How I Got My Kids to Eat Vegetables

My kids have changed from tyrants at dinner time to enjoyable, engaging little people. They have gone from vegetable protestors to salad dressing connoisseurs. I stuck to my guns, even when told I was being too tough, and the result is happier, healthier kids and a dinner time we all look forward to!

Let’s review what we know about kids and dinner time.

 •Kids, as well as adults, need more than pasta and meat to maintain a healthy and productive body.
•Kids hate vegetables and just about everything else that is good for them.
•Kids love sweets. Insanity has been described as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. That’s what dinner time was like for me. I love to cook and present food to my family. I believe in the family time and opportunity to bond. Every day I would cook something elaborate and arrange it beautifully on the table then call my family to the kitchen in anticipation of sharing a delicious meal and exchanging anecdotes, school gossip, and meaningful discussions. What actually happened was screams of protest the minute their beady little eyes spotted something green on the table.

Let’s discuss the signs of disapproval.

• ”Oh no. I am not eating that!”
• Child’s eyes rolling back and nearly falling out of head.
• A pile of corn kernels found stuffed under the cushion of dear child’s chair.I started each dinner time with high hopes and a smile and ended up yelling and threatening and assigning punishments. It really was miserable. My husband would tell me to let it go. Family members would defend my kids by saying, “Well they just don’t like it. What are you going to do?”

Here’s what I did.

• I explained to my kids that eating the healthy stuff served them was necessary to keeping their bodies healthy and providing them with the energy to do the fun things they love, and was therefore inflexible.
• I explained to them, and remained consistent, that regardless of what tantrum they threw, I would win.
• I made a deal that they try and eat everything at least once in exchange for my word to not again serve what they truly detested.
• I began serving a small dessert of ice cream or sweetened fruit as a reward.

 Guess what happened!

Dinner time became an adventure. The kids looked so forward to their dessert that their attitudes about the vegetables improved. They found that there were some really delicious healthy things available to them and that their bodies felt better and their digestive process was less uncomfortable. We experimented foods together and critiqued things as a group. Now our dinner time is spent laughing more than anything else and we have incredible conversations. 
 

Our staples include…

 • Kraft has some amazing new salad dressings and I brought home 6 of them for us to taste test. Ranch, of course, was a contender, but the family favorite hands down is Tuscan House. The crunchier and full of texture the salad, the more the kids enjoy it.
• Broccoli with warm Velveeta drizzled over it.
• Canned carrots cooked with cinnamon, honey, and brown sugar.
• Sliced cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and celery.

It is tough sometimes to be a parent trying to accomplish something with your kids that others may not support. But if you have picky eaters I urge you to try something like this in your own family. The bonus is not simply the inclusion of vegetables in their diets but the enthusiasm to try new foods whether out at a restaurant or having dinner with friends. Once you get past their resistance, you will see them change into more confident, well rounded children.

What’s Next?   Inspired (disgusted, out raged, broken hearted) by the current best seller SKINNY BITCH, I ordered my vegetarian start up kit today. Watch for updates and recipes coming soon!  Wish us luck!