Encouraging Children to Eat Vegetables

It is very important for children to eat vegetables on a regular basis. This provides the vitamins and nutrients they need to grow and develop in a healthy way. A lot of children, however, are very resistant to eating vegetables. There are a number of strategies that you can take in order to encourage your children to eat these important foods.
Make them taste good
Simple recipes can make vegetables taste very good. For instance, you can make a sweet vegetable dish. Take 5 pounds of vegetables and put it in a stock pot with 2/3 cup of maple syrup, 2/3 cup of soy sauce, and a little garlic. Cook it until the vegetables are soft and have absorbed most of the sauce. The vegetables will be sweet, but because there is not a lot of maple syrup it is still a very healthy dish.
You can also add other things to vegetables, such as seasoning or a very small amount of cheese. You can also make a quiche or other dishes. Experiment with different recipes and with different vegetables to see what your child prefers.
Serve vegetables with dip
A lot of children love to eat dip. They may happily eat their vegetables if you serve it with some sort of dip. For something fun, you can serve a variety of dips. Try not to make the dip be something very unhealthy, such as a fattening salad dressing. You can use something healthier such as hummus or a very low-fat dip. Another idea is to make the vegetables the dip. Blend together vegetables and let them dip bread or other foods into it.
Hide vegetables in food
There have been many recipes made that hide vegetables into foods. For instance, you could make a fruit smoothie and add some vegetables. The sweet fruit will hide the taste of the bland vegetables. There are many recipes with all sorts of meals and vegetables. You could even hide vegetables in desserts, such as cookies.
Present vegetables as positive
Some parents present vegetables as unappetizing. You may say that when your children eat their vegetables then they will get dessert. They learned that vegetables are to be suffered through so that they can enjoy the desert.
Instead, talk about how good vegetables are. Eat the vegetables yourself so that your child knows that you enjoy them too. Serve them every day and make it a routine habit. It should be understood that they need to eat their vegetables. Talk about how strong and healthy they get every time they eat their vegetables. For instance, you can ask them to show you their muscles.
It is very important for children to eat vegetables. The above strategies can help you accomplish this goal.