How to get your child to eat vegetables

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A good attitude and a little creativity are key

Perhaps the most important factor to consider is your own attitude and approach toward eating in general. Avoid forcing your child to eat vegetables – or any other food for that matter. Encourage your child to try a spoonful, but don't get upset if she refuses it. Eventually, she will try it, so keep reintroducing various foods from time to time. And remember that even young children can learn why nutrition is important; you can simply say: ‘They taste good and make you healthy, big and strong.’

Some other tricks of the trade:

• Add vegetables to store-bought foods or to those you already prepare.
• Set out a plate of raw vegetables or a salad of cold, cooked vegetables before the meal – the time when your child is hungriest.
• Keep a bowl of cherry tomatoes or baby carrots in the refrigerator for a quick and handy snack. (Of course, you'll want to take into account the fact that these foods can be potential choking hazards for toddlers and preschoolers.)
• Serve raw or lightly steamed vegetables with salad dressing or cheese sauce for dipping.
• Make mashed sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, since sweet potatoes contain lots of vitamin A.
• Let your child make her own taco with shredded lettuce, tomato, ground turkey and a little cheese.
• Serve foods with tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes often.
• Try not to overcook vegetables to preserve their taste, bright appearance, and valuable vitamins.
• Help make your child familiar with vegetables; serve them everyday.
• Prepare meals together (e.g., younger children can wash and older ones can chop vegetables for stir-fry dishes and salads).
• Let your child help choose fresh vegetables when you're shopping.
• Plant a vegetable garden with your child or even just put a small cherry tomato plant in a pot in a sunny spot in the yard.

Most important, set a good example. Remember that your actions will speak louder than words. Besides, parents need their veggies, too!

Helpful additions

If your child turns up her nose at a lot of vegetables, try slipping them into her food by:

• making muffins with your child and adding pumpkin, zucchini or shredded carrots to the muffin mix
• tucking in a lettuce leaf, a tomato slice or carrot curls into sandwiches
• adding chopped spinach or a handful of frozen vegetables to soups, ramen noodles, spaghetti sauce or lasagna
• adding chopped tomato or grated carrots to tuna, chicken or pasta salads
• cooking frozen mixed vegetables according to the directions and then adding them to store-bought potato salad
• making pizza with your child and adding chopped broccoli or spinach to frozen pizza or frozen bread dough topped with tomato sauce
• adding chopped broccoli or extra carrots to canned or dried chicken soup.
  

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