My 10 year old HATES veggies....

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  • ejp123
    ejp123 Posts: 10
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    I'm 21 and still not keen on veg! But I try to incorporate as much as possible by grating foods like carrots, peppers, butternut squash and courgettes into spag bol, curries, ragu etc.
  • thatsillyshana
    thatsillyshana Posts: 141
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    My brother was that way while I wasn't. Maybe prepare them in different ways each time. My parents would force me to eat peas, which I hated, and I would hide them in my cheeks and then spit them out in the bathroom. So try not to pressure her to eat it. Also, there are some pasta sauce recipes that use veggies and maybe soups and other treats. My brother still wont eat veggies, but I grew to like most of them. :]

    good luck!
  • Simone_King
    Simone_King Posts: 467 Member
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    How about steamed bell peppers?

    Or maybe a salad with a bunch of veggies mixed in?
  • kiku76
    kiku76 Posts: 352 Member
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    What does she like to eat? my daughter is 5 and was going through a huge ketchup phase. I made her sweet potato and carrots sticks (roasted in the oven with olive oil and salt and pepper) and let her dip them in ketchup. she still doesn't LOVE veggies but she will willingly eat carrots and broccoli. Corn is still a no-go. Pukes every. single. time.
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
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    Let her cook some of the meals. If she does some cooking, enjoys it, and is proud of her efforts, she will eat some of the food.

    This exactly. If she cooks it, she will be more interested.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    my younger two (16 & 18 now) ONLY eat raw veggies. cucumbers, carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, bell peppers. that's about it.not the most nutrient packed veggies, but more than the JUST ONE single veggie they ate until they were about 10.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    Let her cook some of the meals. If she does some cooking, enjoys it, and is proud of her efforts, she will eat some of the food.

    This exactly. If she cooks it, she will be more interested.

    my son cooks for us all the time, great meals! but never eats them he is so picky.
  • pickledginger
    pickledginger Posts: 172
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    Sweet potatoes are possible - much more nutritious than thw white ones, higher in fiber, and taste like.dessert. If she likes fresh salsa, that's a terrific vegetable.combo. If she eats spaghetti sauce, that's full of veg.,Soups can be good. Slices of sweet red bell pepper. Depends what she likes to eat.
  • pickledginger
    pickledginger Posts: 172
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    Celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese or peanut butter? Lettuce and cold cut rollups?
  • Kestrel45
    Kestrel45 Posts: 133
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    Make it fun and tasty. Add lemon or other healthy seasonings in the veggies you prepare. (Rapini and lemon is my all-time fave)

    Also, give her carrots and cucumbers that are topped with a bit of sea salt and/or Mrs. Dash seasoning (it's all natural) and you must try Hummus!

    You can also make a side-dish of spaghetti squash noodles with a bit of tomato sauce.

    The more you feed her these foods the more she'll love them and will look at them as a normal part of her diet. Good luck and hope she eats them!
  • Matt24442
    Matt24442 Posts: 324
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    She is a 10 year old. Most 10 year olds are very easily influenced by their peers and stuff they see in the media. Sometimes some things will hate on veggies and how much little kids dont like them.

    Make veggies, put them on her plate and dont tell her that they are vegetables and she might like them.
  • FiestyIrish
    FiestyIrish Posts: 42
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    Google the Sneaky Chef. She purees veggies and puts them in different foods, so your kids get their veggies, but don't have to taste them. I do this with my 8 year old. She knows what I'm putting in there, so it's not like I'm tricking her. But since she can't taste the veggies, she eats the food without incident. It's been a life saver!
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
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    I offer multiple veggie options when I know there's a definite opinion on the main veggie. So if we're having roasted broccoli, I slice cucumbers and put those on the table as well. Also, if someone wants more of a favorite thing, they have to try the new veggie. that's all, just one nibble.
  • Saucy_lil_Minx
    Saucy_lil_Minx Posts: 3,302 Member
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    Watch the ranch, and corn lots of sugar, and calories. Look for a cookbook that is designed for.veggie fighters. You can find some good receipes. Rework some of yours and see was you can get in there.
  • ellew70
    ellew70 Posts: 222 Member
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    a couple of other ideas are:
    1. Gardening, if a kid grows it, they'll enjoy eating it more
    2. Get your munchkin in on the grocery shopping and have her pick out some veggies she'd be open to trying (although you're going to have to establish a rule that she actually WILL be trying them!)
    3. Fruit smoothies with veg thrown in, recipes abound and some are actually quite tasty (I'm not advocating any powders here, I just mean blending stuff up. If texture's a problem, this can help.)

