13 ways to get your kids to eat vegetables

The most common problem I see when it comes to eating is that kids just wont eat their veggies! And as a mum myself I feel your pain. It’s a real stress when you know your kids aren’t getting the nutrients they need for their growing bodies. And considering that only 5% of children in Australia eat the recommended serves of vegetables per day, you’re not alone!

Thankfully there are some easy suggestions that I’ve found help. So I hope this is a lucky 13 for you 🙂

1. Don’t try! That’s it, end of blog 😉 No, what I mean by this is that you need to remove the pressure and not force or bribe your child. 9 times out of 10 this backfires and ends in a battles of the wills. And it does nothing to build a healthy relationship with food.
2. Make it available. Make it easy for your child to eat by having vegetables cleaned and prepped in your fridge or on the kitchen counter.
3. Offer it at all meals and snacks. The more you offer the more familiar kids become and the more likely they are to eat them
4. Get kids involved. Ask them to help choose vegetables when you’re shopping, help prep them or even help serve them. Having a vegetable patch and growing your own is also super effective.
5. Give them choice. Put a selection in a big bowel on the table and let kids choose what they want. Kids love to have a sense of autonomy and this is tricking them into healthy choices.
6. A taste is good enough. Let your goal be tasting them and reward any step in the right direction (even just touching) with positive praise
7. Make it fun. Either in presentation or with silly names and games. Can also use as a time to teach colours, textures e.g. green crunchy baked kale.
8. Make it tasty. Experiment with different ways to cook and using spices etc. eg. my girls love roasted sweet potatoes with paprika, EVOO & salt and steamed broccoli with coconut oil & salt.
9. Eat vegetables yourself. You’ve zero chance of your kids liking vegetables that you never eat or blatantly pull your nose up at them.
10. Be firm. Don’t have back up favourite foods. In other words if they don’t eat the vegetables they’re offered don’t cave and make the pasta they ask for. And if they complain they’re hungry later, re-offer the vegetables they didn’t eat.
11. Don’t hide them. Lots of parents chop up or blend veggies into other foods and this is fine as long as you also present the vegetables whole.
12. Don’t stress or get angry. Kids pick up on it and this makes mealtimes difficult for all involved. Eating then becomes a negative experience. So if they won’t eat their veggies just calmly remove them at the end of the meal.
13. Don’t give up! As with all fussy eating it takes times and patience and often many many attempts to get kids to eat something.

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