It’s no secret that vegetables contain essential vitamins and nutrients needed to be healthy. As adults, we know that we must incorporate vegetables into our diets whether we enjoy them or not. Our children, on the other hand, may require additional motivations and incentives. If your children refuse to eat anything green and leafy, here are a few creative ways to get kids to eat their vegetables.
Birds of a Feather Eat Veggies Together
Your children look up to you. They watch how you act, hear the words you say — and notice what you eat. How can you expect your kids to eat a balanced diet if they see you eating only high fat and highly processed foods? The first step to getting kids to eat their vegetables is to establish a home environment in which eating veggies is part of daily life for all family members — big and small.
Little Ears Are Always Listening
How do you speak about food in front of your kids? If you eat carrot sticks instead of potato chips, but do so begrudgingly, your kids adopt that same negative mindset toward veggies. Speaking positively about healthy foods and making them seem yummy encourages your children to make smart food choices.
Plot Twist: Play With Your Food
When a negative impression of vegetables is made early in life, changing your children’s mindset isn’t easy. Try these kid-friendly recipes to make eating veggies fun again!
Rainbow Veggie Kabobs
Photo & Recipe Courtesy of Two Healthy Kitchens
Everything is more fun to eat on a kabob! Skewer colorful veggies onto kabob sticks, and serve with a healthy dip of your choice. This snack is best for children elementary school age and older, and it should only be eaten while seated to avoid a skewer mishap.
Ants on a Log
Photo & Recipe Courtesy of Paleoaholic
A childhood favorite, Ants on a Log is still motivating kids to crunch their way to a more balanced diet. For a change up, swap out the raisins for dried cranberries. This variation is called Ladybugs on a Log!
Broccoli Trees
Recipe & Photo Courtesy of Super Healthy Kids
At one point or another, everyone has noticed that broccoli looks like little trees! This easy recipe pairs hummus with raw broccoli florets for a healthy and imaginative snack.
If you struggle to get your children to eat veggies, or maybe need to reset your own mindset toward healthy eating, try these creative ways to get kids to eat their vegetables.
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