    We did this... we would go to the farmers market and she could pick out anything in the market to try... on the condition she tried it. Garlic chives. Ramps. Fiddlehead ferns. Strange looking mushrooms. Odd colored eggplant. She didn't like them all, but she did try them all. When she was very young, we determined she loved tomatoes. While the other kids were eating apples, she'd be in her stroller covered in tomato. Didn't care..meant she was actually eating a tomato!

    We are lucky now in that we have a 13 year old who will try anything... unfortunately, that includes such expensive favorites as escargot and foie gras.
  • rebbylicious
    rebbylicious Posts: 621 Member
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    I am guilty of blending veggies into things to hide them but it goes against everything I believe. I believe it is our job as parents to teach our kids good eating habits. Many people don't like veggies because they are boiled and water logged / mushy. Roast veggies with olive oil and salt. I don't like hiding veggies, They need to learn that it is not an option to skip them. Usually eating crap foods causes kids to not enjoy veggies. My oldest daughter used to drink a TON of juice because I didn't know better. She was picky until i decided to quit giving her juice. She ate almost everything once she stopped guzzling sweet crap all day long. :)
  • Peanutbutterx
    Peanutbutterx Posts: 332
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    maybe steamed brocolli with melted 2% cheese, carrot sticks and ranch, you can sneak veggies in pasta easily too, shepherds pie has mashed potatos on top but veggies in the middle so that might be a good way to get her to eat them, also you can hide them in some home made sauces like pasta sauce or home made pizza, theres a really good sauce i made with oven roasted tomatos, garlic, and onions, 2 tbs of olive oil in a blender oregano, salt pepper doesnt taste like veggies at all i even added spinch to it before like alot an still couldnt taste the veggies , you could chop then up really tiny and add it to a tuna sandwhich or scrambled egg sandwhich,

    i read somewheretoo that if they look more "fun" kids will want to eat them like weird shapes, funny paper plate stuff like that. also sweet potatos are really good with cinnamon and a little bit of butter or i cant believe its not butter, even could add toasted marshmellows to it or home made sweet potato fries in the oven with cinnamon and melted marshmellows to dip it in
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
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    sweet potatoe fries
  • Peanutbutterx
    Peanutbutterx Posts: 332
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    also fajitas!! : )
  • latinstarlite1
    latinstarlite1 Posts: 62 Member
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    There is a very simple solution to this problem. #1 If I cook it, you're going to eat it. Period! #2 once you've gotten used to these new added foods. You get to choose what you like and you really don't like. My son fought us tooth and nail about eating veggies. But he was not allowed to eat anything else on his plate until he ate his veggies unless he wanted to mix them with something else on his plate to mask the flavor a bit. My son is 17 now, he eats almost every veggie out there, he LOVES salad and eats it without any dressing.

    So the rule in the house now is, I bring in a new veggie or a new way to prepare them once a month or whenever, You MUST try said veggie in it's entirety. If you like it, great, we'll have it again, if not, then you are not required to eat it. But, that rule is sometimes flexible. My son does not really like sweet potatoes BUT, they are Packed with beta carotene, so it is a requirement that he eats at least half of it. he is allowed to put what ever he wants on it, but he has to eat it.

    It can get a bit hectic doing it this way. BUT, it is what it is. Children these days think that they have run of things and you have to put your foot down and take control otherwise they will never learn their boundaries. Take charge. She is too young to decide what is good for her. That's why she has parents. Good Luck :-)

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