It’s summer and the produce is abundant at the farmer’s market, produce aisle and gardens everywhere. Fresh vegetables are ripe and ready for the tasting.
Vegetables contain the complex carbs, fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that all of us need, especially those growing babies. The USDA recommends that the average 2 to 3-year-old needs about 1 cup of vegetables per day, but getting your toddler to eat those healthy vegetables can be a challenge.
Let’s begin with listing some specific vegetables that are appropriate for each stage in the journey to eating well.
Babies – at around 8 months or so, babies are ready for trying some pureed or very soft, malleable foods. Veggies should be cooked and mashed to prevent choking. The following foods are mild enough for baby’s early palate and offer some good chewing practice.
Avocado
Peas
Spinach – with a tiny sprinkle of salt
Pumpkin
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Older Babies – these vegetables can be steamed, roasted, cut in small dice, riced or mashed.
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Zucchini - try zoodles, zucchini spiral-cut into noodles for “spaghetti”
Yellow squash
Tomato
Onion – mix with other vegetables for flavor boost.
Beets – puree with blueberries or cherries for a sweet treat
Toddlers – vegetables can be raw or cooked, but be sure to cut small enough to prevent choking.
All the above-mentioned vegetables plus
Bell peppers
Cucumbers
Edamame
AVOID - baby carrots, raw celery, whole kernel corn, large chunks of vegetables as they can present a choking hazard.
Now that we’ve named a few vegetables to introduce to your child, here are a few tips to make mealtime vegetables less of a battle and more of an experience.
1- Practice what you preach! Mom and Dad, eat YOUR veggies. If your child doesn’t have a visual of you enjoying vegetables, they will be reluctant to try them. This is a great time to broaden YOUR food horizons as well as theirs.
2- Limited diet. Until your child has a well-established history with vegetables, don’t introduce sugar or processed foods in their diet. Processed foods taste good for a reason – to keep us wanting more, and what toddler wouldn’t prefer the taste of chips over broccoli? The developing palate of a toddler will become more definitive without the distraction of sugar and processed foods. Sometimes this isn’t possible when there is more than one caretaker; if so, try to keep processed foods to a minimum, and perhaps not at all in your home.
3- Early and constant exposure. Making sure vegetables are safely prepared, include them during all mealtimes, even breakfast and snack time. Even when your child isn’t eating any veggies, the exposure is what’s important. The idea is to start early in their lives, keep trying, and with consistency, you may score a win at some point. Any and every exposure is a step in the right direction.
4- Encourage, don’t force. Your job as a parent is to provide healthy, balanced meals; your child’s job is deciding to eat and how much. When they don’t eat, try again next mealtime. Most children respond to a no-pressure approach gaining the courage to try new foods on their own.
5- Let them play with their veggies. Broccoli can be little trees and peas can be green rocks. Green beans can be snakes. Your toddler can pretend to be a bunny eating carrots, or a bug munching a spinach leaf. Try a game of toddler feeding Mommy first, then Mommy feeds the toddler. Imagination and play can be a powerful tool.
6- Change up the venue. Eat outside when weather permits. Spread a blanket on the floor for an indoor picnic. Changing the setting can be a good distraction, and a more comfortable place to try new foods.
7- Veggie Books. Incorporate vegetables into your reading time. Head to the library and check out some books that showcase vegetables. Some suggestions include: Any Veggie Tales books, Soup Day by Melissa Iwai, We’re Going to the Farmer’s Market by Stefan Page.
8- Get them involved. Allow your toddler to choose vegetables at the grocery or farmer’s market. Or, your toddler might enjoy topping a taco or pizza with veggies they choose. Let them sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top of their veggies. Give them a small amount of gentle spices or herbs to rub onto their vegetable of choice.
9- Presentation. Toddlers like different shapes, so try cutting vegetables in coins, squares or matchsticks. Serve vegetables with dips such as yogurt, nut butter, hummus, or a small amount of ranch dressing.
10-Sneak them in! When all else fails, you can blend or puree veggies into a fruit smoothie without any detection! Or try blending them into spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, soup, macaroni and cheese. Try adding riced cauliflower into oatmeal, yogurt, rice or quinoa. You can even add pureed or riced vegetables to a healthy muffin recipe. Add riced cauliflower into oatmeal or yogurt or healthy baked items, with rice or quinoa.
Getting your child to eat their vegetables doesn’t have to be an epic battle. By introducing a wide variety of veggies and preparations from a young age, you’ll give your little one the best chance of developing a veggie-loving palate.
If you need more advise or guidance on nutrition for your child please contact the PLC Health Clinic at 419-238-9177 or
