How to get kids to eat vegetables is one question that has been
troubling most mommies. Are you one of them? How many times have you
noticed that your kids are just playing around with the vegetables kept
on their plate, or worst, have thrown them into the bin? Yes, making
kids eat vegetables can be a tough task. To tackle this problem, all you
require is a few tricks and your kids will start eating vegetables soon. Check out the ones mentioned below.
1. Be creative
Add some alphabet noodle shapes while making a vegetable soup. Kids
will be so involved in finding those letters that they will hardly
notice what they are eating.
2. Make them drink
Many a
times, kids avoid vegetables because they find chewing on those veggies
too boring. The best way out of such a situation is to make them have
vegetables in a different form. How about a drink? Sounds enticing? Then
follow this. Make a soup of the veggies you want your kids to eat. Pour
the soup in a fancy glass, add a cocktail umbrella in the glass and see
your kids drink it all up. Though they won’t get as much fiber as they
need, from drinking vegetables, but something is better than nothing.
Isn’t it?
3. Give vegetables as appetizers
Mostly kids are
hungry when it’s meal time. At such times, it’s the hunger that
overpowers them and they don’t care what they eat. So, strike the iron
while it is hot. While you are preparing dinner, put some carrots,
cucumber and celery on a plate and offer them as appetizers. Chances are
they will eat them quietly as they just require something to munch on.
4. Give them a choice
Put out carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and other vegetables in buffet
style and let them choose what they like. Kids like to choose and make
decisions like adults. When you allow them to make their choice, they’ll
be delighted to eat because it’s their pick!
5. Let them create an artwork
Kids love to play with colors. So offer them vegetables in different
shapes, sizes and colors and tell them to make a vegetable collage on
their plate. In this way, they will also eat the vegetables kept in
front of them.
6. Involve them in cooking
Involve them
in the kitchen when you are cooking. Make them wash vegetables, stir or
anything else that would be appropriate to their age. They will be
eager to try out all that they have helped to cook.
7. Hide vegetables in other foods
If all your ideas fail, mash vegetables and add them to other food and unsuspecting kids will consume them.
8. Do some ranch dressing
If you offer kids cooked vegetables with a ranch dressing or any other
dip, they will eat it happily as they like anything provided with a
saucy dip.
9. Encourage them to grow their vegetable garden
This will not only teach them gardening and to care for the
environment, but they will also want to eat what they have cultivated.
10. Educate them
Tell them what vegetable is good for which body part and to make it
more interesting, prepare a body chart and let them put stickers on each
body part after they have eaten a serving of vegetables. For instance,
after eating carrots, they can put a sticker on the eyes.
Did
you enjoy these fun ways of making your kids eat vegetables? Better put
them to use as soon as you can and see your kids eat vegetables.