Tired of seeing broccoli left untouched on your child’s plate? It can be extremely frustrating when, try as you may, their love for kale just isn’t happening. Don’t despair just yet – skip the bribery and nagging and try these 5 proven ways that can help get your kids to eat- even enjoy- vegetables.
Serve Vegetables First
When my daughter was a young child she’d come into the kitchen as I was preparing dinner to tell me (very dramatically) that she was “staaarrrving.” Rather than give her crackers or packaged snacks to tide her over, I’d hand her some of whatever vegetable I was cutting up to munch on. Sometimes I’d give her a little bowl of Ranch dressing to dip it in. Her appetite definitely made her more receptive to vegetables. That seems to hold true for kids in general. In one study, school kids who received cut up vegetables to nibble as they waited on the lunch line ate significantly more vegetables overall. So give your kids a little amuse bouche of vegetables, and watch that produce get devoured.
Get Kids Involved
The Cookshop program in NYC found that when you teach kids about vegetables and give them hands on experience in preparing and cooking them, they are more likely to eat bigger portions. Start at the shopping phase and let your kids choose the vegetables at the grocery store or farmers market. If you can, plant your own garden at home. Assign them age appropriate tasks in the kitchen to get them involved.
Add Purees
A study by Dr. Barbara Rolls, researcher at Penn State, showed that adding pureed vegetables into all of the main dishes of the day increased veggie intake by 100% in 3-5 year olds. Try mixing pureed butternut squash into mac and cheese, pureed cauliflower into mashed potatoes or pumpkin puree into pancake or muffin batter.
Recipe: Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
Double Up
Rolls also found that when kids are offered a greater variety of vegetables on their plates, they automatically eat more vegetables overall. Don’t just serve one veggie at meals, but offer 2 different ones.
Do Dip
If your kids love hummus or ranch dressing, that just may be your golden ticket to getting them to eat their vegetables. In one study, only 31% of kids reported liking a vegetable alone, but when paired with dip, 64% approved. Cut up several veggies and serve with their favorite dip as an afternoon snack.
Recipe: Yogurt Ranch Dressing
