If you have a child, chances are you have dealt with a picky eater at some point and if not, you may have a child that will not eat their veggies. Well, there is no reason to fret. Here are some suggestions to help you encourage your toddler to eat vegetables so they can grow up healthy.
When trying to get your child to eat vegetables, you must remember that sometimes the texture of the food is probably what is keeping your child from eating them. Try giving your child cooked, raw, and even breaded veggies. Just by making minor changes, you can greatly increase the chances that your child will eat them. If it is a firm or hard veggie, try small diced pieces or cook it. Tomatoes may taste better with a dash of salt. If you don’t want to add these things that is fine, but you may have to find other methods.
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You may have to put some additives on their plate to make vegetables more enticing. Use some sort of flavor enhancement like butter or cheese or sometimes even honey may do the trick. Honey goes well with cooked carrots. You can add cheese to broccoli and cauliflower and even zucchini and squash. Ranch dressing goes well with raw veggies and salads. You may have to experiment and find the vegetables that your child will like. Most kids will eat veggies cooked and will more often than not, go for seconds!
Another nice trick to give your child those vitamins and minerals is to use their interests to get them to eat their veggies. If your child likes princesses or superheroes, tell them that those same people LOVE their veggies and they eat them every day to get strong. Go on and on about how their idol loves broccoli and green beans. Doing this may not be the best method ever, but it sure does work.
One great way to get those veggies in their tummies is to re-introduce them in a different form. If you serve steamed broccoli and your child doesn’t like it, serve it in very small pieces with cheese on it next time. If they don’t like it, then try it again raw with ranch. There are so many ways you can cook and prepare vegetables that you will have more than enough options. While using this trick, do not tell the child the name of the veggie because if it has the same name as the thing they didn’t like, they won’t even give it a second look.
If you are having a lot of trouble getting your child to eat vegetables or they are stuck on just one veggie, try talking to your doctor about adding a vitamin or supplement to their diet. This will help your child with any deficiencies their eating habits are causing. Have some patience with your little one and always try and re-try new veggies because a child’s taste buds are constantly changing. Give them many options and you shouldn’t have too much trouble.