Kids tend to say “BOO!” Parents say “Please do!” Eating vegetables tends to be a “warzone” between kids and parents. When you are eating a meal at the table, you try to get your kid to eat those green peas and carrots with the rest of their meal. Meanwhile, the kids try to get rid of them any way they can when no one is looking or will talk about how gross vegetables are. It can be a very tiring problem to deal with after a long day at work or after preparing a yummy meal. So the question is how can you get kids to eat vegetables when they say “NO!” after seeing them on their plate?
The solution may be changing the way the vegetables are prepared! This way they can still get the nutrients they would get from vegetables without the hassle of them fighting to eat the vegetables on their plate and say their share of complaints. This can be done for any meal and can even be done with some of their favorite desserts. Here are some ideas on how to get started!
For breakfast:
- Frittata: You can chop up veggies and mix them with eggs. Some good veggies to try with that are chopped onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and spinach. You could even top it off with shredded cheese for added taste!
- Use pureed vegetables in pancakes: In the spirit of the cold months, pumpkin or butternut squash could be pureed and added to a pancake or waffle mix to add a serving of veggies and give the pancakes a fun orange color and flavor!
Smoothies: You can add some vegetables into a fruit smoothie. Spinach and kale work well! They add color and help keep you full.
For lunch:
- Try out veggie noodles: You can either make these using a spiralizer or buy them already made. These are typically made of zucchini, squash, asparagus, or cucumber. You can cook them with a sauce and you are all set!
- Add them to mac and cheese or grilled cheese: Try throwing some chopped vegetables into mac and cheese for added crunch! Broccoli works well. For grilled cheese, try adding avocado, spinach, and/or tomatoes.
For dinner:
- Mix vegetables into ground meat: You can add pureed tomatoes or chopped vegetables like mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers to burgers, meatloaf, meatballs, and so on. Adding the vegetables in meat can also add more flavor to your meal.
- Make them into fries: Slice up a vegetable like sweet potato and toss them in the oven for a tasty alternative.
For baked goods/dessert:
- Bake veggies into bread: Some vegetables can be substituted into bread. One example is zucchini bread, instead of banana bread. This is a way to use all the produce in your kitchen while adding to your daily vegetable serving and avoiding a store bought baked good.
- Make it with flavor: Try caramelizing onions or adding herbs and spices such as curry to carrots or even dill to beans.
As you can see, the possibilities are endless! There are many ways to get even the pickiest eater to eat a couple servings of vegetables every day.
Let us know what you tried or how you include vegetables!
