Fruits and vegetables are important to a toddler’s health and development. However, a lot of children loathe eating them. If your toddler is one of them, here are a few strategies that can help you make your picky eater eat fruits and vegetables minus the food wars.

Hide Them

Try concealing fruits and vegetables into your toddler’s favorite foods. Do not feel guilty about being sneaky. After all, you are doing this to ensure your toddler gets all the vitamins and minerals he needs to thrive. For example, you can grate some carrots into the spaghetti sauce or mash and add them to macaroni and cheese. If he loves pizza, puree some squash and blend them into the pizza sauce. Add finely chopped vegetables to soups, between lasagna layers or mix them into meatballs. Scramble pureed broccoli or cauliflower into eggs. This way, your toddler is still able to eat his favorite dishes while eating something healthy without him knowing it.

Switch Them

Use soy sausages instead of pork links. Add spaghetti squash to angel hair pasta and then smother with sauce. Substitute taco meat for packed veggie crumbs. Another great idea is to include mushrooms into pasta instead of hotdogs. Moreover, do not just stick to ice cream and other treats for dessert. Spice them up by offering your little one some chocolate covered strawberries, banana pudding, oatmeal cookies with raisins or fruit cake.

Bake Them

Almost all toddlers love baked goodies. Take advantage of that and make some muffins. Instead of adding chocolate chips, add some fruits and veggies such as apple and zucchini to make apple and zucchini muffins. Add white-bean puree in cookie recipes or a pack of frozen spinach into brownie mix. Add beets in chocolate cake. Your toddler will not hesitate taking a bite because the goodies still tastes sweet.

Shape Them

Excellent presentation makes food more appetizing so why not experiment with them to make sure your picky eater gets his daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Use cookie cutter shapes to create pancakes in the shape of his initials, cut eggplant, carrots, mango and watermelon into a star, heart, moon, circle and other fun shapes. Arrange cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, celery, potatoes, corn and other colorful fruits and veggies to form a smiley face, house, sun, etc.

Blend Them

Children love smoothies. You can try mixing almost every fruit and vegetable in a blender and add some ice cubes for a cool and healthy beverage. You may try mixing some milk to make it a little sweeter.

Dip Them

Toddlers love dipping things. The next time your toddler wants to munch, slice some baby carrots, celery, lettuce, apples, pears, bananas and peaches to make a vegetable or fresh fruit salad. Place some yogurt, cream cheese, low-fat cheese, tomato sauce or a cup of ranch dressing into a small bowl and let your toddler dunk away.

Finally, for these tips to be effective, you have to eat fruits and vegetables yourself. Practice what you preach. If your toddler sees you eating them with gusto, the more encouraged he will be to include them in his daily diet.