Cohesion, bribery, and tears (mostly mine).
The food war is one a parent will rarely win. In a world where we are increasingly being bombarded with messages about the importance of steering our children away from junk food, the pressure to get as much goodness into them is massive.
And they will just NOT cooperate.
Which is why when I came across this research I just had to share it.
An American study was focusing on food waste at schools when they discovered that when really popular meals were served like chicken nuggets or pizza, the accompanying vegetables went mostly untouched and straight into the bin (Familiar much?)
However, when the school served slightly less 'mainstream' foods like a baked potato with the veggies there was a much bigger increase in those eating their greens.
So food-pairing is key - and according to the Washington Post, when vegetables are served individually they are more likely to be eaten.
At home in my house, I have discovered a neat little trick that works seriously well with my little fusspot - I ask him if he wants carrots (which he hates) or honey carrots (just a drizzle)
Inevitably, he chooses honey carrots every time.
I do plan to eventually phase out the sweet stuff but for now, this works for us.
Failing that - try to keep all the same colours together (like finely chopped red peppers in Bolognese) or just throw spinach into their fruit smoothies. I have also discovered that if I call green beans 'fairy lightsabers' they are 100% more likely to get eaten.
I can testify to the fact that fighting them on it will never work but serving vegetables regularly will eventually pay off.
Their suspicions will soon subside and then you can shift your worry to the next phase (because there is always a next phase!)
