Most parents find it difficult to get kids to eat their
vegetables. Make veggies fun and they’ll go down a lot easier
At the very mention of Brussel sprouts, most children will run screaming in the opposite direction. They shudder to think of broccoli and will hide under the bed to escape lima beans.
But with the childhood obesity epidemic constantly making headlines, parents know it’s vitally important to get kids to eat their vegetables.
But how?
“My son Evan is 4 and my daughter, Sarah, is 2, but we’ve found ways to get them into eating vegetables,” said Karen Percival, president of MOMS Club of Hollister. “My son invented what he calls ‘packets.’ I put some lettuce leaves on his plate and give him some other nutritious stuff like raisins or other vegetables, and he puts them together in the lettuce, wraps them up and eats them. He loves it.”
Putting light cream cheese or peanut butter on a celery stick, then putting raisins in the peanut butter – often called “ants on a log” – is another treat that goes over well with Percival’s kids.
If kids won’t eat their veggies, try preparing them a different way, suggested Gilroy resident Rebecca Ann Myers, 16.
“My mom makes a really mean broccoli soup that’s really good, and I used to hate carrots when I had them cooked, but when my mom gave them to me raw, I loved them,” she said. “But no matter what, never give kids Brussel sprouts. They’re probably the most disgusting vegetable on the planet.”
Morgan Hill resident Ernie Tibaldi said he changed up the broccoli he served his kids – now grown – by breaking cooked broccoli into florets, dipping them in beaten eggs and then in flavored bread crumbs. He put the coated broccoli in a baking dish, drizzled it with olive oil, parmesan cheese and a touch of garlic salt, then covered and baked it for about 15 to 20 minutes. He said the dish is a hit with kids and adults alike.
Sometimes accessibility is an issue for healthy foods. Mindy Bostick, owner and director of A Children’s Garden day care in Morgan Hill, said she once served kids at the center some pineapple rings. When she noticed they didn’t touch any, she figured out the kids didn’t know where to start eating. She showed them how to cut it up, and then it was fine. Carmen McGee, an international chef who prepares the food for A Children’s Garden, said she makes sure all the vegetables she serves are cut up small to make them easy to eat.
“Make sure the vegetables aren’t too big and remember that kids are attracted to color,” McGee said. “Throw some carrots in with the broccoli or corn in with the green beans. It makes them more appealing. And remember that kids care about flavor, too.”
When cooking for the day care, McGee said she’ll cook the vegetables with chicken stock and some garlic for added flavor. Another trick she uses is sprinkling a handful of cinnamon over green beans to give them a sweet smell and add a different flavor to the dish without adding sugar.
Another way to make vegetables more appealing is to get kids to participate in either selecting, preparing or even growing the dish.
When shopping with her children, Percival said she’ll let them pick what vegetables they want to eat. They also have a small garden in the backyard, and her children love to eat things they’ve helped grow and pick themselves.
Kids can help prepare vegetables by helping to wash them, breaking broccoli up into florets, opening pea pods or shucking corn, Bostick said.
Finally, make vegetables fun. When snack time comes around, Percival said she’ll make pictures out of vegetables on her kids’ plates.
“They love the pictures – flowers are the easiest,” she said. “You can use different colored bell peppers or apple wedges for the petals, celery for the stem and cherry tomatoes for the center of the flower. They eat them right up.”
