What are some ways to encourage children to eat green vegetables?

1. 92

   AliciaCposted 12 years ago

   What are some ways to encourage children to eat green vegetables?

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2. 82

   Emma Harveyposted 12 years ago

   By making vegetables interesting, children get interested. Show them how to shell peas and get them involved and get them to try some raw stuff as you're preparing. Mix it with other veg too like crunchy carrot sticks or different shaped cucumber pieces. My son will only eat different fruit when I am preparing a fruit salad and I give him pieces as I go along. Also hiding vegetable in food is an old trick. Blend up green cook vegetables and mix it in a bolognese sauce, etc. This way they can't see them. Or make a smiley faced homemade pizza with green peppers and other veg. Blending up soups and serving with crunchy bread is always a hit in my house, and my child loves it. Put whatever you want in.

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3. 80

   Becky Katzposted 12 years ago

   I make stir fry vegetables. When my children were little and now with my grandchildren, as I am cutting up the vegetables, they steal little pieces of this or that. Also as I am fixing salads, they will take little pieces. Fixing vegetable plates, with raw vegetables, to dip in ranch dressing, is something my kids and grandkids love also.

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4. 66

   Mercia Collinsposted 12 years ago

   Remember that little children's taste buds are different to adults. Leave the stronger tasting vegetables until they are older. Do not be like the mother who complained that her five year old would not eat aubergine (egg plant), an acquired taste for adults, let alone for a small child.

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5. 39

   Luti Febrian Wposted 12 years ago

   i will plating my vegetables like a face, combine it with carbohydrate like macaroni and cute smile like tomato sauce  .. i arrange the macaroni so look like a curly hair, cut the carrot 2x1 cm and use it for shaping a face, cut cherry tomato and make an eyes, put the bean as a nose and add the thousand island as a huge smile.
   voila!!! a cute curly salad

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6. 79

   sallieannluvslifeposted 12 years ago

   When my boys were growing up, I swore I would not force them to eat brussel sprouts and okra, like I was forced to eat.  Fruits have as many or more vitamins as vegetables and my kids loved fruit so I made sure to include a vitamin packed fruit at every dinner.  I also gave them multi-vitamins.  I included a green vegetable at every meal so they could see my husband and I eating them, in case they wanted to try them.  Now that they are older, they eat pretty much every vegetable I serve and if they don't, they know what they can substitute to get the same vitamin amount or more in something else.

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7. 78

   Princessaposted 12 years ago

   Gardening is a very good way to get children interested in preparing and eating the fruits and vegetables that they have grown. read more

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8. 60

   cdatheyposted 12 years ago

   The first thing that comes to mind is adding cheese on top of like broccoli.  Also the idea of blending the green veggies in with the pasta sauce is a great idea.  I say also to use alot of patience and keep offering them to the kids.  Here are alot of neat ideas http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/355545

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9. 81

   jirelposted 12 years ago

   You can add green vegetables in food they love to it.Make them used to eating vegetables with the food they like.Over time,they'll get used to it and eat vegetables without any problem.I may sound stupid.But if your children are too young and still watch cartoons, ask them to watch 'Popeye the sailorman'.Trust me, my young cousins used to watch him eat spinach and get strong.So they also started eating spinach.The other way you could influence them is connecting them to their role models.For example, children have role models, maybe their older sisters or anyone else.You tell children that their role models love green vegetables.Also tell them if they do not want to wear glasses, not become sick, and be good children they should eat green vegetables.

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10. 60

    Marc Babineauposted 12 years ago

    Cheese!  Just melt some Cheddar, Jack and maybe a little spice together and pour over the greens.  Kids love cheese, and will eat anything smothered in it. Just make sure that you don't use processed cheese.

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11. 61

    Mala Srivastavaposted 12 years ago

    By presenting our dishes in a new way, we can certainly encourage children to eat green vegetables. We should also teach them about the health benefits of eating vegetables. By setting our own example, we can change the thinking of our children. When I was a child, I hardly ate green vegetables but now I cannot think of eating anything else. This is because of my mother's continuous effort to make me healthy.

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12. 88

    DonnaCosmatoposted 12 years ago

    Puree the vegetables and use the puree to substitute for part of the fat in baked goods. Chocolate will disguise the taste of stronger flavored vegetables (like peas). I use  a 50/50 rule; substitute half the fat with a fruit or vegetable puree, so if your recipe calls for 1 cup butter, you can use 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup puree. Jerry Seinfield's wife (Jessica) wrote an excellent cookbook on this method called Deceptively Delicious. When I was assistant headmaster at a private school, we used the leftover vegetables in this manner and the kids always raved about the cookies, brownies and cupcakes:)

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13. 0

    onlookerposted 12 years ago

    My Mum always related beauty to food. Whatever the vegetables were she'd go, o...it is going to make you tall, this one is going to make you strong, give you beautiful hair/skin/eyes, perfect smile etc. Cant believe i bought into all of that and later when i did realize they were all.......??!! she still argues vegetables equals to everything good.

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14. 60

    macquelinedcposted 12 years ago

    The best way to encourage them is to make the vegetables look appealing to them. what i do is i mix some other colored veggies. when i saute` or stir fry some greens, i add a little carrots, tomatoes, and yellow peppers. just enough to add color to the dish. kids love colorful food.

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15. 61

    danajconnellyposted 12 years ago

    I wrote a hub on this very topic.  Hope it helps.

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16. 67

    Dale Hydeposted 12 years ago

    Eating them yourself is a great starter. Then fixing them in various ways to make them more attractive to children visually and taste wise.

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17. 68

    veggie-momposted 12 years ago

    Many children do not like the taste of leafy green vegetables, but adding spinach to my egg & cheese wrap recipe will have them asking for more! read more

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18. 60

    bmukherjiiposted 12 years ago

    I think, kids love sandwiches. So we can add some leafy green vegetables with their favorite seasoning and serve them on an attractive plate

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19. 82

    Emma Harveyposted 12 years ago

    Trying to encourage children to eat fruit and vegetables is quite a challenge. Bits of green things on the side of their plate can be rather off putting. Trying out some techniques to make it tasty and more appealing is easier than you think. read more

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20. 0

    Diana Abrahamsonposted 7 years ago

    Create salad sticks for a dip. Carrots and celery are tastier this way. Kids sometimes do not like the mushy cooked vegetables. Broccoli springs to mind. The smell also has a lot to do with it too!

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