Last night while chopping veggies for dinner I was thinking about blog topics. I've had a few ideas swimming around in my head, but it all came together when I realized that Ollie had dragged his stool into the kitchen to see what I was doing. I showed him the cutting board and we talked about shapes and colors while I was chopping. He was also able to identify every vegetable on the cutting board (as well as the packages of mushrooms and frozen edamame that I had out on the counter. The only thing he wasn't sure about was the garlic--he called it a baby onion). I thought to myself "wow, I wonder how many other almost-three-year-olds could identify all those veggies and will eat most of them?" As I was patting myself on the back, I figured a post on getting your kids to eat vegetables would be appropriate since apparently that's something I'm good at.
This is a subject I'm pretty passionate about, so please accept my apology in advance if I get too preachy or hurt any feelings. About a year ago, I met another mommy at a playgroup and decided that I could not be friends with her because she refused to feed her child vegetables. Her reasoning was that she and her husband didn't like vegetables, so why buy them because her child probably wouldn't eat them anyways and they would end up in the trash. Seriously, this woman pissed me off. How will your child ever grow to like vegetables if she doesn't even have a chance to try them?!?!
A little over a week ago, I read an article about how Americans are getting even worse at eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. Read it HERE. I can't say that I was surprised, but definitely disappointed. Those of us who eat our 5-A-Day are in the minority. And adults who do not eat vegetables raise children who do not eat vegetables. It's a vicious cycle. If you don't teach your children to try new foods and encourage them to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, they will grow up and be in the rising majority of people who deal with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. because of their poor diet. I don't know any parents that would let their child smoke cigarettes...so why is it okay to feed them garbage that has a direct negative impact on their health.
Okay, stepping down off my soapbox now. Here are some tips for getting your kids (and yourself!) to try and eat a variety of vegetables.
1. Provide exposure to lots of variety. Vegetables aren't expensive-- even if you aren't sure you or your kids will like it, buy small amounts of lots of different veggies to try. Try them cooked and raw. Cut veggies different ways and try them cooked different ways. And remember, sometimes it takes many tries for a child to like something.
2. Let them help you prepare food. They are more likely to try something if they watched it being chopped/peeled/etc. Encourage them to tell you shapes, colors, and name their veggies.
3. Be a good role model. This is a big one. If kids see mom and dad turning their nose up at veggies, they won't want to try them either. So suck it up, and pretend you like those peas even if you don't. With older kids, you can be a little more honest. Take a small portion of the things you don't care for and explain to them that you're not crazy about peas but you're eating a little bit because you know it's good for you.
4. Grow it! Sort of along the same lines as letting kids help you prepare the food. If they've invested some time and energy they are more likely to try it. Ollie has eaten (or at least tried) everything that has come out of our garden this year. He loves to pick cherry tomatoes and snow peas and eat them straight off the plant.
5. Dip it. Whether it's in peanut butter, cream cheese, hummus, ranch dressing, or ketchup...kids love to dip.
6. Don't hide it. I know this may be controversial, but if you're being sneaky about hiding pureed veggies then how will your kids learn to like them? I suppose it's okay to hide veggies to boost the nutritional value in some things, but don't use this as an excuse to not serve veggies in their natural form.
7. Add veggies to things your children already like-- mac and cheese, soup, chili, casseroles, etc.
8. Never underestimate the power of bribery. ex. "If you try a bite of sweet potato, I'll give you more grapes." You can use this on yourself (and your spouse) as well. "Honey, I'll make your favorite BBQ ribs if you pretend to like peas in front of the kids..." Sticker charts can also work for trying vegetables.
Bottom line is...don't get frustrated. Set small goals. The point is to get your kids to try things and eat a decent variety, not necessarily to clean their plates. And don't give up if your kids are stubborn. Remember that their future health is at stake.
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