How do you get your young children to eat their veggies?

[sorrowscall]

tea parties......I'm not joking. I would use tea parties for my siblings and kids I'd watch. I'd set up tea and other treats on the table like soda or something that they like, and pair it with something healthy like carrots or finger sandwiches with cucumbers or the like; or maybe a carrot cake. It depended on the time of the year and what was available. The idea was to use something positive in congruence with the vegetable/whatever healthy food was chosen at the time. That way, instead of hiding it, subconsciously they would start wanting to make those choices directly on their own. It seemed to work with carrot cake and cucumber sandwiches anyway.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yesterday, I was finally able to get the little boy to eat a hot dog!!
He wanted one, so I boiled one for him. His baby sitter said she wouldn't get him one because he won't eat it, which he usually won't.
But I kindly talked him into finishing it all! She said that he should be forced to eat it. I told her that you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar!

Ok, a hot dog is not all that healthy, but it IS one of a child's favorite foods, and at least for a while, I was able to steer him away from eating junk food!
He likes ketchup only on it. The only thing that he left on the plate was a little piece of bread! I praised & thanked him for eating it.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I was so happy to bring a little joy into his life by getting him to eat something other than his usual junk food!!

 

[843StawberryPenguin]

I personally think that the 'sneaking' method works more with kids that already have a preference for the food they eat. For example, I would sneak in small carrots with corn or maybe load my homemade pizzas with more veggies when cooking/ baking for my little sister or cousins.
However, I also think that serving the veggies with hummus or possibly arranging them in a colorful manner on their plate will make it more appealing for them to eat. Another way to get them to eat it is to have them beside you as you prepare the meal- most kids take pride in helping out with the cooking or prepping so they'll most likely eat more of the veggies if they prepare it.

 

[kamarsun1]

When my children were small and learning to eat and love different vegetables, I had to be inventive to get them to eat them. One of my favorite ways was to grate carrots and other vegies and add them to spagetti sauce or mix them into meatloaf or meatballs. I also made quick breads with grated vegies such as zucchinni and carrots mixed in. I have a young grandson living with me now and I need more suggestions as to how to sneak those all important vegetables into his meals. Any ideas?

Well as a father of 3 boys ages 8,7 and 4, the key is to start them out eating healthy as young as possible, the earlier the better. We are now all on a vegan diet and it's been that way for over three years. I learned overs the years that if you season the veggies right the kids well eat them , but we are mostly fruit eaters, which they have no problem with at all.

 

[kamarsun1]

I was so happy to bring a little joy into his life by getting him to eat something other than his usual junk food!!

it's so important to educate the youth about nutrition, it goes a long way in keeping them healthy. Nutritional ignorance is at an all time high, we as parents can't expect anyone to teach are children how to eat healthy, it should be a responsibly, it's time for all of us to break the cycle, because we are making very bad food choices as a whole, but knowledge can turn things around.

 

[Morning Glory]

Well, as far as I'm aware, no young child has ever voluntarily starved itself. The problem is that we, as adults, are to weak to put up with the inevitable tantrums, bad behaviour and possibly sleepless nights that might result if we only offer the child heathy food. With older children its a different problem. They can voluntarily starve themselves (as with anorexia). But my guess is that if the little boy that Shermie knows was only offered healthy food then after a few days of dreadful and possibly physically challenging, behaviour, he would give in and eat it. Call me naive...?

 

[Morning Glory]

Had another idea, which I don't think has been mentioned - to get the kids involved in growing vegetables (start simple with cress) and cooking healthy foods. Kids love to cook and will generally want to eat what they have 'helped' to cook. Perhaps, Shermie, you could set up a cooking session with your little friend. You needn't suggest that he's going to eat the food - just that he 'helps' to make something.

 

[GadgetGuy]

He needs to be weaned off from eating so much junk food and he should start being offered healthier things to eat. but it has to first come from his mom.
As long as he eats supper at either Burger King, Wendy's, McDonald's or any other of the unhealthy fast food places, he'll NEVER get off of eating unhealthy foods.

I'd like to take him to a playground where he can burn off some of the fat on him. He DOES like to eat grapes and drink apple juice, but those seem to be the only healthy foods that he eats. He refuses to eat other healthy foods, as it is most often frowned upon by him. I don't think that I've ever seen him drink water either.

