Sending in veggies in school lunch...that come back uneaten every single day- what to do?

[Anonymous]

Both of my kids generally dislike veggies, but my son really hates them (and the thought of them) with a vengeance. I do try to send some sort of veggie in daily in the hopes he'll eat it; I usually send in a very small amount like 2 grape tomatoes or one large baby carrot quartered so that he doesn't feel discouraged by seeing a large amt. But, all to no avail. I would be tempted to keep the veggies for the next day, and sometimes I do, but I can't always guarantee that it hasn't been gummed on or touched by him or another kid or teacher.

Should I keep sending/wasting or give up?

[Anonymous]

Does he eat them at dinner?

I eat mostly veggies and I don't even like raw veggies. Maybe try cooking them? I've found that anything baked (without oil) is yummy.

[Anonymous]

Rather than offering them plain, can you try to hide them in something (like veg lasagna) or give it with a dip? Like celery/pb or carrots/hummus. If you can make them eat it in their dinnertime meals, I don't think it's necessary to force it on them at lunch as well.

[Anonymous]

Send fruit

[Anonymous]

OP here. No, he doesn't eat them at dinner or cooked or raw or fried up in chocolate (just kidding!). If he sees what he thinks is a speck of veggie, it's done for. For example, I baked zucchini bread mini muffins last week. We lost power in the morning and while it was still dark, he popped one in his mouth and said he liked it. When the lights came back on, he took one look at the same muffin he'd just eaten and refused, saying he saw green in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send fruit

OP. I do send fruit daily; he could eat fruit until he popped.

[Anonymous]

My son loves veggies, at least cooked ones. Not raw. I send a fruit or veggie for lunch that I know he has a high chance of eating. I save other stuff for dinner.

[Anonymous]

Pumpkin bread. Use half whole wheat flour and cut sugar in half.

[Anonymous]

keep sending a carrot or two.

[Anonymous]

You should just send only veggies! Let him starve I kid I kid. That's what olden day parents would do.

Have you tried pureeing it into sauces? There still might be specks but perhaps have the color of veggie match the sauce?

[Anonymous]

I don't like vegetables so I never forced my kids to eat them. Once tried I decided I didn't want to waste because frankly there are too many people going hungry in this world to throw away good food. My motto always was try it once and we go from there. My kids only ate potatoes when they were younger.

Banana bread, oatmeal cookies, raisin bread all got eaten so I went that route. Easy recipe, look up coffee can raisin bread. You can use dehydrated fruit too.

BTW, no one dies from not eating vegetables. Eskimos rarely if ever eat vegetables.

When my kids got older they ate some vegetables. No point fighting and forcing.

[Anonymous]

Give up. If he isn't eating them at dinner then don't expect him to eat them at lunch when no one is even there to encourage him to eat them. I wouldn't force veggies at all. Children like what they like and so do adults. Everyone's taste buds are different.

[Anonymous]

I hear you OP. My kids do eat some vegetables but limited variety and won't touch raw carrots, celery, cooked zucchini or squash or green leafy veggies in any color. We eat a lot of green beans, brocoli, carrots, peas, artichokes and tomato sauce. What seems to help if is we offer a small dish of soy sauce on the side for dipping.

[Anonymous]

You're not wasting much food, if you're talking about 2 grape tomatoes or one baby carrot. Just keep sending it. Don't stress about it, don't discuss endlessly, just send it. He'll eventually eat some, or he won't, but the only thing I can promise is that sweating over it or discussing it will backfire.

[Anonymous]

Is he old enough to be amused that some things that we call veggies are botanically fruits? So cucumbers are really fruits not veggies. And then eat them?