If you are faced with the same problem, then rest assured many parents share your struggles! Getting kids of any age to eat their fruits and veggies can be challenging to say the least. It’s important to try and stick with it in order to ensure your child is benefitting from a nutrient rich diet and not simply stocking up on empty calories in the form of foods that are high in fat or sugar.
Quite simply put, if your child is snacking on apples and carrots he is less likely to be snacking on crisps and biscuits.
Start with a few items that your child enjoys, such as carrot and pepper sticks. If these are offered on their own when he is hungry, he may be more willing to eat them. Dips and dressings can help a lot too; lots of kids will eat vegetables with hummus.
Try to come up with more exciting ways to serve vegetables, as plain cooked vegetables can be boring to kids. Why not try some of these ideas:
- Stuff lettuce, tomato, or spinach into sandwiches or wraps.
- Add mushrooms and roasted red peppers to a homemade pizza.
- Cook chicken noodle soup with carrots, celery and onion.
- Make pasta sauce and add mushrooms, onions, and garlic to it.
- Make baked sweet potato fries, more vitamin A and less fat than regular fries.
- Make vegetable lasagne or add a layer of vegetables to normal lasagne.
- Make low fat, whole grain carrot or courgette muffins.
- Add corn, onions, mushrooms, peppers, beans and onions to chilli.
- Try serving lettuce wraps instead of shells for tacos or fajitas, plus you can add tomatoes, onions, avocado, or other veggies.
