Getting children to eat their vegetables can be a real nightmare. It takes some imagination, time, but also a great deal of patience.
It’s no news that vegetables are a must for kids but they should be an essential part of everyone’s diet, as they’re full of different nutrients. Ideally, they should eat a wide variety of different vegetables and fruits to get all the nutrients they need.
However, if you feel that it is difficult to get them to try new vegetables, it is better to eat the same vegetables than not to eat any at all. If you do not know where to start, take a look at our tips.
Start With Sweet Varieties
Carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, and beets are some of the sweetest vegetables, which can be easier to start with.
The reason why children are more willing to eat fruit instead of veggies is that they prefer sweetness to the bitterness of certain vegetables, so a good idea is to first start with sweet varieties and then introduce new varieties one at a time.
Put them as a side dish and see what happens when they get used to the taste.
Turn Raw Vegetables Into Skewers
Raw vegetables for kids are usually not a big hit, but you should persist and come up with interesting ways to serve them.
You can chop raw vegetables like carrots, zucchini, broccoli and put them on a skewer too.
Kids love to experiment and play with their hands, so why not make dipping sauces from different vegetables such as hummus and encourage them to try them. This will make the plate and meal much more colorful and enticing.
Make sure you offer vegetable skewers as an appetizer before the main meals. It takes advantage of your children’s hunger and makes them more likely to try new things.
Make The Food Playful
Kids love to play with their food, so why not turn this to your advantage. A super easy and fun way to do this is by cooking together.
Take some fresh pieces of crispy carrots, peppers, and celery and put them on a skewer. Your children will find it great fun to eat some vegetarian burgers while dipping them in a ranch sauce or Greek yogurt.
Making faces out of vegetables is more fun than you might think. Try using broccoli for hair, slices of mushrooms for ears, black seedless olives for eyes, and carrot sticks for a smile. Challenge your children to create a character, a monster or a princess, or their own self-portrait. There are endless opportunities to have fun in a healthy way.
Mix Green Vegetables For Fruit Smoothies
An excellent and brilliant way to help children get the nutrients they need is to blend green vegetables in fruit smoothies.
You can choose some spinach or kale leaves or some chopped zucchini and use them together mixed with a ripe banana and a little almond or coconut milk. Your child won’t even notice that you have used them and they will love the taste of the mouth-watering smoothie.
You can also try making a smoothie with blueberries, beets, bananas, and orange juice. Carrots, cucumbers, and broccoli are also easy to hide when you mix them with fruits such as grapes, pears, red berries, or pineapple juice.
Use The Colors Of The Rainbow
Adults know that the body can greatly benefit from a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants if we eat a diet with varied colors. Children, on the other hand, do not care so much about nutritional facts. So if you want to get your kids to appreciate a varied and healthy diet, why not focus on color?
It’s a fun way to make food more appealing and what could be more fun for kids than eating a rainbow.
Choose some colorful fruits like strawberries or raspberries for red, apricots or tangerines for orange, pineapple or bananas for yellow, green grapes or kiwi for green, and blueberries for purple. Put them in the shape of a rainbow and your children will find it exciting to eat foods in all of these vibrant colors.
Final Thoughts
These tips can be helpful for all parents to make vegetables more attractive to their children. Vegetables are an important part of children’s health and growth because they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
You just have to use your imagination to make fun and colorful food creations to encourage and attract your children to enjoy eating vegetables.
If your little one is reluctant to eat, don’t worry. You don’t have to push your child, all you need is patience and over time, your child will develop a taste for them.
