How To Get Your Children To Eat More Vegetables
Many children hate vegetables, and many who don’t like them likely eat more junk food. Here’s some advice on how to get kids to eat more vegetables.
That’s how important it is to eat more vegetables
Vegetables are a healthy and abundant source of:
- Vitamins (like A, C, and B9)
- Minerals (such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium, and iron)
- Fiber
- Antioxidants
All of these nutrients are essential to the diet.
The consumption of vegetables, fruits and legumes supports both proper nutrition for children and healthy lifestyle habits. Eating a healthy diet is the key to avoiding nutritional deficiencies and preventing diseases such as arteriosclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome, anemia, cancer, osteoporosis, etc.
This is how you can get kids to eat more vegetables
Offer them vegetables from an early age
Try introducing your children to many different flavors from a young age. The sooner the better. Babies can start eating vegetables like carrots, green beans, and potatoes between the ages of five and six months. You can either just boil the vegetables until soft and serve them as finger food or mash them into a pulp.
At eight months old, you can have them try tomatoes (cooked, without seeds or skin). Once the little ones are one year old, try to cook them whole and cooked. You can then start giving them raw salads between the ages of 12 and 18 months. Avoid serving them cabbage or artichokes, however, as these foods can cause gas and gas .
Don’t give up and keep trying
It’s okay for kids to refuse to eat vegetables. In this case, just keep trying and taking it step-by-step. Don’t force, challenge, or punish them for not wanting to try certain foods. All this leads to is psychological rejection and linking vegetables to something bad.
Fun meals can encourage your children to eat more vegetables
A 2012 study found that children like foods with lots of ingredients and colors, especially when they form a certain shape. Try serving a porridge of different colors (carrots for orange, beets for purple), or make animal faces or a forest out of broccoli.
If they still don’t like vegetables, offer them other options
If your kids don’t like what you’re offering them, let them choose between vegetables or legumes. That way, they’ll participate in the decision and it will be more fun for them to try new things. It is also a great way to see what your child likes.
Another tip is that you take your kids with you shopping and let them choose the vegetables they like best.
Let your kids help cook
Include your children in the cooking process to encourage them to eat more vegetables. You can put together simple dishes such as salads. Or let them heat the plate in the microwave. The little ones are usually more inclined to try food if they helped make it.
Everyone in the family should also eat more vegetables
Children copy what they see. It is therefore important that the whole family also eat more vegetables. Keep fruits, vegetables, and legumes where your children can see them. When they see everyone eating these foods, they feel important and like the adults.
Mix healthy foods into your children’s favorite dishes to encourage them to eat more vegetables
Most of the time, kids like mac & cheese, scrambled eggs, pizza, etc. These are wonderful dishes that you can add extra veggies to. Another way is to mix foods with healthy sauces. Some dishes will be more popular than others, such as cauliflower and cheese versus cooked broccoli. You can also cook the vegetables tempura-style and then eat them like fries.
Yes, it’s probably true that kids don’t always enjoy eating their veggies, but with the above tips and fun with meals, your little ones will be eating more veggies in no time!
