Vegetables can be a battleground when it comes to children — from adopting an “all white” diet, to refusing to eat all things green, to “it tastes yucky”.
Fussy eating is one of the first ways children can assert their independence, but it can make dinnertime highly stressful.
So how can you get children eating foods you know are bursting with nutritional goodness?
- Make it fun:The most important thing is to keep a positive environment — have meal time as a family time, around the table and with few distractions. Try to let go of the stress and keep it fun — make funny veggie faces in their mashed potato or try tacos they can make themselves.
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- Patience is a virtue:While it can be frustrating and even concerning when children do not eat certain foods, remember it may take several attempts before a they will accept a new food. It’s all about persistence and patience. And if they choose not to eat a particular vegetable, the good news is there are many more to try.
- Keep it simple:When introducing new vegetables it is generally best to keep things simple. Choose one or two vegetables at a time and include them in small amounts, along with vegetables your child already likes.
- Keep calm:If your child doesn’t like these on the first try, don’t react negatively, as this can lessen the chance that they will try them again in the future. Repeatedly offering small amounts of the same vegetables in this way can lead to children accepting these new foods.
- Snack attack:Try to include veggies in their snacks — it will take the pressure off at dinner time if you know they’ve had some vegetables during the day. Perhaps something fun like avocado dip with celery and capsicum sticks or savoury muffins.
- Helping hands:Get children involved in the cooking — they are more likely to eat something they have helped make. Something simple like decorating mini pizzas by using mushrooms and capsicum or helping to make veggie kebabs for the barbeque.
- Get sneaky:Our first aim is to get children to recognise and accept vegetables for the wonderful colour and nutrition they provide, but if all else fails, hide the veggies. While still persisting in getting them to try vegetables, also sneak them into their favourite meals like grated carrot and zucchini in a pasta sauce, add grated veggies to savoury muffins, and you can even add veggies like carrots to cakes.
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Through a positive environment, repeated exposure to new things children can learn that vegetables are not the enemy, but persistence is the key!
Your say: Do you struggle to get your kids to eat vegetables? Do you have any tips or tricks to include veges in their diet?
Video: Getting your kids to eat their vegetables
