If there was a magic formula or silver bullet to get kids to eat healthy, the topic would no longer make the headlines of parenting magazines. Kids in homes across the country would be eating broccoli and brussels sprouts with a smile on their face.
If only brussels sprouts were this much fun!
But there is no magic formula. No silver bullet. No quick and easy fix.
I hear from many parents that one of the things they value in this site are the new tips, tricks and ideas for getting through the various meal-related challenges they face (which, by the way, is exactly why we started the site!). I’m absolutely committed to bringing you all new ideas as I hunt them down.
During my searching, I often come across interesting new theories or research to “help” us out. Sometimes there’s really valuable nuggets…sometimes there isn’t.
Recently I came across this study that revealed: the solution to get kids to eat their vegetables is as simple as offering a dip with the veggies. They gave kids broccoli with a dip at snack time and apparently the magic followed.
Now, I don’t know how many children in the world do not like vegetables but I’m pretty confident that most parents have tried this trick, right? This seems like almost a no brainer once you start going down the road of seriously trying to get a picky eater to try new veggies.
Many of us have found that ranch dip loses its appeal. It gets old and doesn’t go with everything. Hummus isn’t always a big hit. And not all vegetables taste good dipped. We need more tricks up our sleeves because there are 365 days in a year that our kiddos should be eating a vegetable or two.
So, in addition to the veggie dip, here are six real-world-proven techniques that I’ve actually seen work to get even the pickiest eaters to try new vegetables:
- Serve them first. Red bell peppers dipped in hummus (dip!) is a great appetizer when kiddos are pulling on your pants because they’re starving. Let them eat, just make it a veggie!
- Get away from the steamer. Seriously, do you even like steamed veggies? I don’t so I can’t expect my kids to. Roasted vegetables with some salt and olive oil or grilled zucchini are much tastier alternatives.
- Get creative. Sometimes you need to pull out the butterfly bell peppers or grape wands. I get it. We do what it takes.
- Mix it in. Will your child eat peas, corn and those little carrot pieces in fried rice? Or tomatoes in pasta sauce? Great! When they refuse them later, remind them how much they liked them in those dishes. (ps. I see this different from hiding veggies because you’re going to let them know what they’re eating, you’re just making it more appealing)
- Change the texture. Sometimes kids honestly don’t like the way the food feels in their mouth. It’s legit. So try another method of cooking: puree into a soup, steam to soften up crunchy veggies (just add some flavor too!) or leave them crunchy if that helps.
- Don’t serve it to them. Serve dinner family style with everything in the middle. Serve yourself a big serving of visually appealing vegetables like roasted red potatoes with rosemary, or broccoli salad with raisins and shredded carrots. Don’t serve the kids any and see if they want what you’re having.
There are more ideas here that you’ll find in our Top 10 Ways to Win Over Picky Eaters. And I know that many of you have found success and hope you’ll share your tips with the rest of us!
6 Comments
I have the opposite problem. My daughter loves veggies but will only eat apples as far as fruit goes. I have tried everything and she just won’t do it. Any ideas on how to get kids to eat their fruit?
That’s great that she’ll happily eat vegetables, Jocelyn! I wouldn’t worry so much about having a nice balance of fruits and vegetables, it’s more important that she eat a wide variety of colors to maximize the nutrients from food. If you want to expand her fruit repertoire, look at how she likes apples. If it’s just biting into an apple, then maybe try pears, nectarines or white peaches which are similar in nature. You could get a mixed juice like apple + grape and let her know (once she loves it) that she’s drinking grapes and she’d probably like to eat them too. Smoothies are great too — they’re so much like a shake! We also make popsicles with lemonade and I toss smashed up berries inside. You might have to get a little creative. Let us know how it goes!
She is almost eight now and I have tried to get her to pears and necterines thinking they were about the same texture and that texture was the issue. Sadly it didn’t work. Smoothies I have tried to no avail also (she will only eat vanilla shakes) and lemonade is a no go also. She will drink apple grape juice but still won’t touch a grape. She does eat a huge varity of veggies that we get farm an organic farmer just outside of the small town we live in so I just keep trying the fruit and hoping maybe she will change her mind. Always looking for new ideas I just have run out of my own. I don’t worry to much though because for a kid she makes healthy choices (most of the time). Any time you ask her what she wants to eat her standard response is soybeans (in the pod) and cous cous. Needless to say she won’t touch a hot school lunch!
oh dear, Jocelyn! Sounds like you’ve tried so many different tricks and tactics. Be glad that she makes healthy choices. We make two school lunches each day so I know it’s no fun, but its probably a lot healthier!
Have you tried letting her grow fruit? Or go to a U-Pick farm?
I haven’t tried letting her grow her own because I haven’t figured out yet how to grow more than a few things because we live in a very cold short growing season in Idaho. The U pick um farm is how I did get her to eat vegtables so maybe I can find one a couple of hours from here and try it out again. Thanks for all the suggestions!
We’re in Oregon so our growing season is probably similar. Strawberries are super easy to grow in our climate. Our blueberries would probably do better in the backyard as the deer eat them before we get to them! Good luck and let us know if you find something that works!