How to Encourage a Child to Love Their Vegetables

Written by Jenn, Contributing Writer

If given a choice, would your children rather eat a serving of spinach or a pail of candy? (I think you know the answer!) While we adults know that vegetables are packed with essential vitamins and nutrients that our bodies need to thrive, convincing our offspring of this fact can sometimes be difficult. Here are some things that have helped my children to eat (and enjoy!) their veggies.

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Start Them Off Right
Even before my babies were born (and as a nursing mom), I ate lots of vegetables. This habit was a building block to creating a love of fresh food in my children. It wasn’t always easy—I didn’t naturally love veggies, with the exception of carrots and garden peas. But I found that trying a variety of different colors and textures helped me grow to enjoy them. Knowing I was giving my babies great nutrition was an added perk. Maybe you aren’t a big vegetable eater or weren’t in the past. Being the example is one of the best ways that our children learn to love good food!

Let Your Child Pick Out Vegetables at the Store
Sometimes we can overwhelm our kids with too many choices, but this is one time that it can benefit them to have some control over what they eat. At the grocery store, encourage your child to choose a new vegetable that they have never tried. Try to make your choices organic and seasonal. Better yet, take them to a farmers’ market this summer! A few months ago, we introduced edamame, a Japanese soybean packed with protein and omega fatty acids, and artichokes, a flower shaped vegetable with vitamin C and potassium. The kids are growing to enjoy the artichoke but the edamame honestly gets eaten like candy! If your kids are hesitant to eat said new vegetable, encourage your child to take just one bite. In our house, we do this in a matter-of-fact tone and keep the dinner atmosphere light. The last thing we want to do is turn mealtime into an emotional tug-of-war. We find a tasty way to prepare our foods and all give it a try. Sometimes it takes several times of serving a particular food for kids to enjoy it but in my opinion, it’s worth the experiment!

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Let Your Child Help with Meal Prep
Once you bring home your child’s new “find” at the grocery store, let them help you prepare it for dinner. Wash their hands first of course! My three year old daughter can rip lettuce, pull grapes off the stem and pour frozen veggies into the steamer. My six year old son makes an art project out of arranging raw vegetables on a plate with dip. Grade-school kids can read the instructions on preparing an artichoke or squash.

Steam Your Vegetables to Keep the Nutrients
Eating veggies raw and straight from the garden is obviously the best thing, but to mix it up a little, try steaming. Steaming is a healthy way to prepare vegetables because they don’t get overcooked, therefore retaining most of their nutrients. They are more flavorful and have a nice texture compared to the limpness of their boiled counterparts. We’ve found this to be a great way to feed vegetables to our eleven month old son, who could choke on them in raw form.

Cheese, if You Please
One of my children’s favorite things to eat (really!) is steamed broccoli sprinkled with parmesan cheese. I was able to justify this behavior when I learned that a small amount of dietary fat can increase absorption of the nutrients found in vegetables. Parmesan cheese has one of the highest amounts of calcium per tablespoon, coming in at 55 mg. (Psst, I eat my broccoli this way too!) Of course, we’re not talking about smothering your cauliflower with Velveeta–the amount of cheese shouldn’t outweigh the amount of veggies on your plate!

Frozen and Delicious
One interesting way my kids eat their vegetables is straight out of the freezer bag. I discovered this one day when several frozen peas rolled onto the counter and my son grabbed a few and popped them in his mouth. Ever since then he’s asked for some while helping me prepare supper. Frozen corn, peas or “mixed vegetables” are a perfect snack for older toddlers and preschoolers who aren’t prone to choking on their food. We like to use frozen vegetables when fresh is out of season because they are frozen at the peak of freshness, preserving the most nutrients possible.

How do you encourage your kids to eat vegetables?

Jenn is a pastor’s wife and a mother of 3 beautiful children.

Join Jenn at The Purposeful Mom where she shares how she is learning to live with purpose in the spiritual, financial and practical areas of life. Her desire is that we would all :encourage one another and build each other up” 1 Thess. 5:11

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