Trust me, this little boy is not to be toyed with when it comes to him getting what he wants!!! He's as serious as a heart attack! You would have to get up pretty early in the morning to outsmart him!! He's a sweet cute adorable little boy! I wish that he was my child!! I'd get him away from eating so much junk foods. He just needs someone to guide & steer him in the right direction, Or he'll end up being like THIS little boy above!! He folds his arms, giving a mean & nasty look and appears to be saying; "Yeah, I like to eat junk food & fast food! Try to stop me & you'll be sorry!!" Hah!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Or like one of THESE boys!!! Good Gosh!! He needs some serious help, & his mom is not giving it to him!! He's out of control & he has become so atrociously set in his ways & spoiled!!

These kids are SERIOUSLY overweight, especially the two in yellow shirts & the sleeping Chinese little boy who is only 4-1/2 years old!! I so wish that I could help them lose weight by getting them all into a weight-loss program, but it just can't be done alone! Their parents would also have to get involved, to help encourage them to lose some weight.

 

[smartmom]

This is easy for me to answer. I usually sneak vegetables into meals. For example if I am cooking spaghetti, I use the sauce with vegetables in the sauce. They even have spaghetti noodles with vegetables in the noodles. They sell snacks that have vegetables in the snacks. They sort of look like hot fries but they are not. I even chop up greens so small that they look like seasoning and add this to soups. My kids love chicken and noodle soup. I add this to the soup and it looks like they are eating soup with some sort of green seasoning in the soup.

 

[GadgetGuy]

My grand nephew was not always big. He was actually skinny when he was about 6 years old. He picked up his weight as he got older. But he DOES eat veggies!!

 

[cupcakechef]

This is easy for me to answer. I usually sneak vegetables into meals. For example if I am cooking spaghetti, I use the sauce with vegetables in the sauce. They even have spaghetti noodles with vegetables in the noodles. They sell snacks that have vegetables in the snacks. They sort of look like hot fries but they are not. I even chop up greens so small that they look like seasoning and add this to soups. My kids love chicken and noodle soup. I add this to the soup and it looks like they are eating soup with some sort of green seasoning in the soup.

I agree with this - it's all about the sneaking. Every kid I know likes spaghetti bolognese and it's super easy to sneak in things like carrots, zucchini, celery...just grate them super fine and you can barely even notice them, if at all, in the sauce. I know kids that if they see one chunk of any veggie in a dish, then it's all over - they won't touch it. So either super finely grated stuff, or even pureed and added into sauces works a treat.

I also think cutting veggies into fun shapes works - or at least easy and accessible for little hands. I hated carrots when they were cooked as a kid, for instance, but could eat carrot sticks by the bucketload. It's a very individual thing!

 

[GadgetGuy]

I agree with this - it's all about the sneaking. Every kid I know likes spaghetti bolognese and it's super easy to sneak in things like carrots, zucchini, celery...just grate them super fine and you can barely even notice them, if at all, in the sauce. I know kids that if they see one chunk of any veggie in a dish, then it's all over - they won't touch it. So either super finely grated stuff, or even pureed and added into sauces works a treat.

I also think cutting veggies into fun shapes works - or at least easy and accessible for little hands. I hated carrots when they were cooked as a kid, for instance, but could eat carrot sticks by the bucketload. It's a very individual thing!

Even the onions, green pepper, celery & carrots that I put in it is a way to get kids to eat veggies They wouldn't be able to see it because I chop it so fine that it is impossible for them to see.

 

[Diane Lane]

Bringing up my brother and sister, I just operated on the policy that they ate them because I expected them to. It worked. I would often cook stews and casseroles and I would not tell them what was in it or even what it was called until they had tried it and told me if they liked it or not. There were one or two arguments over the years, but not many at all because they knew if they tried it and they didn't like it and were honest with me I would cook them something else, but if they did the 'I don't like it before I've tried it face' and tried to pull a fast one, they would end up picking at the food and not eating much, going hungry and there is nothing wrong with them being hungry for a few hours and learning a lesson! It is not going to kill them.
They learnt and both of them grew up loving veg, my brother loved sprouts - we would cooked them til almost done, then melt cheese over them under the grill (UK grill) and serve them just like that - worked and they loved it.

I so agree with this. I have a friend who would be up half the night cooking 3 different meals, because her kids were so fussy, and it drove me nuts. My siblings were fussy, and so my mom would limit what we ate, to accommodate them, instead of making them eat what they were given. My sister got payback when she had children, because hers were, and still are, pretty fussy. When one of my nieces was young, my sister would tell her that potatoes were eggs, otherwise she wouldn't eat them. I think it's best to introduce them to a multitude of healthy foods when they're young, and they will get used to them.