How do you get your kids to eat more fruits/vegetables?

[MSSANDRA]

Use snacks as a way to get more fruits and veggies in!

What works well for us is to not have a lot of poor choices around for snacks and then make fruits and veggies VERY easy and apealing to choose.

I do not buy cookies, chips, high fat/sugar snacks.

I do buy lots of fruits, then have them ready to eat. Wash and take grapes off the vine and put them in a bowl in the front of the freg. Cut up apple, pears, pinapple, peaches and treat with fruit fresh and keep in kid reach.

Buy baby carrots or shreaded carrots. Cut up colorful peppers,cucumbers, squash, whatever. Buy the grape tomatos. keep a few choices of dips (low-fat). Let kids help themselves whenever they want.

Lots of good ideas for meals already. DGS will eat just about any thing "dipped".

Also fruit for deset works well. We often add a dab of fat free cool whip to make it more "desert like".

GOOD LUCK!

 

[PiperPizzaz]

I have one of the sneaky chef books. I don't get to use it because Ds won't eat anything she hides the stuff in! He has sensitivity issues so when he was about 15 mos. old he went from eating everything to practically nothing within a few weeks. He will eat a few fruits but, no vegetables. He doesn't eat hot dogs, hamburgers or macaroni either.

I love doing the raw smoothies with the greens because I know if he has enough his body will start craving the greens and fruits. It has worked wonders for me too! He will sometimes drink them and sometimes not. I think I need to find him a fun special cup or something.

 

[design_mom]

The best thing that has worked for me has been to serve the veggies as an appetizer. When you're working to get dinner on the table and the kids are already hungry, give them something to eat (carrot sticks and ranch, a salad, steamed broccoli only takes a few minutes in the microwave. My kids also love frozen peas, straight from the freezer. We call them "popsicle peas.") They're thrilled they get a "snack before dinner" but it's a healthy one and it gets the veggies in up front.

My kids also love anything with dip. Their favorite is ranch, but they'll also accept healthier options like yogurt or peanut butter as dips. (And, like a PP said, they'll dip anything in anything. My DD loves bananas dipped in ranch (gak!) and DS used to love green beans in ketchup. He'd call them "green fries.")

 

[loonytoony]

There are a lot recipes out there that show you how to disguise veggies into your meals. I know of one book called Deceptively Delicious written by Jessica Seinfeld, although I can't personally vouch for the recipes.
My girlfriend does banana bread muffins w/ pureed cauliflower in it & you can't tell the difference.

OK that just sounds nasty.

 

[limace]

My girls are relatively good eaters, but it's definitely been an issue at various times. It helps a lot that DH eats anything; it's so sabotaging when one of the parents refuses to try stuff that is good for the kids.

We've made a rule that everyone in the family gets to pick one thing that they absolutely despise and never have to try (Eldest DD chose broccoli, DH hates grapefruit) and other than that, they have to taste things every time. If they don't like it, they don't have to eat any more than one bite-but my eldest has found that sometimes she does like something after the tenth or twentieth or hundredth taste.

Let go of any rules you might have about how things have to be served. My 3 year old loves frozen peas, still frozen, for instance. Both girls hate cooked spinach and aren't fond of salads, but will eat all the spinach I can grow by "sneaking" into the garden and eating it off the plant. They also love to eat tomatoes and peas right off the vine. Frozen blueberries are a huge hit.

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

I have one of the "trick your kids" books and make the food whether or not I'm tricking him and his dad! It's not everyday but no one has complained about the broccoli I've put in the chicken so far. We also make a lot of the recipes for appetizers at parties. There are a lot of useable recipes in there and adding a vegetable is just a bonus.

DS won't sit down with a huge plate of vegetables. It just won't happen. He hates them raw and can't really chew them. He does really well with any style potato and will only eat carrots if they are cooked very well done. He loves sweet potatoes in the oven (plain) and doesn't mind corn from time to time. We just put a little bit of whatever we are eating on his plate and let him go. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes not.

DS is awesome with most fruits. You can try adding little bits to the applesauce you know will go in to get used to the texture then start adding less applesauce. We added mashed peaches and pears first. I made baked apples in the oven and he loved them! A simple can of fruit cocktail (in fruit juice rinsed) can give you an idea of what they might like too. That's only 75 cents for a trial of a few different things. And it's easy to chew.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

My dd is 21 months, but still working on her molars (she is a little behind in her teeth). I have a hard time working veggies into her lunch unless she's eating leftovers. She really can't to raw veggies b/c she can't chew them yet. I don't want to disguise them b/c she is a fabulous eater and will eat almost any vegetable cooked.
Anyone else have suggestions

My son is 23 months, so I'm in the same boat as far as raw veggies. I usually just make extras the night before, so there are some leftovers.

As far as getting him to eat them - most of the time, he'll eat anything. If for some reason, he won't that night, we just put a bit of cheese, gravy, ketchup, etc on his plate so he can "dunk-dunk" He's happy, and the veggies go down!

Jen

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

I find the best way to get veggies into my kids is to put raw veggies out while I am cooking. This is when they always come to me saying they are "starving" wanting to know how much longer till dinner. They will grab some carrots, snap peas, broccoli etc.

works for us!

 

[LuvOrlando]

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[JamesMom]

My DS6 has always been a great eater - there isn't a fruit he doesn't like and he devours lots of it. Veggies not so much but he will eat brocoli, tomatos, carrots, etc. Now my DS4 on the other hand -ugh! If it isn't a cracker, chip, bagel, pasta or nugget - he won't eat it! He will go on hunger strikes. I try to get fortified cereals, breads, pastas (made wth veggies) and juices to try and round out his diet. I prepare the same foods but have different eating kids. My DS4 has sensitivity issues so that plays a role in it. Thank goodness for chewable vitamins!