Oh veggies!! I love them so much! I honestly believe that one of my super powers in life is that I love veggies more than I love sweets! I do not have much of a sweet tooth so sometimes it’s hard for me to understand why people don’t like veggies. But boy did I learn quick that my kids do not like them!
Now, my kids do not eat very well in general. They are picky, especially Lotus! They would rather eat mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, Happy Meals, and PB&J all the time! Lotus consistently tells me before we even sit down at the table that she’s not hungry because she doesn’t want to eat anything outside of those items. She also has the courage to ask me for a snack right after dinner as well!
I do worry about my kids diets like I think most parents do. Mac & cheese is not giving my kids proper nutrients that they need for their growing bodies. Now I will say, my kids have no issues eating fruits so that is at least a plus. But I would still like them to get some vegetables in their diet so it’s well rounded.
In all honesty, I have probably made some pretty big mistakes when trying to get my kids to eat vegetables. This would include things like empty threats, yelling, giving up, and giving in to what they want. I’ve been so frustrated so I knew I had to find a different approach for my sake and theirs! So I took a step back and examined what was working and what was not. Then I searched for sneaky ways to get vegetables into my kids meals without them thinking twice about it. I have put together all my tips and tricks! My kids aren’t gobbling down veggies, but things are starting to get better!
Smoothies
This is by far the easiest trick to get kids to eat vegetables. Kids love smoothies because typically they think of them as a treat! Not only can you hide vegetables in there, but you can also pack a ton of fruits in there as well. Spinach is a really great vegetable to hide in smoothies for kids! They can’t even taste it! If you need some help finding recipes, check out my Pinterest page!
Juice
If you have a juicer, I would see if your kids will drink vegetable juice. It is not exactly the same as eating vegetables but it’s better than nothing. I juice every day and my son will drink it, but my daughter will not. Still, Lotus sees me juice every day and is always curious about it. I figure sooner or later she will give in and try it! If you don’t have a juicer and don’t want to spend the money on one, you can always blend up the veggies and strain them to get the juice out. It’s a little longer of a process but it’s what I did until I purchased one of my own!
Incorporate Veggies Into Food They Like
My kids love mac & cheese so much! They could eat it all the time if they could! But that’s not a balanced meal at all. Since anything green Lotus won’t touch, I try to put corn in the mac & cheese or carrots. Sometimes when they already like the food, they will be more willing to eat the vegetables I put in them. And sometimes they throw a fit and we all go to bed early! Some other ideas for popular kids meals are:
- Puree veggies and add them to pastas and soups
- Green bell peppers in pasta sauce
- Onions in pasta sauce
- Make cookies or pudding with avocados
- Make veggie chicken nuggets (find the recipe on my Pinterest!)
Cut Vegetables Small
When adding veggies to a dinner, I have found that if I cut them small enough, it’s not worth it to the kids to pick them out. If I leave the veggies too big, they can easily pick them out and move on from them. Once again, sometimes this doesn’t work and they just end up in tears!
Above I gave you my tips for getting more vegetables into your kid’s food, but below I want to give you my tips for when you actually sit down to eat.
Give Them Something They Will Eat
When I make the kids a dinner plate, I give them what we eat and then typically some fruit that I know they will eat. Most the time, they will eat the fruit and nothing else. The reason I do this is because I do not want them to associate dinner time with a terrible time. If they sit down to the table every night and it’s meltdown after meltdown, they are going to start resenting dinner time. I want dinner time to be something fun and something they look forward to. Another reason I do this is because I will not typically make special meals and I don’t want them to go to bed starving.
They Eat What We Eat
That brings me right into my next point, I do not make special meals for my kids. I use to do this all the time. I would consistently be making a dinner for my kids and a dinner for my husband and I. I don’t have time for that! If my husband and I do have something that is just way out and we know the kids won’t like or eat it, I will make them a different dinner but that rarely happens. Usually it’s when we get sushi! I think that the time I spent making them different meals made them pickier eaters. Jeffery is far more willing to try new foods because I didn’t make him a lot of special dinners. Lotus on the other hand will barely eat anything I put in front of her! So my rule is, no special dinners, but I will put something on their plates that they will eat (see my point above)!
Always Put The Veggies On Their Plates
Even when I know my kids won’t eat something, I always put some on their plates. Whatever I have made for dinner is going on their plate. I do this for two reasons. One, I am hoping that one day they will just get over it and try a vegetable! Two, I am hoping that if they see that mom and dad eat this stuff, the can eat it too. This tip I do believe takes time. Lotus sees me do a lot of things, like wash my face or paint my nails, and she instantly wants to do it. So maybe one day, she’ll see me eat a piece of broccoli and think, “I want to eat that too!” I can dream, right?
I hope these tips are helpful and your kiddos eat some veggies!! Drop your sneaky tricks in the comments!