With three children under the age of 10, there’s bound to be one (or two) who are picky eaters. Right? In my case, it’s true. My youngest child no longer eats beans or “mushy” carrots. He does not like macaroni & cheese or certain meats and will gag to try to get out of looking at a sweet pea. Still, I put the sweet peas on his plate and fix beans all the time. He won’t budge.
With that said, I had to come up with a way to get him to eat things other than potatoes, pork chops and salad, though those are somewhat healthy options.
Offer Raw Vegetables!
My son will eat tomatoes and raw carrots all day. He will also eat sugar snap peas raw. Cook them and he turns his head.
Change It Up!
My son will eat broccoli with cheese, but not plain. He will eat raw carrots, if he can dip in Ranch Dressing. We like to make Ants on a Log with celery… but if I offer celery alone, it’s left on the plate.
Hide It!
I cook spaghetti often. Since I cook the sauce all day, I add in vegetables that blend right in. Even though I dice these vegetables very small, no one notices the carrots, eggplant or mushrooms once the sauce is cooked. (Carrots look like tomatoes, eggplant disappears and the mushroom pieces look like ground meat.) You could also add in some V-8 or put the vegetables in a blender before cooking your sauce.
Let Your Child In The Kitchen!
My son isn’t one for hummus or cucumbers. But let him make a vegetable appetizer on his own and he will eat it! Take a look at our video – make sure you watch through the end to see how a child will come around… eventually:
Remember that your child will soon learn he is missing out on something and one day, he will try it. Until then, keep offering the refused items and remember “this, too, shall pass.”
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