How to Get Kids to Eat Vegetables

Submitted by Serena Mason on May 18, 2010

Vegetables play a vital role in a healthy life. Parents earnestly strive to ensure that their children eat vegetables every day. This is because veggies are the best source for numerous vitamins and other fortifying nutrients. It can be a real challenge to make your kids eat vegetables as they turn their noses up at anything that is served green. In light of this, here are some tips to get your children to eat more vegetables.

Don’t force your kids: The first and foremost thing is to change your approach towards eating.

Don’t force your children to eat what you actually want them to eat. Try feeding them initially with a spoonful of veggies by making remarks like it is nutritional, it tastes good, or it will make you healthy and strong. Kids are fast learners and can be moulded in the right direction by your selection of words.

Serve salad before meals: The best way to make your kid eat vegetable is before meals when your child is hungry.

Serve a bowl of raw vegetable or a salad of cold, cooked vegetables.

Quick snacks: Keep cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, celery sticks, and sliced sweet peppers in the refrigerator so that whenever your kid is hungry he/she lays his/her hand on these healthy snacks.

Let them select: Kids always want to try new things. Give them all the cooked ingredients and let them make their own taco with lettuce leaves, tomato, and mashed potatoes with cheese sauce.

Serve everyday: Habits die hard. Make your kids familiar with vegetables and their nutritional values.

Serve at least one veggie at each meal. Make veggies a standard part in the meals you serve to your family.

Involve kids in shopping: While shopping for vegetables, take your kid along so that he/she observes, chooses, and then expects it to be cooked for him/her.

Set an example: Your kids will do what they see you doing. Your selection of food will be your children’s food preferences and their food-intake patterns will be shaped accordingly.

Besides, adults need veggies too.

Be creative: If your child doesn’t like eating raw vegetables, make muffins by adding pumpkin and carrots to it, or make sandwiches by tucking lettuce leaves and tomatoes, or add a handful of frozen vegetables to soups or ramen noodle, or make pizza by adding chopped broccoli or spinach.

Try new recipes: Don't be afraid to experiment .Modify the recipes of foods that your kids already like to eat, like smoothies or yogurt and add fruits or vegetables to them.