because Steven ate bell pepper last night with his dinner. Charlton and I watched with bated breath as his dipped it in his ranch and ate the first piece. When he didn't spit it out and actually smiled and said, "mmm," I did a little dance in my chair. He ate all different colors- red, yellow, green- but green was his favorite. Couldn't see that one coming! I know that it probably doesn't seem like a big deal to you but like every mom, I'm on a quest to get him to eat more veggies, and although he has tried them a few times, he always always spit them out after one bite. I had some leftover sliced bell pepper from a party platter I made so I've been putting them out during dinner because I figured what do I have to lose. "They" say that if you keep veggies out and keep offering them, eventually your kids will eat it- so in this instance "they" were right even though I had little faith that he would. Oh ye of little faith, I know.
Steven discovered a few months ago that he likes eating raw carrots when he can dip them in ranch dressing (he didn't like ranch for a while), and boy, does he love ranch. So, I'm hoping that he'll eat anything as long as he can dip it- next up cucumbers (yes, I've tried this one unsuccessfully too). Drum roll please...Steven now will eat a total of 4 vegetables (not including corn and other potatoes): carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, and now bell peppers. I wonder if I can count the last one as three because of the different colors. Never-the-less, I am a very happy mom right now.
Anyone have good ideas for introducing a vegetable I didn't mention? My favorite is how I get him to eat sweet potatoes. It's not original- I got it out of a baby/toddler cookbook. You slice a peeled sweet potato into 1/4 inch slices and bake them tossed in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. We call them french fries and Steven loves them. I just stick leftover fries in the microwave for 15 seconds to heat through and then place on foil under the oven broiler for a few minutes to crisp them.
6 comments:
woo-hoo! go Steven!
I didn't like vegatables when I was younger, and I don't think that changed until I was 7 or 8 when they just started tasting good... Now there isn't much I don't like, except of course, cucumbers! Using ranch was a great idea! Good luck with the new introductions!
Have you looked at the cookbook Deceptively Delicious? In it, Jessica Seinfield utilizes a lot of purees to sneak in good vegetables and other healthy items to meet the different tastes of her 3 kids. I'm obviously not at a point to utilize it yet but my sister Lisa LOVES it.
Good job Laura. You are making some great progress. I tend to hid my vegetables in other foods. This works well with Popo. Ha!
Love,
Mimi
all colors count on their own!!! :o)
Thanks for the tip on sweet potatoes! I need to do better on introducing new veggies to Madison. She seems to eat something if she sees me eat it, but it is dfficult for us since I'm not a big veggie fan. I do my best to not grimace when biting into a carrot or cucumber. :)
Your're doing a great job. I think you are doing exactly what you should be with offering him a new veggie on different occasions. Let me know if you have any other tips!
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