Why it’s difficult to get your child to eat vegetables

(and what you can do to change this)

Many kids may be reluctant to eat vegetables, no matter how they are cajoled, pushed, or pleaded with. I know this from firsthand experience with my own children. 

Eating vegetables can feel like a chore for your child, and getting your kid to try “just one bite” of any veggies on their plate can often feel like a major challenge.

It’s helpful to know that we are born with a preference for sweeter tastes. If you think about it, a baby’s first food is breast milk, which has naturally occurring sugars, including lactose, which is beneficial for infant growth and development. Vegetables can be more difficult for children to get used to, as they tend to have more bitter, sour, and complex flavors. Children are learning to eat different foods, and getting familiar with eating vegetables is no different than developing a new skill, like riding a bike. It takes practice in a low-pressure environment, patience, and nurturing.

Here are 9 tips and tricks to get your children to eat more veggies.

1. Smoothies! I make mine with a mixture of fruits and vegetables. The best veggies to use are those on the neutral/ sweet side such as spinach, avocado, sweet potato (steamed or roasted), beets and cucumber. Try a combo of spinach, berries and yogurt and feel free to add flaxseeds or chia seeds to it.
   
   

2. Make your own red sauce. Instead of just making a tomato sauce, why not add red peppers, carrots, red onion, celery and courgette.  I normally make a big batch of this sauce, freeze it and then use it in multiple ways (with pasta, on a pizza base, thinned down to make a soup (blitz with a splash of cream and basil to soften it). https://www.myfussyeater.com/hidden-veggie-tomato
   
   

3. Pancakes for dinner.  What child doesn’t love pancakes? I add corn and courgette to mine and for children with a more grownup palet I also add cilantro or basil. https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-healthier-vegetable-fritters-lunch-recipes-from-the-kitchn-165687
   
   

4. Taste it! Would you want to eat it yourself?! Chances are if you think it’s yuck then so will your child. A little seasoning and butter can make a big difference.  Not only does butter—the grass-fed variety, in particular—contain vitamins A, E, and D3, which are important for growing kids, the added fat helps their little bodies absorb the vitamins from the vegetables 
   
   

5. Get them involved in the cooking. Let me pick out a recipe and make a point to go shopping for the ingredients together. Choose a more relaxed day of the week to cook such as on the weekend and start your dinner preparations a little earlier to give yourself extra time. Pizzas or quesadillas are great meals to prepare together as you can do the chopping and your child can add the toppings they like. 
   
   

6. Add vegetables to your breakfast… as crazy as this may sound there is no reason to not eat veggies in the morning. I love adding a mashed steamed sweet potato to my oatmeal pancakes or spinach and peppers to an omelette. 
   
   

7. Allow your child to watch a movie with a bowl of chopped raw vegetables in front of them. You will be surprised how fast they disappear. 
   
   

8. Don’t give up! Sometimes toddler and children need to be given the same vegetable multiple times before they will try it. Serving vegetables alongside foods that your child is familiar with will make them more likely to try them. 
   
   

9. LEAD BY EXAMPLE. Children learn by example, and if you expect your child to eat healthy, you may have to work on your own eating habits. In a forgiving way, take an honest look at what you eat and your own relationship with food.