By: Susanne Myers
Do you have trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies? I
sure do.
My daughter used to be great about trying and eating just about
anything…and then she turned 2 ½. Now it is pretty much
impossible to get her to eat anything other than corn when it
comes to vegetables. So I had to come up with some fun and
sometimes sneaky ways to get some veggies in her. Here are a
few of my favorites.
1) Make big pot of vegetable soup, and then add some fun
noodle shapes. You can use alphabet noodles or look for some
fun novelty shapes. You may be able to find some cartoon
characters, toy and sports shapes etc. I have even seen
pumpkin and Christmas tree shapes. With a little luck your kids
will be too busy spelling words, or identifying the shape to notice
all the veggies they are eating in the soup.
2) If you can’t make them eat it, make them drink it. Pour some
vegetable juice over ice and add a straw, a cocktail umbrella or
a stick of celery and watch them drink it up. Your kids may not
get as much fiber as eating the entire vegetable, but getting
them to drink their vegetables is better than not getting any
vegetables in their system.
3) Have you tried offering them some raw vegetables with some
ranch dressing to dip them in? Many kids who don’t care much
for cooked vegetables will eat them up if they can dip them. Just
grab a bag of baby carrots and cut up some red and yellow
peppers and some cucumber. Arrange them on a plate with a
little bit of ranch dressing or your favorite vegetable dip on the
side.
4) Take it even a step further and let them create artwork out of
their vegetables. Offer raw vegetables in different colors and
shapes and encourage them to make a vegetable collage on
their plate. You can easily make a face using slices of cucumber
as eyes, a baby carrot as nose and a slice of red pepper as a
mouth. You can use watercress or shredded carrots or even
some cheese as hair. Before you know it, you’ll find them
sampling their “art supplies”.
5) To get them to eat more vegetables at dinnertime try a little
salad bar. Put out some lettuce, some sliced or chopped tomato,
slices of cucumber, shredded carrot, slices of red and yellow
peppers, small broccoli flowerets and anything else you can
think of. You may also want to offer them some choices when it
comes to salad dressing. Favorites in our house are Ranch,
Italian, Catalina, and French. To top it all of set out some
croutons and shredded cheese.
6) Get the kids together and make a cold vegetable pizza. Start
out with a can of crescent rolls. Unroll the dough, but don’t pull
the triangle shapes apart. Instead push the seams together and
bake on a baking sheet according to the package directions. Let
the sheet of dough cool completely, then spread with some
crème cheese (we like a vegetable or herb flavored one) and
top with some thinly sliced raw veggies. Cut into squares and
serve.
7) Get them involved in the kitchen especially when it comes to
cooking. Ask them to wash the vegetables, if they are old
enough let them cut veggies (under your supervision of course),
let them help you stir, or anything else you can think of that
would be age appropriate. You’ll be amazed at how proud they
will be of their finished product. Believe me, they’ll try just about
anything if they made it.
8) If everything else fails, hide the vegetables in other food. My
mom used to make us some special orange mashed potatoes.
We thought it was very fancy, but all she did was to cook some
carrots with the potatoes and mashed them right in there. You
can also cover broccoli with tomato sauce or cheese. Think of a
dish your child really enjoys and sneak a little bit of vegetable in
there.
Give a few of these ideas a try and see which ones work best for
your children. Keep at it and sooner or later they will start to
develop a taste for vegetables.
sure do.
My daughter used to be great about trying and eating just about
anything…and then she turned 2 ½. Now it is pretty much
impossible to get her to eat anything other than corn when it
comes to vegetables. So I had to come up with some fun and
sometimes sneaky ways to get some veggies in her. Here are a
few of my favorites.
1) Make big pot of vegetable soup, and then add some fun
noodle shapes. You can use alphabet noodles or look for some
fun novelty shapes. You may be able to find some cartoon
characters, toy and sports shapes etc. I have even seen
pumpkin and Christmas tree shapes. With a little luck your kids
will be too busy spelling words, or identifying the shape to notice
all the veggies they are eating in the soup.
2) If you can’t make them eat it, make them drink it. Pour some
vegetable juice over ice and add a straw, a cocktail umbrella or
a stick of celery and watch them drink it up. Your kids may not
get as much fiber as eating the entire vegetable, but getting
them to drink their vegetables is better than not getting any
vegetables in their system.
3) Have you tried offering them some raw vegetables with some
ranch dressing to dip them in? Many kids who don’t care much
for cooked vegetables will eat them up if they can dip them. Just
grab a bag of baby carrots and cut up some red and yellow
peppers and some cucumber. Arrange them on a plate with a
little bit of ranch dressing or your favorite vegetable dip on the
side.
4) Take it even a step further and let them create artwork out of
their vegetables. Offer raw vegetables in different colors and
shapes and encourage them to make a vegetable collage on
their plate. You can easily make a face using slices of cucumber
as eyes, a baby carrot as nose and a slice of red pepper as a
mouth. You can use watercress or shredded carrots or even
some cheese as hair. Before you know it, you’ll find them
sampling their “art supplies”.
5) To get them to eat more vegetables at dinnertime try a little
salad bar. Put out some lettuce, some sliced or chopped tomato,
slices of cucumber, shredded carrot, slices of red and yellow
peppers, small broccoli flowerets and anything else you can
think of. You may also want to offer them some choices when it
comes to salad dressing. Favorites in our house are Ranch,
Italian, Catalina, and French. To top it all of set out some
croutons and shredded cheese.
6) Get the kids together and make a cold vegetable pizza. Start
out with a can of crescent rolls. Unroll the dough, but don’t pull
the triangle shapes apart. Instead push the seams together and
bake on a baking sheet according to the package directions. Let
the sheet of dough cool completely, then spread with some
crème cheese (we like a vegetable or herb flavored one) and
top with some thinly sliced raw veggies. Cut into squares and
serve.
7) Get them involved in the kitchen especially when it comes to
cooking. Ask them to wash the vegetables, if they are old
enough let them cut veggies (under your supervision of course),
let them help you stir, or anything else you can think of that
would be age appropriate. You’ll be amazed at how proud they
will be of their finished product. Believe me, they’ll try just about
anything if they made it.
8) If everything else fails, hide the vegetables in other food. My
mom used to make us some special orange mashed potatoes.
We thought it was very fancy, but all she did was to cook some
carrots with the potatoes and mashed them right in there. You
can also cover broccoli with tomato sauce or cheese. Think of a
dish your child really enjoys and sneak a little bit of vegetable in
there.
Give a few of these ideas a try and see which ones work best for
your children. Keep at it and sooner or later they will start to
develop a taste for vegetables.
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Susanne Myers together with Christine Steendahl, owns and
publishes the Healthy Menu Mailer. Each week, we provide you
with 7 dinner recipes. Sign up for a free sample menu at
www.healthymenumailer.com/sample-newsletter-signup.html
Article Source: LadyPens.com
publishes the Healthy Menu Mailer. Each week, we provide you
with 7 dinner recipes. Sign up for a free sample menu at
www.healthymenumailer.com/sample-newsletter-signup.html
Article Source: LadyPens.com
8 Fun Ideas To Get Your Kids To
Eat Their Veggies
Eat Their Veggies
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