse psychology. So, if they are really fighting me on something, a simple "you are right, you aren't a big enough boy to try those" usually gets the veggies gobbled down.

Canned = nasty. My DH prefers canned veggies on some stuff - green beans. But for me, if it's not fresh, it's frozen..

OP - don't sweat it too much. Throw together a smoothie, feed her fruits, a vitamin, etc. Just keep offering, One day she will take you up on it

 

[smilie]

Thanks for all of the replies, I'm glad I'm not alone on this.

She does like smoothies with spinach in it.

 

[Tinijocaro]

When we had picky times with veggies, which didn't happen often, I served fruit instead. All four love their veggies now.

Not a battle I chose to fight, lots of vitamins in fruit-and fiber!

 

[Nayan]

I agree with trying different preparations, sauces, and seasonings. I'm not so much into the "hiding" vegetables because I think that reinforces the myth that vegetables are "gross."

Just keep offering them, and and make the rule that they have to at least try them.

I never hid them with my son. I would try cooking them different ways (roasting, baking, etc.) and avoid the cheese sauce. I think kids should taste veggies as they are without covering them up. Also, maybe letting them pick the 'veggie of the night' to go with dinner? My son was more willing to try something he picked out (and proudly state "I Pick dat!") and eat it without a fuss.

 

[WDSearcher]

Try getting her involved in the preparation of the veggies. At her age, she can stir, measure, break things in half (string beans, etc), help put on spices, help serve. Kids are often much more willing to eat things that they've helped cook.

My nephew had a "veggie chart" in the kitchen. It had every veggie known to man on it, I think! From artichokes to zucchini. My sis would try new veggies as they came into season. Every time my DN tried one ("trying one" meant eating at least half a serving ... putting it in his mouth, saying "yuck" and spitting it out didn't count), they had this really involved rating system that he'd helped devise. The veggie would be rated and placed on the chart, with favorites and "I will never eat this again" preferences noted. For every three veggies he tried, he'd get a $5 gift card to Toys R Us. Since he was saving up for some pretty specific Lego kits at the time, he had an incentive.

That might not work for a 4YO (DN was, I think, 7 at the time), but something else that makes it a game to try new things might do it. "Let's Only Eat Orange Food" day, for example. Or "Green Day" where you have to wear green clothes, drink green drinks, eat green food, paint green pictures, etc.

And if all else fails, give her a multi-vitamin and wait until she grows out of it. If you, as the parent, set a good example by just regularly eating veggies (without making a big deal out of it), she'll get the point that there's nothing special about them -- it's just food. And she'll eventually get over it.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I'm not even close to an expert nor do I have children. When my friends' children are over, I make things like ant logs and "snow" caps which is just veggies cut up with yogurt ranch drizzled on them. Sometimes I will cut yellow squash or green squash and let them play in the egg wash and then the cheese/breadcrumb mixture to make "fries" and seems they want to taste them afterward.

 

[clh2]

cheese sauce!!

.

When DD was little- we had cauliflower with cheese sauce for Thanksgiving. DD kept asking for more mac n cheese. It took me a little while to figure out what she was asking for...

So - I would agree with the cheese sauce idea.

Now - have you tried carrots and some ranch dressing for dipping? And - what about: Crispy Kale Chips

The other thing I can suggest - give your child the "priviledge" of picking the veggie for the night...maybe that will help them pick out one that they will like!