How to Make Her Eat Vege?

Mommys out there, help!

I am extremely concerned with Dania's eating habit. Not that she doesn't eat, she eats..a lot! But she won't eat vegetables and meat like chicken or fish. Everytime dia makan, dia kunyah and dia throw balik. She just takes the taste of the vege, chicken or fish. Luckily she loves fruits!! Tapi saya dalam usaha nak kurangkan rice intake, lebihkan sayur-sayuran.

I got these tips while googling. It seems kebanyakkan cara saya dah buat, but she's still like that. HOW??

1. Eat Your Veggies! Children won't develop a taste for vegetables if you're not incorporating them into your own diet. Before changing your child's diet, change your own bad eating habits. Set a good example to your baby by eating plenty of veggies yourself.

2. Start With Vegetables. When you start feeding your baby solid foods, start with vegetables like peas and green beans, rather than fruits. Although starting off babies with fruits is common (because they are sweet and naturally attractive), if a baby starts off with vegetables, he or she may develop a taste for less-sweet foods. Don't always mix baby cereal with fruit--try occasionally having a meal of barley and peas, oatmeal and sweet potato, or rice and carrot.

3. Get Rid of the Bad Snacks in the House. Carrot sticks and dip, grapes, celery with cream cheese--it's hard for these to compete with potato chips, cookies, or candy.

4. Offer Repeatedly. Sometimes children won't accept a new food the first time it's offered. But after repeated exposure (sometimes as often as 12 times!) they will try it. Don't make it a battle; if they don't touch it, don't force them to eat it.

5. Learn to Cook! A perfectly tasty vegetable can be ruined by over-cooking, such as overcooking. Take a cooking class if possible, or learn from a good cook. Explore cookbooks for interesting and tasty vegetable recipes.

6. Key in on Sensory Issues. Many children have sensitivities and dislikes to certain textures. For instance, slimy textures like canned spinach will turn off many children. What types of vegetables regularly are rejected by your child? Do they have any textures in common, like small seeds, mushy texture, rubbery texture, or crunchy feel?

7. Try Different Cooking Methods. Vegetables can feel and taste very differently depended how it is prepared. For instance, a child may dislike cooked string beans, but love them lightly steamed. Or try serving the vegetable raw--as long as it's safe, it's actually the healthiest way!

8. Let Baby Shop When grocery shopping, let your child pick out vegetables. Visit a farmer's market. Have him or her count out how many broccoli bunches you need. Children are often more willing to eat vegetables they chose themselves.

9. Plant a Garden with Baby. Children are more likely to try a vegetable that they've had a part in creating and nurturing. It doesn't have to be a huge garden; a tomato plant will do.

10. Sneak It In. Use vegetables covertly. Sneak vegetable puree in foods like califlower in macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes. Some foods are simply easy to sneak a few finely-diced vegetables, like lasagna, chicken noodle soup, or a few carrots in sauerkraut.

11. Try Vegetable Juice. Some young children will happily drink carrot juice or V8, even if they hate whole vegetables. (V8 has a line of vegetable drinks that taste a lot like fruit punch). While juices cannot be the sole source of vegetables, this little bit may help.

12. Offer Vegetable Breads. Carrot cake, pumpkin muffins, zucchini bread are all sweet, un-vegetable like baked goods that even picky eaters usually enjoy. While it is not a complete solution, it can count towards a full serving of vegetables.

13. Accept Limitations. If your child just doesn't like eggplant, he or she just might not like them no matter how often it appears on the menu. If he or she is eating a variety of vegetables, not liking one or two is no big deal. Also, young children taste food differently than adults. While a child might not like califlower as a child, she might like it better as a teenager.

Sources from here.







Mommies, how do you actually FEED your kids?