Top 10 Tips for Getting Your Kids to Eat More Veggies
September 28th, 2010 
Carol 
“Yuck! I don’t like that!” Sadly, that refrain is all too familiar around today’s family dinner table. Parent after parent despairs that their child won’t eat vegetables. And they’re right: On average, most American children are not eating the recommended 3-5 or more servings of vegetables daily. (See My Pyramid Plan to enter your child’s individual information and get an exact recommendation from the U.S.D.A.: http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx.)
And yet vegetables are a key component in the diet of all growing kids. Veggies are nutrient powerhouses: they pack a big dose of nutrition in a small number of calories. In addition to being the primary source of many micronutrients crucial for healthy growth, development and energy, they also provide a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber, with a lot less sugar than most fruit (another excellent, real food source of micronutrients and fiber). Not surprisingly, fiber is another nutrient falling behind in the average American child’s diet.
Together, healthy amounts of micronutrients (such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc) and fiber in a child’s diet can also help to prevent or reverse childhood obesity The nutrients and fiber from a broad range of vegetables can help a child to feel full, and may stave off cravings for sweeter, lower-quality carbohydrate sources like crackers, cookies, soda and candy.
So how do you get a finicky eater to actually eat some of these nutrient gems?
Try our top 10 tips below to get started:
1. Serve water instead of sweet drinks – Giving your kids soda, juice, or even too much milk between meals throughout the day can keep their hunger signal turned off and their “sweet tooth” powered up. Switch to water to “turn on” their natural appetite and make them hungry for more variety.
2. Positive peer pressure – If kids see their friends eating something, they’re much more likely to eat it, too! Seeing even one friend eating his salad can help your child give hers a try.
3. Finger food, dips and sprinkles – Offer veggies “kid-size”, like individual mini broccoli “trees” or baby carrots. Dressing up plain veggies with dips and shakers (try parmesan cheese or ground sesame seeds) turns something simple into something special.
4. Bridge with the familiar - Try offering a new veggie served in exactly the same way you offer one they already like, such as homemade sweet potato fries cut like fast food fries.
5. Roast ‘em (especially roots and greens) – Roasted root veggies (carrots, beets, winter squash, etc) taste like nature’s candy. Try roasting greens, too (such as asparagus, kale, Brussels sprouts) for a crispy/soft texture.
6. Shred and bake – Grated soft vegetables can be easily tucked into almost any baked goods. Try things like zucchini, carrots, and sweet potatoes in muffins, cakes, and even cookies.
7. Invisible veggies: purees – If your child won’t touch a veggie with a ten foot pole, start by making them “invisible”. Puree and mix them into meatloaf, sauce, or even Mac & Cheese. Be sure to match the colors!
8. Kids in the kitchen – Encourage your kids to help out in the kitchen. Ask them to wash and sort the veggies, or arrange them in a pretty way on the platter.
9. Make your own (pizza, salad, etc) – Set up “bars” and let kids decorate their own pizzas, salads, or even soup with a veggie assortment. If they make it, they’ll eat it.
10. Grow your own – Don’t live on a farm? No problem! Everyone can grow a batch of sprouts (see www.sproutpeople.com for great how-to tips and supplies). For kids, helping veggies grow makes them taste best!
Jeannette Bessinger and Tracee Yablon-Brenner are Co-Authors of the newest entry in the best-selling Great Expectations series, “Best Food for Your Baby & Toddler” (Sterling Publishing / June 1, 2010 / $14.95). The book covers all aspects of feeding a baby from birth through age three—from breastfeeding through toddler food preparation.
Jeannette Bessinger is a board-certified holistic health counselor and owner of Balance for Life, LLC (www.balanceforlifellc.com). An award-winning lifestyle and nutrition educator, Bessinger developed a nutrition- and cooking-based obesity prevention program for Head Start parents and toddlers with a grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics. With a grant from the Rhode Island Department of Health, Bessinger helped design a citywide obesity prevention/intervention plan for families. She is a nutrition and healthy-lifestyle consultant for various hospital and public school wellness initiatives, a personal family chef, and recipe designer for the Organically Good Café and thehealthypantry.com.
Tracee Yablon-Brenner is a registered dietitian, board-certified holistic health counselor, and the founder of Nutrition is Healing (www.nutritionishealing.com). She completed her internship in dietetics at New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center, and is American Dietetic Association trained in childhood and adolescent weight management. Yablon-Brenner is a member of the American Dietetic Association and Pediatric and Diabetic Practice Groups, the American Botanical Society, the Haworth School Wellness Committee, and Action for Healthy Kids.
©September 2010
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