Plants evolved to either encourage their consumption by tasting sweet or turn herbivores away by tasting bitter.  Humans taste buds evolved to detect which foods were nutritious and safe to eat. Sweet foods typically have a higher energy content than bitter foods, so it is of no surprise that people are drawn to sweet tasty treats.  However that is not the end of the story. 

 It turns out that there are two different gene sequences that make up our bitter taste buds.  Once sequence allows the compound that makes up bitter taste to pass unnoticed, while the other sequence will cause the bitter taste to be apparent.  So it is no wonder that some children will not think twice about eating a plate full of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.  For those children who are labeled picky eaters it is not a picky disposition.  They truly do not like the taste of veggies, and it is due to genetic make up.

 If you or your spouse were a picky eater as a young child, there is a good chance your child will be too.  What is parent to do with a child that simply does not like their vegetables?  Cut your children a little slack, but make sure you still offer a variety of wholesome choices.  You can also resort to adding vegetable purees to food that you know they will like.  Some of our favorites are scrambled eggs with pureed cauliflower, pasta sauce with pureed sweet potato or carrot, and pancakes with pureed beets.

 Most importantly remember that in the end you learned to like vegetables, and your child will too.   A healthy dose of patience as well as repeated exposure to new foods, textures, colors, and smells is the best way to encourage your child to expand their palette.

Several months ago I stumbled on a cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld called Deceptively Delicious. She recommends pureeing vegetables and adding them to foods that you know your child will eat. Scrambled eggs with pureed cauliflower, chicken noodle soup with pureed sweet potato, and pink pancakes with pureed beets have become staples around our house. You cannot even taste the added vegetables.

I started following recipes in the cookbook, but now I simply add the pureed veggies to whatever I am cooking. Once you are ready to experiment on your own start small with proportions and add the vegetables to similar colored dishes. I make the purees monthly and freeze the extra portions until I am ready to use them.

Tricking your toddler into eating their veggies is a short term solution that can offer you peace of mind. However, remember to keep offering wholesome choices to your toddler. Most experts agree that it can take up to 20 times or more of offering a food before your baby or toddler tries it.