Veggies for not-quite-ready-for-crunchy crowd?

[branv]

I was perusing the kid's menus at WDW and it struck me that there isn't much available in terms of vegetables (especially at counter service), for those kids who aren't babies but aren't quite ready for crunchy veggies. It seems most of the menus give you the options of carrot sticks, salad, apple slices/sauce or grapes. Now fruit is great, but it's not veggies, and we can't go 7 days with few vegetables. But he can't safely eat the crunchy veggies that are offered (and flat out refuses lettuce still). Is there an option I'm not aware of or tips for getting veggies at WDW for kids this age?

 

[dprincessmom]

Are you doing any TS meals? If it's a buffet there are plenty of kid friendly veggie options.
Most of the time veggies can be replaced in an adult meal (if the CS place offers veggies (ie Columbia House or BOG yes, Casey's no).
You should be able to purchase a side of the veggies.

 

[Thing 1]

Well actually, when my DS, now an adult, boycotted almost all veggies, our wonderful doctor assured me that there was very little in veggies that are not in fruits. If they won't eat veggies, give them fruits, with banana being the fruit of choice. That being said, cooked veggies are going to be hard to come by at most CS, but easy for TS and really easy at Buffets. You can order a side of steamed veggies at many TS, and even request they be cooked softer than typical if that is helpful. Another thought is to carry some of your own. Does gerber still make the jars of cubed veggies for toddlers? There are tons of pouches that contain all or part veggies that you can carry and are sooooo easy to give your child. I rarely bought kid meals for toddlers and fed mine off my healthier adult plate. A knife can cut grapes and other non-toddler safe foods into tiny pieces that are indeed toddler safe. My little guy ate tons of tomato cut into tiny pieces by a year old. Another way to get extra veggies into a toddler is the toddler/child friendly juices that contain all or part veggie juice. Not quite as good as veggies, but not a bad choice. It really is less difficult than it seems and it is only a week.....they really will be fine.

 

[Lilliputian]

I agree that fruit is very healthy and that your little one won't be too nutritionally deprived by not eating vegetables for 7 days. When we stay onsite, we do make most of our TS restaurants buffets because they have fresh fruits and salads, which are what you start to miss after eating at restaurants a lot.

As for what you can do easily, grapes are a good choice. They can be cut into small pieces (and even peeled, depending on the little one's age and number of teeth), and they have a lot of vitamins. Berries and watermelon are also great choices for soft foods that pack in a lot of nutrition, and bananas are obviously always a good choice for babies. You can even stop at the grocery store or have fresh fruit delivered to offer more choices for a smaller price. Using what you can easily get a counter service restaurants, you can cut apples into tiny little pieces that are manageable by just about any baby who isn't on breastmilk/formula (babies who do still nurse or drink formula have their nutritional needs met). Shredded carrots from the adults' salads can be another good choice if a few molars are in yet.

If that's not enough for you, you can always take a blender and make green smoothies in the hotel room. You can have fruit, yogurt, and greens delivered or go buy them if you have a car. They'll all keep in your little fridge. Avocados don't even need refrigeration and can be eaten by anyone old enough for solids. They'll pack well for taking into the parks, too.

 

[scrapquitler]

There are vegetable options on the adult menu, and for little ones, I would share mine with my child. We don't generally ever eat TS at the parks, but I can give you a couple of ideas based on the food options I personally ate on our last trip. We stayed at Pop. Here is the food menu for Pops food court for dinner, just as an example: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/pop-century-resort/everything-pop-dining/menus/dinner/ On the childrens menu there is a roasted veggies meal. Roasted Veggies are also a meal option (with Tofu) on the adult menu. One night I ate the rotisserie chicken meal there and there was a large portion of green beans with it, certainly enough to have shared with a child. There was also another vegetable that went with one of the other meals that I saw. I did see several people get just a side of these veggies to go with some other meal option that didn't come with them, so I'm sure that buying a side is always an option, even if it isn't specifically listed on the menu. I think all you would have to do would be to ask waht kind of vegetable options are available. There were also vegetable soups and salads available. You might need to get a little bit creative, but if you ask the server or counter person about what options are available, I'm sure they will be very helpful and get you something that will work for what you want your child to eat. You might get better options at some counter services than others, but they are out there.

 

[msmama]

Grapes are an option and perfectly easy for babies when cut in half. I also often let my son (10 months on first trip) gnaw on apple slices or cut them up small (he had several teeth by then) and he could eat them. He could eat tomato that came with burgers and salad. There are places that sell whole fruit or fruit salads, too (my son was a big melon eater). Pretty much anything is going to be okay as long as you cut it small enough.

My son never ate baby food (he didn't like it) so feeding him at Disney was pretty much the same as feeding him at home - he ate what we ate!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We usually do a vegetable soup to get veggies in. DD (2) isn't a fan of crunchy food, but she will gobble up some vegetable coup. Chicken pot pies also have veggies in them.

 

[unrequited23]

First of all, I applaud you for thinking ahead regarding including vegetables in your child's diet while on vacation. I think you are going to have to bring some supplemental food from home (pouches, veggie melts, or pick up bowls), share some of your own side dishes (CHH has steamed broccoli as a side for the salmon meal) and get creative (tempura green beans count as veggies, right?). And remember, it's not lettuce, it's leaves-just like the dinosaurs eat.

 

[Minnesota!]

7 days without veg isn't going to hurt anything. Fruits can fill in nicely. Table service usually has veg sides do adult meals, so you can ask there. But honestly - I would not sweat it or give it a Second thought.

 

[amylevan]

Sorry, I'm too busy chuckling over my DS who easily went months without eating any veggies. Unless you count potatoes, which well... I promise you, your child will survive 7 days without veggies, especially if they eat fruits.

But having said that, I feel like there is only a very short time where crunchy veggies are a no go. Will your child really not be able to handle carrot sticks?

 

[sprousehouse]

We will be bringing our own fruits and veggies to snack on throughout the day. My kids like cucumbers, bell peppers, jicama, cherry tomatoes (which my DD always tells me are technically a fruit!) Not sure how old your little one if but if you've ever looked into baby led weaning they can tolerate a lot from a much younger age than you might think.

 

[jacknsally19]

I was perusing the kid's menus at WDW and it struck me that there isn't much available in terms of vegetables (especially at counter service), for those kids who aren't babies but aren't quite ready for crunchy veggies. It seems most of the menus give you the options of carrot sticks, salad, apple slices/sauce or grapes. Now fruit is great, but it's not veggies, and we can't go 7 days with few vegetables. But he can't safely eat the crunchy veggies that are offered (and flat out refuses lettuce still). Is there an option I'm not aware of or tips for getting veggies at WDW for kids this age?

You know the first time my DD had 'crunchy' carrots was at WDW. I thought she wasn't ready for them and when I wasn't paying attention she ate them... so I think you might be surprised. I will also say that you'd be surprised how often you can ask for something off menu. We had table service and I just asked for green beans or broccoli and got them at a number of spots. I agree that the Columbia Harbor House is a very good table service option and includes broccoli as a side. It might not come with the kid meal but they are surprisingly flexible. Sunshine Seasons at Epcots is CS and definitely has a number of options for cooked veggies. I know that HS is a bit of a lost cause LOL. We had luck at AK too getting endamame which my kid LOVES. I think there have been a lot of recent changes at AK so not exactly sure what the CS options are right now.