Involving the Kids with the Veggies

If your kids are healthy eaters, love their veggies and never have fits when you try to introduce new vegetables count yourself lucky!  I hear a whole lot of parents that have struggles with getting their children to include vegetables as a part of their diet. We want so much to have them develop healthy eating habits but they don’t always cooperate.  Let’s think about some practices that we can set in place that might just get them to be excited about healthier snacks and meals.

Get Kids excited about eating vegetables.

Get them involved in growing some vegetables.

It doesn’t have to be a lot but maybe just some carrots or cherry tomatoes in a pot on the patio.  Pick something that you know that will grow easily so that they will see a good reward.  I know from experience that if they have a part in growing it or just picking it that they get a whole lot more excited about eating it.

Let them take part in preparing their food.

I know that it takes a lot longer to do anything with the kids involved but think of the reward that you will have when you see their excitement in what they have prepared.

Give them some healthy choices and then let them decide on some of the food that they want.

Maybe a little like letting them be a part of the weekly meal planning.  You provide the healthy choices but they still get to fill like they are involved.

Look for creative ideas for using the vegetables that you know that they will like.

Little squash pizzas that they get to add their toppings to are always a hit.  Letting them participate with you in making a veggie smoothie or juice.  Using veggie noodles with tomato sauce is usually fun if they get to watch you transform that zucchini or other veggie that you spiralize.

I’ve been through this with my kids so I know that it’s not as easy as we try to make it sound.  But I do believe that if we model healthy eating habits and consistently try to keep them involved that we can make a difference in their eating habits.