Entice Your Children With Veggies
Does this scenario sound familiar: dinnertime in your home is not very pleasant, perhaps it is because your child refuses to eat his/her veggies or you are trying everything in your power to make them eat their veggies. No matter which way
you look at it, it seems like a never-ending battle.
Well, fret no more..there are several ways to get your children to eat their veggies. Try these tips that have worked in our home and many of the moms I have suggested them to.
* Monkey see, monkey do – sounds like a game and that’s just fine. With toddlers you need to make eating fun and enjoyable. If they see you eating your veggies they will be more likely to try their own. Make a big deal of eating your veggies. Yes, pretend if you have to, but show your child that you really love your veggies and they will be curious and want to be like ‘mommy’ or ‘daddy’ and eat their veggies too.
* Get your children involved – Allow your children to help with the meal preparation. Little ones can help in the kitchen too. Have the little ones scrub the potatoes or carrots. Invest in safety knives and let the kids cut up veggies. If you get them involved in the kitchen, they will learn to love cooking and the bond you are building together as a family. The kids will also learn how certain foods are made and perhaps they will realize that the dreaded peas are just another bean.
* Have some fun – let’s face it, if it’s boring to look at kids will probably not like it. Have some fun and play. Create faces with your vegetables on a paper plate and let your children ‘play’ with their food, creating different faces by switching vegetables around. You’ll be amazed that they will actually eat their creations if you just ‘lighten up’.
* Add some dippers – kids love sauces and love to dip their food in sauces. For some reason kids think their food will taste better if they are allowed to dip them in sauces. Make the sauces available, such as ranch, ketchup, honey mustard and create your own too.
Crunchy vs Soft – Many times it’s not the vegetable itself that is not appealing to the child but the texture or consistency. Some kids don’t like mushy vegetables and there are some that don’t like the crunchiness of raw vegetables. If you have been offering your child a cooked version of a vegetable, and they are not receptive to it, try giving them the raw version and vice versa.
* Be creative – a trick that works in our home is steaming vegetables, then blending them and adding them to sauces, like spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. Coming from a Spanish background, my mom taught me to blend together peppers, onions, garlic and cilantro to add to many of our foods. You can do the same and have your children eat veggies without them every knowing. (Sneaky, but it works)
* Make smoothies – I know what you are thinking, smoothies are made with fruit; but have you tried a ‘green smoothie’. At first my kiddos were not too keen on the idea of a ‘green smoothie’, but once they tried them, they were hooked. You can add spinach, kale, romaine lettuce along with fruits to sweeten and they will get loads of vitamins. I will share our favorite ‘green smoothie’ recipe so you can try it at home. I’m sure you’ll be hooked too.
* No separate meals – It’s easy to resort to feeding your little ones the foods they will eat just to make sure they are eating something. But this will give them the idea that they don’t have to eat what the rest of the family eats because mommy or daddy will make them a special meal. Make the same meal for everyone. The only exception to this rule is if your child has a certain allergy or may be a vegetarian, where a special diet is required.
* Don’t force the issue – we’ve all heard the term ‘choose your battles wisely’, you’ll soon realize that another parent very well could have made it up. Please don’t force your children to eat their vegetables. Using some of the tips I’ve provided above will help to avoid the battles.
* Consistency is key – just as it is needed in every day life, it also applies to healthy eating. Don’t give up, and continue to offer different foods to your children. We have a rule in our home, that all must follow. You must try it, taste it, chew it and swallow it and if you don’t like it after that, then you don’t have to eat it. However, we still introduce the different foods and continue to do so, because they may end up enjoying it after all.
Sometimes a battle with kids and vegetable eating can be tiresome and stressful, making it tempting to give up. Yes, children can be stubborn, but eventually they will come around and in the long run they might even thank you for sticking to your guns on this issue. Even if they don’t come out and say it, their body and healthy will definitely thank you.
you look at it, it seems like a never-ending battle.
Well, fret no more..there are several ways to get your children to eat their veggies. Try these tips that have worked in our home and many of the moms I have suggested them to.
* Monkey see, monkey do – sounds like a game and that’s just fine. With toddlers you need to make eating fun and enjoyable. If they see you eating your veggies they will be more likely to try their own. Make a big deal of eating your veggies. Yes, pretend if you have to, but show your child that you really love your veggies and they will be curious and want to be like ‘mommy’ or ‘daddy’ and eat their veggies too.
* Get your children involved – Allow your children to help with the meal preparation. Little ones can help in the kitchen too. Have the little ones scrub the potatoes or carrots. Invest in safety knives and let the kids cut up veggies. If you get them involved in the kitchen, they will learn to love cooking and the bond you are building together as a family. The kids will also learn how certain foods are made and perhaps they will realize that the dreaded peas are just another bean.
* Have some fun – let’s face it, if it’s boring to look at kids will probably not like it. Have some fun and play. Create faces with your vegetables on a paper plate and let your children ‘play’ with their food, creating different faces by switching vegetables around. You’ll be amazed that they will actually eat their creations if you just ‘lighten up’.
* Add some dippers – kids love sauces and love to dip their food in sauces. For some reason kids think their food will taste better if they are allowed to dip them in sauces. Make the sauces available, such as ranch, ketchup, honey mustard and create your own too.
Crunchy vs Soft – Many times it’s not the vegetable itself that is not appealing to the child but the texture or consistency. Some kids don’t like mushy vegetables and there are some that don’t like the crunchiness of raw vegetables. If you have been offering your child a cooked version of a vegetable, and they are not receptive to it, try giving them the raw version and vice versa.
* Be creative – a trick that works in our home is steaming vegetables, then blending them and adding them to sauces, like spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. Coming from a Spanish background, my mom taught me to blend together peppers, onions, garlic and cilantro to add to many of our foods. You can do the same and have your children eat veggies without them every knowing. (Sneaky, but it works)
* Make smoothies – I know what you are thinking, smoothies are made with fruit; but have you tried a ‘green smoothie’. At first my kiddos were not too keen on the idea of a ‘green smoothie’, but once they tried them, they were hooked. You can add spinach, kale, romaine lettuce along with fruits to sweeten and they will get loads of vitamins. I will share our favorite ‘green smoothie’ recipe so you can try it at home. I’m sure you’ll be hooked too.
* No separate meals – It’s easy to resort to feeding your little ones the foods they will eat just to make sure they are eating something. But this will give them the idea that they don’t have to eat what the rest of the family eats because mommy or daddy will make them a special meal. Make the same meal for everyone. The only exception to this rule is if your child has a certain allergy or may be a vegetarian, where a special diet is required.
* Don’t force the issue – we’ve all heard the term ‘choose your battles wisely’, you’ll soon realize that another parent very well could have made it up. Please don’t force your children to eat their vegetables. Using some of the tips I’ve provided above will help to avoid the battles.
* Consistency is key – just as it is needed in every day life, it also applies to healthy eating. Don’t give up, and continue to offer different foods to your children. We have a rule in our home, that all must follow. You must try it, taste it, chew it and swallow it and if you don’t like it after that, then you don’t have to eat it. However, we still introduce the different foods and continue to do so, because they may end up enjoying it after all.
Sometimes a battle with kids and vegetable eating can be tiresome and stressful, making it tempting to give up. Yes, children can be stubborn, but eventually they will come around and in the long run they might even thank you for sticking to your guns on this issue. Even if they don’t come out and say it, their body and healthy will definitely thank you.
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