I have said before that my son is a first class picky eater. He hates everything that isn’t sweet, mushy or drizzled with honey. In my mission to get more green veggies into his little body, I have discovered a little trick that I’m really proud of: adding spinach to his juice!

We have a juicer, and I use it every day. Max, my four-year-old, likes to operate it. (It’s very safe!) So I cut up the apples for him, and he pushes them through and watches the juice drip into his cup. One day, I decided to put a few spinach leaves in the juicer before he loaded the first apple slice. And guess what? He didn’t even notice! He kept saying how delicious his green juice was. Mark one in the Win column for Mommy.

Now, he actually puts the spinach into the juicer himself, and he’s so proud. We have also used kale, and it was just as undetectable. It’s a small victory, but at least I know he’s getting some green juice into his diet every day. I have used other green leafy veggies, too, like beet tops and swiss chard, and they hardly have any taste when added to apple or carrot juice. 

We still try to get him to actually EAT the green vegetables, but in the mean time, I am thrilled when I see him enjoying his green juice drink in the afternoon. Let me know if you decide to try this and how it works!

My three-year-old is the prime example of a picky eater.

We have to be picky on his behalf because of his food allergies (egg, peanuts, tree nuts), and he is picky on top of that. Add those two together and you get a very short list of accepted foods. While the foods he does eat are pretty healthy, it can be frustrating to see him eat the same things over and over. (And somewhat embarassing to send different combos of the same foods to school each day. )

We try to have him taste a new food or two each day, and that has been somewhat successful. Mostly, he will just touch his tongue on the food and then move back to his snack of choice. We consider these small victories.  We mainly worry about him getting enough protein, as he doesn’t like meat and is allergic to eggs and nuts.  Heaven knows that he eats enough dairy to TURN INTO a cow, so hopefully the milk, cream cheese and yogurt is sustaining him.

Do you have any tips for parents of picky eaters? I would love them! How do you get them to try new foods? Do you cook only one option for dinner and have a “take-it-or-leave-it” policy? Or do you make different foods for each picky eater’s meal? Just what every multi-tasking mom needs: one more task at dinner time!

More importantly, if you have recipe ideas for cream cheese, cheese or mashed potatoes that incorporate healthy options which a picky three-year-old will actually swallow, I will be forever grateful.  Protein sources appreciated!