Vegetables: How to Get Your Kids to Love Their Veggies

by Cambria VandeMerwe on July 13th, 2012 | No Comments »

Vegetables—Only one in ten kids eats enough veggies to fill their nutritional needs. As hard as it may be to get your kids to eat them, vegetables are important for a balanced diet. They provide necessary vitamins that would be hard to fulfill with other supplements and are crucial for health, growth and development.

At a recent MomItForward Twitter #gno party, sponsored by Birds Eye, Tweeters gave their tips on how they get their kids to eat vegetables.

8 Ways to Get Kids to Eat Vegetables

Set an example. “My favorite way to get little ones to eat vegetables is to let them see how much I am enjoying them,” said @KouponKat
Quick! Hide the veggies! “I try to hide veggies in food like blending them in spaghetti sauce, mac and cheese, anything I can,” said @confrugal. @savingpennies7 adds veggies to muffins and other things kids do like. “Shred them up and no one knows!”
Plan your menu. This will help your children know what to expect for dinner. “My kids and I all sit down at the beginning of each week and decide the full week menu, then I put it on the fridge,” said @SamanthaDamit. @WishesJune said she makes sure the four food groups are on the menu.
Be cost conscious and have fun shopping. “I let picky eater boys help choose the veggies they want to eat at the store,” said @LuckySweeper. @judy511 suggests the farmers market to find new vegetables and fun colors. @runaround8 said, “Cost conscious is good, but health is important. If one veggie is too expensive, opt for another.” @TheMiracleMomma suggested buying in bulk when on sale and storing in freezer bags. @fowler121600 uses coupons and compare shops to afford a stockpile.
Go for frozen vegetables. “When flash frozen they retain a lot of nutrients especially compared to canned,” said @bodhi_bear. Make some freezer space!
Get creative with your meals. @momUNblogger makes ants on a log with celery, peanut butter and raisins for a fun snack. She also makes veggie lasagna with squash and zucchini instead of noodles. @rkosully suggested make-your-own veggie fajitas or tacos because kids like to pick!
Get your kids involved. Kids will be much more willing to eat something they made. @thatoddmom said her kids love cooking because they love good, real food made from scratch and knowing they did it. One of our tweeters gets her kids involved at some level for every meal; her daughter even started her own healthy cooking show for kids!
Favor your veggies right. The right toppings can completely change your kid’s outlook on vegetables. @athomemoma suggested parmesan cheese, check out these other flavors and mixes from @BirdsEye.