Oh boy. I think this is a topic that nearly every parent struggles with: How to get your kids to eat their veggies. If you are lucky, your kids love them. I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority do NOT. I don’t know when or how it exactly happens. As babies, my kids chowed down on the veggies. Then somewhere along they way they started refusing them. Here are my top 10 tricks to getting them to eat their veggies:
- Serve Spaghetti- Spaghetti sauce almost always has at least one serving of vegetables and they kids don’t even know it. Hubs said I needed a veggie for a side but when I pointed out that there were veggies in the sauce he thought that was pretty clever. We usually eat a salad on the side but the kids just pick the croutons out.
- Use dip- Kids love dipping things. My daughter loves salad dressing. She calls it “dress up”. She’ll try just about anything as long as she gets dress it up. Whether it’s ranch, honey mustard, italian…whatever your kids like, it could be the difference between some bites of veggies or none.
- CHEESE!- Cheese makes EVERYTHING taste better.
- Chips- If raw carrots are cut into rounds with a scalloped cutter to give it a ridged look I can almost convince my kids they’re “chips”. They crunch like a chip and they can dip them in ranch like a chip.
- Hide them- What? The kids hide them from YOU when they don’t want to eat them, don’t they? Add some cooked cauliflower to the mashed potatoes. The kids will never know
- Play with your food- Use red peppers to make lips, broccoli for hair, olives for eyes and a carrot for a nose. Kids might have fun gobbling up their creations.
- Try, Try, Try Again- I found that my kids prefer cooked or canned carrots over raw ones because I kept offering them different variations. If they turn up their nose at cooked broccoli, try serving it raw instead.
- Build your own salad- Again, kids like to eat things they create so give them a basic salad and lots of options for toppings including non-veggie items like cheese and hard boiled eggs. Have them select at least one veggie topping.
- Let them help you shop- Start out introducing your kids to new things in the produce aisle. Ask them what they think looks interesting and what they want to try.
- Don’t give up- We always serve a veggie and while we don’t always enforce a one or two bite rule, at least they get used to the idea that veggies should be served with dinner. Eventually they may try it on their own and like it. When all else fails, serve up the ones you know they’ll eat.
What are your tips and tricks for getting your children to eat veggies? I could certainly use any new tips for my own kids- especially my son, the pickiest of our three. Please share by leaving a comment!
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Peas and Thank You blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here.