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.

“I do not want to eat that Mommy.” is a statement mothers hear too often. It is very common for a picky eater to prefer certain foods which can hinder his body of nutrients essential for his growth. Take your picky eater on a food adventure and widen his food preferences with the help of these tips.

Make Use of Your Toddler’s Senses

Get your toddler to touch the food and say, “Feel how shiny this apple is honey.” or “Look, your cauliflower looks like a tree.”. Smell the food and say something like, “Wow, this apple smells really good.” and then encourage your toddler to do the same. After which, you can move on to licking, taking a small bite and then a normal bite. Tell him that it is okay if he spits it out if it tastes bad to him. While he is chewing his food, tell him to listen to the sound in his mouth and say, “The apple is very crunchy, right baby?”. This technique usually works in helping picky eaters become more comfortable with food.

Go To The Grocery Store or Farmer’s Market

Exposing your picky eater to a place filled with different kinds of food is the best way to introduce food in a subtle way. The produce aisle will look just as appealing as the candy aisle. It has every color, size and shape of foods you can imagine. The next time you go to the store or market, make it an adventure by handing your child a small bag and have him choose one fruit and veggie that he thinks looks cool and yummy. Without a doubt, your toddler will be so excited to eat his hand-picked goodies once you arrive at home.

Visit Farms

Another way of introducing foods to your picky eater is by visiting farms. Schedule a trip to a dairy, fruit or vegetable farm during the weekend so he can see how cheese is made, how potatoes and oranges are grown or how milk is produced. The more your toddler learns about a food, the more interesting it becomes.

Cook Together

The next time you think of a dish to cook for dinner, ask your little one to choose a recipe. Let him help you in the kitchen. He can get the ingredients out of the fridge, wash the vegetables, crack eggs or stir the sauce. The more involved he becomes in making a meal, the more likely he is willing to try and even enjoy it.

Experiment

Make food fun to eat for your picky eater by cutting foods into various shapes using cookie cutters. Serve carrots, broccoli and other veggies with a favorite dip. Slice potatoes into wedges, sprinkle some salt and grill them (for a healthier alternative to French fries). For dessert, slice a variety of fruits into small chunks, place them together in a bowl and add some cream. Or, mix them in a blender to make smoothies.

Camouflage It

When all else fails, the best way to introduce foods to your picky eater without his knowing is to hide them. For instance, add wheat bran into pancake batter. Put a small amount of pureed spinach or broccoli into scrambled eggs, soups and pasta sauce. Sneak a few pieces of chopped turnips into a pot of boiling potatoes, mash them together and serve. When baking bread, add some squash or zucchini. This way, he is able to enjoy his favorite foods while getting the adequate nutrients he needs at the same time.

Making your picky eater eat the good stuff is not always easy, but it can be done with a little creativity and cleverness.