How to Get Your Kids Eating Their Veggies

When we are born we have taste buds not just on our tongue, but on the roof and sides of our mouths as well. As we grow older these taste buds die out, until we are left with just those on our tongues, which also begin to decline with age and become a lot less sensitive. So, you see there is a reason why the strong, bitter taste of those classic veggies such as broccoli and sprouts are so unappealing to a child.

This is also worth bearing in mind when you are presenting a new food to your child to be met with an instant 'yuck.' We think they haven't even tried, but those sensitive buds get the message through pretty quickly!

Of course, this doesn't mean that we have to give up on veggies, or only feed our children bland food.

Bombarding your child with multiple different veggies every mealtime just isn't going to work; in fact it is likely to have the opposite effect to the one you want. It's not a case of trying everything and surely they will like something. If you keep thrusting these different foods under their noses all the time, they are more likely to think 'oh no not this again,' and decide they don't like something before they've even tried it -- see I told you we'd all been there!

Set yourself realistic goals from the beginning. Does it really matter if they aren't eating celery root by the end of the week? Does it really matter if there are only a few vegetables they will even consider eating? If you are too rigid or over-expectant with your goals then you are setting mealtimes up to be a battleground from the start.

It's best to start off with one new thing on the plate along with plenty of others you know they will eat. Encourage them to try a little piece -- let them dip it sauce if they want to. Or if you feel that things aren't going well, but you really thought they would like it, aim to serve it in a different way next time. Which leads us nicely on to...

As we already learned, the taste bud factor is a big one when trying to get your little ones eating their vegetables, so is it really such a big deal if you have to disguise their veggies to get them to eat them? I have never found this to be a problem. At the end of the day you are expanding their world of food, and they are still getting the important vitamins and nutrition.

Upon serving a particular pasta dish, my daughter will often say 'Don't forget, no garlic in mine.' I calmly nod, knowing that she has it an at least half a dozen other dishes (including garlic bread, which she never questions!). Basically this is to do with how it's presented to her, as well as factoring in the texture challenge. As well as the taste of veggies, it is very often the texture that can be off-putting to little palates too, so disguising (or presenting it in a different way) really gets around this minefield.

I don't think smothering vegetables in butter, salt, or more sauce than veg is the answer either, but there are plenty of options.

OK, so some of these suggestions might have an air of sneakiness about them, but you wanted your kids to eat more vegetables, right? Others are a little more low key, and require your children getting involved with preparing the food; another great way of getting them to eat more healthily as well as being good life skills to develop too.

• Kebabs and vegetable sticks are excellent snacks, or add some meat or halloumi cheese to the kebab for some grilling action at dinnertime. This is as simple as it gets, and is one of those your children can do themselves. Slice and dice an array of veggies and get them to choose what to put on their kebab. Or make veggie sticks beforehand and present them with some simple dips like mayo, cream cheese, and salsa to try. You could get them to create their own dips by combining some flavors too -- add tuna or herbs for example.
• All kids love their mac and cheese, so get really sneaky and add small pieces of cauliflower into the dish. Broccoli tastes good in there too, but use your judgment if the sight of green would put your child off.
• An oldie but a goodie - make funny faces on the plate to make it more appealing to youngsters.
• Grate or finely dice carrot to add to dishes wherever you use mince, such as in Bolognese sauce. This also works well when added to soups and casseroles and makes your meat go further. Carrot seems to be one of those vegetables that kids prefer as it isn't too strong in taste.
• Shred up some veggies and mix them in with mashed potato. You could add some cheese, form into patties and griddle these as patties. Cabbage works well this way -- in fact it's called Bubble and Squeak in the UK and is really delicious.
• Use sweet potatoes in place of regular potatoes. Makes yummy mash, baked potatoes, and irresistible wedges.
• Carrots, squash, zucchini, and sweet potato all work really well added to cake too. I'm not going to say this is healthy, but if you can squeeze in an extra portion of veg without them even noticing then that can't be a bad thing. Adds a great moistness to cakes, and the taste is almost undetectable.

There are some great books with a picky or fussy eater theme that are really humorous for you to read with your child. This is a really effective way of getting across the message to them in their own language rather than with an adult's voice, and helps take away the pressure at the dinner table too.

It helps them to feel that they aren't the only ones who feel this way about vegetables and puts the fun back into food.

Books like D.W The Picky Eater (Marc Brown), Eat Your Peas (Nick Sharratt), and I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato (Charlie and Lola Books by Lauren Child) make a joke out of the whole thing. The thing I like about these books in particular is that they all have a conclusion that proves to kids that really veggies aren't that bad, and it's worth trying new things -- this is done without the child even realizing too, so it's not all moral and preachy.

As we've proved here, you are by no means alone; in truth, most children go through a fussy eating stage at some point so don't sweat it!

Remember that your child not eating their veggies is likely to be a short-term issue rather than a huge problem so keep some perspective. If something doesn't work one day, then try something different the next -- just like adults, kids aren't going to like everything.

Hopefully by following these tips you will banish those dramas over half a sprout, and mealtimes can be fun again.  Be sure to let me and other readers know if you have any other tips to share too - bon apetit to all!