How I got my kids to eat spinach, broccoli and beets – without threats of harm.

I often get asked, “do your kids really eat that?” when I talk about the vegetables that we buy at the farmer’s market each week: zucchini, broccolini, beets, spinach, kale, carrots, and the like. Yes, my kids really do eat all of that (and more).

I also get, “what to you threaten them with to get them to eat that?”.

Nothing. I’d like to believe that my long family history of vegetable-loving genes were thankfully passed along to my children but I know way too many other veggie lovers that didn’t pass on the passion.

So, what is it?

I think it’s two things: 

We followed the advice of someone way smarter than us and started our then-toddlers off with vegetables before fruit, and, specifically, green veggies before orange (the sweeter ones). They simply didn’t know any better. The timing was right too – they were practically leaping at our food when we started on solids so we knew they were ready to enjoy it.

We expect them to eat it. It’s not an experiment to “see if they’ll eat it”. Attitude is everything. We’ve always had one family dinner – there’s no short-order cook in my house making personal meals – and the unspoken expectation is that we’ll all eat our food. And they do.

It’s pretty rare that I need to ask them to try something with just one bite, but if they absolutely protest, I’ll make the request.

And I don’t cover vegetables in butter or slather in sauce. Until recently, they actually preferred them simply lightly steamed. We’ve been doing a lot of creative cooking around our house lately and they’re enjoying the new tastes.

I really believe that starting out right with solids, and having the right attitude has made all the difference with our kids. Other little things have helped along the way like talking about vegetables, visiting local farms and growing some of our own.

It’s never too late to start. Find one that they like and try it many ways. Mix it with something new. Find a kid-friendly recipe with new vegetables that they can make. Raising kids that are good eaters and respect their bodies starts at home with a nutritious diet and movement.

Patrick would eat beets but didn’t really like them until he made this beet and apple salad at a farmer's market event for kids. Now he wants to make the dish to share with his grandparents when they visit this week. The recipe was pretty simple and almost sweet enough for dessert:

2 Beets peeled and shredded

2 Apples peeled & shredded

Currants (dried cranberries work too)

Dressing: apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil of choice, honey. Mix to taste. Toss it all together.

Enjoy.

Not getting Change Becomes Change updates delivered to your email inbox? SUBSCRIBE HERE

Comments

[Michelle (What's Cooking)]

Hurray! I love to hear that there are still families out there that have high expectations of their children. Who has the time to short order cook, anyway? Great job!