I am having the hardest time trying to get my 3 year old to eat her vegetables. And I don't mean she only likes a few or only likes one and that's all I can get her to eat. I mean she dislikes them all! I've tried everything. I've bargained, I've pleaded, I've bribed, I've threatened, I've forced...nothing seems to work. Am I doing something wrong? Is there some secret I'm not aware of? I'm getting kind of worried.
You could try hiding veggies. A bit of spinach in spaghetti is good. You can probably find some more interesting ways to hide or cook them into meals online. I would suggest doing a Google search. Or you could try telling her NOT to eat the vegetables. Three year olds tend to do anything you tell them not to, so that's always worth trying
Also, have you tried veggie sticks? I loved those when I was a kid. They've got corn, peas, and I forget what else in them. Nuke them, serve them with ketchup, and they have no idea they're eating vegetables.
I agree with Dorian on hiding them within other foods. She's 3 and she's not going to eat a ton of anything, especially stuff she dislikes or THINKS she dislikes. My oldest will not eat anything that he know has tomatoes in it. If he even sees a salt-grain-sized piece of tomato in something he's about to stick in his mouth he'll pick it out and then claim he can taste it in his food. There have been several times where he will want to try something I'm eating and I'll hide a tomato dice on my spoon and he will love whatever it is until I show him he ate a tomato and then he refuses to believe there was one in his bite.
Casseroles and stews/soups are excellent ways to hide a few veggies. If she's a junkfood junkie, you could always make spinach dip and let her "snack" on chips and dip. Her likes and dislikes will change as she ages so keep making her try different veggies periodically. I've also found that if my husband and I are eating something we "know the boys won't like" (wink, wink) and we sit down with our plates and automatically serve them a corn dog or ravioli's without ever offering what we're having, then it's a guarantee that they're going to at least ask to try what we're eating. If you do it that way, it's their idea to try something new and if they don't like it then you don't have to live through the "that tastes horrible" act that could win most children an Oscar. :-)
Good luck!
We serve vegitables with every dinner, so it is very normal for the kids. Its not a suprise to them, and even if they say they dont like a certian one they have to try a couple of bites.
Our dinners are like Free's, always a vegetable whether it is liked by all or not. We have a "no thank you bite" rule (even my husband has to obey the rule!). My kids must have one bite of something and then if they don't like it, they can say "No thank you." This rule works well with my 4-yr-old and sporadically with my 2-yr-old. On those occasions when that doesn't work, we resort to the Yo Gabba Gabba song "There's a Party in My Tummy." It's a little wacky, but it works 95% of the time!
Well, it's been a few months since I started this thread, and things have turned around a bit. I started the same thing as Free mentioned. A veggie with every meal. And I mean, even if we were just having sandwhiches I still made a vegetable. Well, now she likes greenbeans and peas. She tolerates corn and potatoes. I enforce the same rule, she has to at lease try a couple of bites. I was so leary at first because I figured that she would just tell me she didn't like any of it all the time. But that has not been the case. It has worked out really well and I don't dread dinnertime like I used to. Score mom!