Sneaky ways to get your Kids to Eat more Vegetables

As a parent getting kids to eat their vegetables can be a daunting task. Children can be famously picky eaters with very specific likes and dislikes from taste to texture. Today we at Kinder Buddies Oakville Daycare discuss some great ways to get your child to eat more vegetables.

Make Eating Vegetables Fun

Play with your Food

One of the oldest tricks in the book is to make the veggies visually appealing. Consider fun recipes, think Ants on a Log.

A fun and easy idea to make your veggies more appealing? Consider using Cookie Cutters to turn veggies into fun shapes. Here is an awesome example from Alpha Mom.

If you need more artsy inspiration we love Japanese Bentos! Japanese Bentos really go above and beyond in making food too cute to eat!

Create a Relationship with Food

With the lockdown, we have a great opportunity to start new hobbies at home. Consider starting a vegetable garden. Your kids may love watching their veggies grow. As the vegetables grow ask your kid what recipes they would want to make with the veggies.

Another consideration is to get your kids more involved with cooking. Some kids may hate tomatoes, but love pasta sauce. When kids can see where all their food comes from and may be more receptive to all forms.

Lean in to What they Like

Identify what makes Veggies Unappealing

While some kids are vague about what they don’t like, some kids will say it right out. Maybe it’s a texture they hate, some may say it’s the specific flavour. Even if they don’t say it out loud, you may be able to make an educated guess.

Change things Up

When you identify what they don’t like, make changes:

• Try raw veggies vs cooked vs mixed (curry or stirfry)
• If veggies are too chewy, consider blended soups instead of salads
• If your kid loves Cheese; it goes with almost everything
• Try veggies as snacks versus with meals
• Create sweet mixes like maple-glazed carrots/sweet potato
• Love mashed potatoes? My family often blended carrots, potatoes, and parsnips.

Create Consistent Habits

Try Variety

Avoid falling back on old favourites day after day. From a young age try adding something different for each meal during the week. An example would be: Monday – Peas, Tuesday – Carrots, Wednesday – Peppers, and so on.

Reassess your Snacks

There is a possibility that your little one may not be super hungry at meal time. To combat this review when and what snacks your are giving. Try and keep snack times far enough away from dinner or lighter snacks.

Stay Positive

Avoid using dessert as a “reward” as it makes meals seem negative. When we associate foods as good or bad, veggies really won’t stand up to ice cream. When it comes to healthy eating a positive and healthy relationship with food works best.

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Kinder Buddies Oakville Child Care is a Quality First Daycare and Infant Care facility in Oakville, Ontario. We take care of children from the age of 6 weeks to 5 1/2 providing nutritious meals and fun activities all day long.