25/03/2019
How do I get my kid to eat more vegetables?
Kids often go through stages in taste preferences, changing their minds almost daily about foods they love and hate. It’s completely normal for your child to enjoy a certain food and then say, “No way!” the very next day.
Vegetables can be difficult for kids of any age. Given the struggle that lots of parents face when it comes to getting more vegetables on the family table, I gathered these tips and tricks from some of my favorite dietitian bloggers on the web.
Tip 1: Get Kids Involved
Take them to a farmers market or grocery store and have them pick out a veggie. Let them wash, peel, and slice it and help choose how to cook and flavor it. Kids will be more likely to eat what they helped to make.
Tips 2: Combine Old and New
If your child already likes plain pizza, see if she'll try adding a single veggie topping. Some kids don't like to mix foods, especially messing with one they think is already perfect.
Tip 3: Appearance is Important
Try to choose veggies of different shapes, colors, textures and tastes, the more variety there is, the more likely it is your child will find something that she/he’s interested in eating. Remember that taste matters.
Tip 4: Don't Battle Over Veggies
When you're frustrated that your child won't try a veggie, it can be tempting to get mad or force her/him to clean her/his plate. But resist the urge. Punishing your child for not eating vegetables can turn vegetables into a negative thing for your child. If your child refuses to eat, it’s best to take her meal away after about 20 minutes. Try not to make a big deal about it, just try again another time.
Tip 5: Continue to introduce (and re-introduce) vegetables
If you've offered broccoli or spinach to your child several times and she's made a yucky face, don't give up. Kids' tastes change as they grow. They might have to try a new food a dozen times before they like it.
Tip 6: Set a Good Example
Your child learns about food choices from you, so the best way to encourage your child to eat vegetables is to let her/him see you eating and enjoying yourself.
Family meals are a good time to teach your child about healthy eating, including eating vegetables.
Tips 7: Mix veggies into favorite meals: Be Sneaky
Blend veggies into a sauce, such as pureed cauliflower in a cheese sauce, or finely chop them into a bolognese.
In the short term, you can disguise vegetables in foods you know your child likes to eat. For example, you could include pureed or grated vegetables in pasta sauce or soups.
Tip 8: remove the vegetable’s competition: Traci Mann Strategy
The strategy is from Traci Mann, a psychologist at the University of Minnesota. She’s been studying eating habits for more than 20 years, and she says that in order to get your kids to eat vegetables you have to remove the vegetable’s competition called “ get along with the vegetable”. Basically what her research shows is that when vegetables are paired with other enticing foods, the vegetable will always lose to the competition. Kids will eat the enticing foods enough to feel satiated, and just like my own kids did, they will push the vegetables aside. By removing the vegetable’s competition altogether, the kids have only one choice to eat, vegetables.
More details:
Kids often go through stages in taste preferences, changing their minds almost daily about foods they love and hate. It’s completely normal for your child to en
