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Fruit | Vegetables, raw or cooked; if your child won’t eat fresh fruits, try dried fruits such as apricots, pears, raisins, cherries, mango, pineapple, and bananas, and gradually introduce fresh fruits; make pureed sauces for yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit and gradually introduce chunks of whole fruit; serve applesauce instead of whole fruit. If your child refuses citrus fruits, offer alternative sources of
vitamin C (eg, strawberries, cantaloupe, vitamin C-enriched juices, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, watermelon, potatoes); try mixing fruits such as blueberries, chopped apples, and bananas in muffin, quick bread, and waffle batters. |
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Meat |
Fish, poultry,
eggs, tofu, legumes (dried beans, chickpeas, and peas) and grains, and peanut butter; use chopped vegetable mixtures instead of ground meat or poultry to make pasta sauces, taco fillings; breads, crackers, and pasta made with iron-fortified flour. |
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Milk | Cheeses, yogurts, and other dairy foods made with cow’s, goat’s, or sheep’s milk; soy- and rice-based substitutes for milk and cheese (ask your pediatrician whether your child should be taking
supplements of vitamins B12 and D); canned fish with bones (salmon, sardines, herring) for
calcium and vitamin D; good vegetable sources of calcium such as broccoli; safe exposure to
sunlight for vitamin D. |
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Vegetables | If your child refuses green leafy vegetables, try dark-yellow and orange vegetables (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes) for vitamin A and
folic acid, fruits and
fruit juices for vitamin C, as well as folic acid; a child who turns down cooked vegetables may enjoy raw vegetable sticks and salads; offer
low-sodium vegetable juice instead of fruit juice; children who balk at plain vegetables may enjoy Asian-style stir-fried vegetables; make pasta and taco sauces with finely chopped vegetables instead of, or in addition to, meat. |
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Whole-grain breads | High-fiber white bread; whole wheat and rye crackers; whole wheat pasta. |