Healthy Tips When Your Child Won’t Eat Their Vegetables

In almost every class that I have taught for parents someone raises their hand to say, “My (husband, daughter, son) hates vegetables.  What should I do?” This is a common worry, especially since the “Five a Day” fruit and vegetable campaign hit the media.

Vegetables are rich in vitamins not found in refined foods so parents are right to be concerned if their children subsist mainly on refined processed foods, sugar and white flour products.

Here are a few suggestions for managing this worry and some creative ways to add more veggies to their diet:

First, what are your own thoughts about vegetable eating. Make sure that you love them, like them or at least appreciate them before asking your children to eat more of them.  What you are thinking about foods also has an affect on your kids.

Next help your child create a relationship with vegetables. One excellent way to improve your child’s interest in vegetables is to let them help you plant and harvest a small vegetable garden. If you don’t have space for a garden, take them to one for a visit.  Let them see, touch and even smell vegetables being grown.

Bring your child with you to the grocery store or market and let them pick out fruits and vegetables that look good to them.

Invite your child to help you prepare vegetables. Let your child make beautiful arrangements on the plate using the bright colors of vegetables.

Don’t make a big fuss if your child refuses vegetables. Instead, eat them yourself and regularly offer them to your child.

Remembering that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, here are some ways to prepare and serve vegetables that may appeal to your child.

Juices

Students who take my classes report great success in getting children to drink various vegetable juices.  Carrot juice is a favorite, especially mixed with a little apple juice.  But remember, juice is not a whole food; the fiber is gone and the sugars become highly concentrated.  Dilute vegetable and fruit juices; one half juice, one half water.

Dippers

You can use raw vegetables as dippers for your child’s favorite dip.  Bean dips, guacamole and tofu dips can be scooped up on a carrot stick, celery stick or a slice of zucchini.  To make vegetables easier to chew and digest, as well as enhancing their flavor, try blanching them.

Soups

Children who refuse a serving of vegetables will often eat the same vegetable in a soup.  If vegetables in their whole form are a turn-off, puree the soup instead.

Muffins

You can add vegetables to muffins and other baked goods. Zucchini, corn, squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes taste great in a muffin mix.

Sandwich spreads

When you’re pureeing beans or tofu or avocado into a tasty sandwich spread, add vegetables.  Parsley, cilantro, fresh basil, red pepper or scallions work well to enhance flavor and nutritive value.  Sometimes I add corn, grated zucchini or chopped green peppers to burritos.  Amidst the beans, salsa, tortillas and all, they are hardly noticed.

Salads

Sometimes it’s just the sight of combined ingredients that turn kids off to salads.  Experiment by offering a single raw vegetable or raw vegetables in separate piles, not mixed together.  Try different shapes and sizes.  Grated beets or radishes, finely sliced cabbage, zucchini, summer squash or daikon (white radish) or even plain lettuce bites can be fun to pick up with small fingers.

With children who eat their fair share of whole grains, fruits, and beans, you can relax some; these foods contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals are present in these foods.

Here’s my video on making roasted potoatos kids will love!

I hope these suggestions will help you to introduce a gentle and fun way for your children to appreciate eating and cooking with vegetables.

How do you help your kids appreciate vegetables? Please share your experience in the comments below!

Original HealthyGreenMoms article. You can learn more about how to cook fresh local organic whole foods despite life’s interruptions by visiting www.cookusinterruptus.com

Tagged as: Eating Well, Kids health