I like vegetables and fruits, well except for tomatoes and radishes.
However, I cannot get myself to eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables, nevertheless the kids. I do not even know what the daily-recommended amount is for a 37-year-old woman. If I hit three veggies or fruits a day I am pretty pleased with myself. My lowest point was two weeks before Christmas when I only ate 3 or 4 vegetables/fruits the entire week. I must say I had very poor energy levels that week.
With my lack of veggie enthusiasm in mind, I thought I would research suggestions on how to get my veggie mojo in gear for the kids and me.
Here are my top 5 favorite suggestions for getting kids to LOVE veggies:
Here are my top 5 favorite suggestions for getting kids to LOVE veggies:(And, remember you are taking advice from a mom who fed her son cheese sticks and fruit snacks for a month because he refused to eat anything else!)
1) Pile the veggies on your plate: If you don’t eat your veggies than neither will your kids. Model health eating and they will too…one day…hopefully.
2) Put one veggie on your kid’s plate: Put one kind of every vegetable on your child’s plate and don’t say anything. If they say they don’t like it, agree. We all have different tastes. Encourage one bite. If it happens, great. If not, don’t stress. Your child will be okay. Just keep on offering them those veggies. (It takes 8 to 10 tries to like something)
3) Give your veggies cute names: How did I get my kids to eat brussel sprouts? I told them they were cute little baby cabbages. And for some reason they ate them. Make veggies fun and get the kids involved in the veggie process. Start fights between the carrots and the broccoli. Let you children pick out veggies at the store. Plant a garden. The possibilities are endless. Let your veggie imagination soar!
4) Hide the veggies: I am not a big fan of hiding veggie in food. I think brownies should be made with butter and not broccoli or spinach. My pediatrician told me when Kyle started solids “a mom cannot go on forever hiding veggies in her children’s food. At some point they will have to learn to eat them.” But, some children just won’t eat them, so cultivate their tastes by adding them to foods they love. It won’t hurt them. You feel better. And remember as long as you keep offering, your child will one day in the future eat their veggies.
5) Use Bacon and Butter: Who wants to eat just plain vegetables all the time? There is a reason God gave us bacon and butter…to help the veggies go down! Butter up your children’s taste buds by adding delicious flavors to their vegetables.
And with most things in parenting: 1) Consistency pays off 2) and even if your child never eats a vegetable again, you are trying and you ARE DOING A GOOD JOB mom!
How have you gotten your kids to eat their veggies? PLEASE share below!
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