All kids love pizza, mac ‘n cheese, and chicken nuggets, and there’s nothing wrong with indulging in these yummy foods. Who doesn’t love comfort food? However, we want our kids to eat fruits and vegetables as well, to get a wide variety of nutrients into their diets.
Here are a few of Roni’s tips for getting kids to try new vegetables:
- Start Young: Children don’t have an aversion to food when they are little; just try and try again until something becomes familiar. It could be carrots cooked with a touch of butter and brown sugar or broccoli (dip it in ranch at first, why not?) or something more exotic like Persian cucumbers. Just stick with it.
- Practice What You Preach: Want your kids to branch out of their routine? Lead by example!
- Add it Into Familiar Dishes: Add minced cauliflower to your mac ‘n cheese base, grate zucchini into your meatballs, get creative and get those extra veggies in any way you can.
- Don’t Hide Them: I don’t ‘sneak’ fruits and vegetables into my kids’ diets. Instead, I let them try it while we’re around the dinner table. I tell them what they’re eating and why it’s good for them!