Wish Your Family Ate More Veggies? Do These 7 Things
Inside: If you want your family to eat more vegetables, here are seven things that work for us!
1. Circulate an appetizer plate
When my kids were young, I started a no-snacks-except-veggies-in-the-hour-before-dinner-house-rule. It worked wonders around here.
It took the edge off of hunger, but they were hungry for dinner. And if they skipped their veggies at dinner, I didn’t fret–they’d already nibbled on some before they even got to the table.
Get more: My Pre-Dinner Snack Strategy
2. Put veggies in your kids’ lunch boxes
Even if you think they won’t eat them. Because they just might–especially if you keep portions of other foods a bit smaller.
Get more: Uneaten Lunch Boxes? This Hack Helps Some Kids Eat More.
3. Blend them into smoothies
Make them for yourself and your kids. But don’t be sneaky about it. Let them see you putting spinach in the blender or carrots in the juicer–and enlist them to help!
Get more: Recipe for Starter Green Smoothie.
4. Make stir-fries
And fried rice. And noodle dishes. They’re easy vehicles for tossing in veggie odds and ends. And in my house, soy sauce has the power to make veggies much more appealing.
Get more: Quick Stir-Fry Veggies with Noodles
5. Serve salad nightly
Your kids aren’t salad eaters? Make them “starter salads”, like the one shown above.
This is actually how I got my husband eating vegetables too: I made tiny bowls of 3-4 lettuce leaves, covered in croutons and a favorite dressing. Now he orders salads in restaurants. (I am so proud!)
Get more: How to Teach Your Kids To Love Salad.
6. Put them alongside familiar favorites
For some kids, veggies are decidedly less familiar foods and less preferred foods. But they look less intimidating alongside things they already like, such as pretzels, favorite fruits, or cheese.
Veggies that may be a hard sell at mealtime can look fun and extra-appetizing on a snack platter like this. Also, the word “platter” seems to elevate any offering I give them.
Get more: How to Make a Kid-Friendly Snack Platter
7. Don’t be afraid of a little ranch dressing
Maybe you’re wary of ranch–or hate that your kid dips everything into it. Like ketchup, ranch dressing can actually be a vehicle for trying new foods or enjoying foods that might otherwise seem bland or bitter.
In one study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, preschoolers who were especially sensitive to bitter flavors ate 80 percent more broccoli at snack time when it was served alongside ranch dressing. For more of my thoughts on ranch dressing,
Get more: In Defense of Ranch Dressing.
Always love your ideas about getting kids to eat more fruits and veggies. I totally agree with allowing them to dip in ranch. I actually found a great ranch dressing that my kids love and say that it tastes just like Hidden Valley, but without all the preservatives. So far my favorite is the Salsa Ranch, but my kids love the regular Ranch by Bolthouse Farms. I have been able to find these dressings (well at least the Ranch, which is the most important) in many stores—ShopRite, Target, Whole Foods! Check them out! http://bolthouse.com/products/dressings
Thanks Amanda. I’ve heard good things about the Bolthouse dressings–and I love how the company in general promotes fruits and veggies in fun ways. So I’ll have to try their ranch.
Love these ideas, I do them all, of course!
Thanks Danielle!
This is great! We could all use more veggies in our diets and you show some very do-able ways to get them in. Thanks!
I’m very selective about the foods I feed my son and he was a great little eater. Then he started rejecting vegetables and I was so bummed. I tried Ranch and it worked for him. I buy other kinds of grilling sauces too. He likes the variety and mostly eats it up including veggies. I try not to obsess over the labels because I know there’s ingredients I wouldn’t buy but I feel it’s for the better good.
Another trick I use to get more veggies in: I buy frozen organic bags: 1 fruit, 1 veggie and 1 kale, allow them to thaw then I use a food processor to process into a puree. Freeze the mixture into ice cube trays and save them in a freezer container. In the mornings I thaw 2-3 and add them to plain full fat Greek yogurt. He loves it!
I will definitely have to book mark this page. I live with my fiance, who hates eating healthy and really hates vegetables. Even if I mix it in with other foods he likes, he always picks it out and leaves it, and eats the rest of the food! It drives me crazy. I might have to try making smoothies for him so that there’s no way he can find the veggies 🙂
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My kiddos are actually pretty good eaters, mostly raw fruits and veggies. My 8 year old son will try what I cook most of the time, but my 5 year old daughter refuses to try most things, especially cooked foods. She won’t try meats either. They mostly eat the same handful of raw fruits and veggies, milk, but no cooked, mixed foods. She will only eat processed meats like salami, beef sticks, bacon. I buy no nitrate snack sticks, but the bacon isn’t. I’m not sure what else to do to get them to try. I try fun ways to present it, I add fun good picks, but she will just not eat until breakfast if I don’t give in. Tips suggestions?