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When we think of the words ‘child’ and ‘vegetable’ together, an image of a toddler grimacing as a piece of broccoli is thrust into their face immediately comes to mind. You probably also remember your mother trying to coax you into eating your peas. Maybe you were one of the inventive ones that hid them in your napkin or slid them to the dog. That said, vegetables are important for growth and the correct functioning of our bodies, providing us with vitamins, minerals and fibre. So how do you get your child to eat more veggies? Try some of these tricks and your tot might soon be munching more of the healthy stuff than they know!

Eat your vegetables

Children like imitating their parents. By setting a good example, you’ll probably notice they’ll start eating their veggies on their own. If this has been a very problematic issue, you may want to offer your child a small treat or praise them when they eat all their vegetables. Before you resort to this, though, consider the options below.

Take advantage of the vegetables your child likes

Even the most stubborn of kids will like one or two vegetables. These may include cherry tomatoes or carrot and cucumber sticks, or perhaps something like pumpkin or courgettes. Whatever the veggies, focus on these and provide them with every main meal.

Make veggies look good

If you are serving up vegetables as a side dish, always make sure that they look attractive and aren’t over-cooked (which breaks down the vitamins, anyway). Maybe you could arrange them in the shape of a house or face. Kids also love colour so offering them a variety may be a good idea. You could also try cutting the vegetables into interesting shapes: stars, hearts or moons, for example.

Serve vegetables in the form of soups or stews, such as ratatouille, which will make them far more acceptable to children. If your child is old enough, make soups more interesting by adding alphabet pasta and they probably won’t even realise they’re eating those hated veggies!

Hide them in the mash

You can also blend vegetables with mashed potato – something most kids love. Mixing cooked beetroot into the mash will result in pink mash, while adding peas or carrots will give you green and yellow mash respectively. If asked, dub this ‘alien food’ or ‘fairy food’ and it will probably gain instant popularity!

So, to sum up: if you find creative ways of introducing vegetables into your child’s diet and make eating fun, they will probably even start enjoying them. Remember though, that if none of these tips work (which is unlikely), don’t fret about it. Our tastes change over time and most children will start eating vegetables eventually. Be positive, continue offering veggies to your child and don’t give up.

Tags: balanced diet, children, eating healthily, vegetables