5 sneaky ways to get your toddler to eat more vegies

5 sneaky ways to get your toddler to eat more vegies by Carol Jones at myboredtoddler.com

Do you remember the first time you gave your baby some pureed pumpkin or their first taste of sweet potato? It’s such a huge milestone when babies start eating solids, and we’re always so excited and can’t wait to tell everyone. We buy organic, puree our own food and pat ourselves on the back because our kids are eating so healthy.

Fast forward six months and you probably have a toddler who has decided that vegetables are EVIL and they will not be participating in this ‘vegetable eating’ game ever again.

We all know the health benefits of vegetables and how important a healthy diet is for growing toddlers. Unfortunately toddlers don’t care about that! And while giving in and letting them eat crackers all day would make things easier (much easier!), it’s obviously not an option anyone is going to take.

While you should still be offering your toddler vegetables in their pure form, it can also help to get a little bit sneaky. At each meal I still offer my toddler vegetables but we also make sure to sneak some (or lots!) in during the day as well.

It’s recommended that toddlers eat 2-3 serves of vegetables or legumes and beads each day, so if you’re toddler isn’t meeting these requirements, it might be time to try some of these tips …

1. Add them to everything

Yes, everything! Grate or puree them and add them to as many of your cooking dishes as you can – grated zucchini dissolves and you can’t see or taste it.

Thicken sauces with pureed potato or sweet potato, or roast and blend fresh tomatoes and add them to pasta.

Every time you’re making dinner or lunch, think about how you can add a few more vegies to the dish.

2. Turn them into dips

Toddlers love to dip their food, so why not make vegetables part of their dips? There are so many healthy options that contain vegetables.

The easiest way is to add pureed vegetables with some yoghurt or chick peas for a simple and healthy dip. Some nice combinations include roasted beetroot (they’ll love the purple colour) and yoghurt, or pumpkin hummus.

There are so many great options and if you add cut up carrot or celery to dip (be prepared to fall back on crackers though!), you’re adding even more vegies to their diet.

3. Bake with them

If you’re not adding vegies to your baking you’re missing a great opportunity to be sneaky. I find that you can add vegetables to most of your baking: grated carrots or zucchini easily adds to muffins or cakes (and you can barely tell). Pumpkin can be added to scones and tomatoes go great in mini quiches.

Next time you’re baking, challenge yourself to add at least one extra vegie to your mix!

4. Make savoury pancakes

Most toddler love pancakes or pikelets. I’m sure you’ve all added berries to them on occasions, but you can also add vegetables!

Potato and sweet potato go well in pancakes and the children will get a kick out of orange pancakes – tell them they’re coloured pancakes and leave out all mention of vegetables.

5. Turn them into chips

I’m pretty sure most toddlers (and a lot of older children) don’t seem to realise that chips and vegetables are the same thing. My daughter eats chips but is convinced that she doesn’t like potatoes. Make ‘chips’ using sweet potato, carrot and zucchini. If you lightly spray them with oil and oven bake them, they’re still healthy and they feel like a treat. Don’t forget the sauce!

Getting the right amount of veggies into your toddler can be a challenge, but it is worth the effort. Hopefully a few of these tips will make dinner time a little bit easier for everyone.