You know that in order to be healthy, your kids have to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. But if they don't want to, you can end up having daily battles, which isn't fun for anyone. Here are some tips to not only avoid the battle but get your children to enjoy their vegetables.
Variety Is the Key to Your Child's Healthy Diet
Offer your child lots of different vegetables. Remember that just because she refuses to eat something now, it doesn't mean she will refuse next week, or even tomorrow. Keep reintroducing a food, even if your child keeps rejecting it. Studies have shown that it can take up to 15 times of offering a new food before some children will even try it.
Eat a variety of veggies yourself. You can't encourage your children to do something that you don't do yourself. If your kids consistently see you enjoying a variety of vegetables and fruits, eventually they will try them too.
Go With Healthy Foods Kids Like
Most children enjoy at least one or two fruits or vegetables, so start with offering those every day. Here are things you might try so they try even more.
- Offer raw veggies and dip. Many children will happily snack on raw veggies with their favorite dip when they won't touch that same cooked veggie at the dinner table.
- Give your veggies and fruits a catchy name. A study released last year from Cornell University revealed that four-year-olds ate twice as many carrots when they were labeled “X-ray vision carrots” than when there was no label at all.
- Puree vegetables into homemade tomato and pizza sauce so your kids get a nutrient boost without even realizing it.
- Don't overcook vegetables. You'll preserve nutrients and the veggies' appearance if they're lightly cooked, and kids will like the fact that they're still crunchy.
- Sweeten them up. Choose sweet potatoes once in a while to mash or cut up for oven-baked fries. Or add maple syrup to roasted squash.
- You can even make desserts with fruits and vegetables: applesauce, pureed prunes and zucchini add moistness to cakes and brownies without adding any flavor.
Involve Your Children In Shopping, Meal Planning and Cooking
Let your children help you with preparation. Younger children can wash veggies or spin salad greens, and older ones can help you chop veggies for salad or a stir-fry.
Take them with you to shop at a farmer's market; they'll learn where their food comes from and be more likely to try foods if they've helped pick them out. Or better yet, grow a few veggies in your own garden if you can. Watching the plants grow and caring for them will motivate your kids to taste them later.
Getting children to add vegetables to their diet doesn't take magic. A few simple steps, and some perseverance on your part, and they'll be munching away on at least a couple of veggies in no time.
Sources:
Keep Kids Healthy, “Getting Kids to Eat Fruits and Vegetables,” March 21, 2010
Science News, “Eat Your Vegetables: Preschoolers Love Vegetables With Catchy Names Like 'X-Ray Vision Carrots' And 'Tomato Bursts,'” March 21, 2010
Raising Children Network, “How to Get Your Child to Eat Vegetables,” March 21, 2010
Karen Sheviak - Karen is a freelance editor who has worked for several of Canada's top consumer magazines, including Style at Home, Today's Parent, ...
