How to get kids to eat veggies

How to get kids to eat veggies? A lot of parents struggle with it. I know I (still) am. A furrowed brow, scrunched up nose, stuck out tongue and ‘that’s yucky’ muttered from your kids’ mouth when vegetables are on their plate. Sounds familiar? Sure does to me. And even though I have gotten them to eat more vegetables over time I still feel I am not there 100%. Are you feeling frustrated about the constant whining at the dinner table? Let me share a few of my tips and tricks that have helped for me and my children with you.

January 2024: New paragraph added about specifically for teenagers. Scroll all the way down. Or better yet, read the whole blogpost and you’ll get there!

How much vegetables should a child actually eat?

Before we talk about how we get our kids to eat veggies, let’s talk about how much vegetables kids should eat per day. I did some research online and I found so many different answers.

Let’s start with what the USDA says. They recommend 1-3 cups a day. They specify that a 2-3 year old should eat 1 cup of veggies and by the time a child (male) is 18 years old his daily consumption of vegetables should be 3 cups.

Since I am dutch I also checked the official dutch ‘nutrition center’ (www.voedingscentrum.nl). They recommend 1-3 year olds to consume 1-2 serving spoons and 4-8 year olds 2-3 serving spoons of vegetables (adults: 5). There are 16 table spoons in a cup, and a bit more than 2 table spoons in a serving spoon. So that means that the recommendations are far apart. 1 cup of vegetables seems a bit challenging to me, bringing it down to 4 table spoons seems a bit more manageable.

What I remember from when my kids were really little and I was so worried they didn’t eat enough nutritious food, is you shouldn’t look at what they eat per day, but more so per week. Some days they eat a lot of veggies (let’s say you made homemade spaghetti sauce from scratch and put in a lot of veggies. I bet they eat more of that than a side of spinach, right?) and other days a bit less.

‘Toddler puberty’, one of the causes of not wanting to eat veggies?

My kids ate everything when they were little. Fruit, veggies, they loved it! So, why did they become no-no-ers around the age of 2? I don’t think it has anything to do with the food we give our children, more so with them reaching ‘toddler puberty’; saying ‘no’ to everything just because they can. They say no even before they have even seen the food you want to give them. Tischa Neve, a child psychologist in the Netherlands, confirms it has nothing to do with food. They say no, because they know you will respond to it.

So how do we get our children to eat veggies again? This is how to: talk to them about it, sing the ‘no song’ with them, let them scream ‘no’ 10 times as loud as they can; give them the attention they are asking for. But never connect ‘no’ to the food. Just let them do their ‘no-thing’, then continue with ‘regular life’ and once they have ‘cooled off’ present them their plate of food. Omg, if I would have stopped and thought about this when mine started doing this….

Don’t tell them what to do, show them what to do

But what if they still don’t want to eat their veggies when you are older (mine or 7 and 9)? How do you get them to eat their veggies then? Some children have a strong sense of knowing how they can influence their surroundings. They know if they put up a fight, mom and dad will respond. They are putting up a fight so they can win from you. There is only one way to not let that happen and that is not to accept the challenge… It is hard, I know. If your child chooses not to eat (its vegetables), don’t start an argument.

Children copy what they see. If they see you and maybe siblings eat certain foods, eventually they will try it. If you don’t put pressure on them, it’ll come. Trust me! If you tell them to eat something, they won’t do it. They want to have the feeling they are the ones that made the decision to eat it, not you. Super hard. I know, I have been there (still am actually…).

A pleasant dinner experience helps a lot

Make sure dinner time is a nice experience; being social as a family; talk about your day together. Make it less about food and you will notice a difference after a while.

Oh, and don’t threaten them with no dessert. I have done that and it just doesn’t work. Children will develop a negative feeling towards healthy food and stay away from it even more so.

Ok, so what does work?

Here are 8 of my tips and tricks to get kids to eat veggies. All tested and proven itself here in our home

1. put out a meal into separate small bowl so kids can pick and choose what to eat themselves

Empower kids by letting them choose what to eat themselves. So instead of putting a plate full of food in front of them, serve dinner in different serving bowls all in the middle of the dinner table so they can pick and choose themselves. My number one rule is: you can choose whatever you want as long as it is on the table. Choose how much yourself, but once you leave the dinner table you can’t ask for more food (because this happened all the time: Half an hour after dinner: ‘Mom can I have something to eat, I am still hungry’).

Perfect meals for this are a ‘Mexican roll-your-own-taco night’ and Mediterranean night; ‘stuff your own pita’; where a lot of different small dishes are all put out together on the table. Super festive and inviting (and a great way to introduce new foods!). This is one of the ways I really got my kids to try more veggies.

2. Keep on (re)introducing different vegetables

To get kids to try more veggies, you should keep on introducing/reintroducing different vegetables. I always tell my kids to at least try. ‘How do you know if you like or don’t like something if you haven’t try it?’ is what I ask them. My trick is to put it on the table and don’t say anything. When they ask what it is, I tell them and let them know they haven’t had it before. I am not asking/telling them to try it. Lately my oldest has been asking me if he can try ‘the new vegetable’. YAY!

3. The first bite or sip is the most important one; make it stand out!

Also when you introduce a new vegetable, you want your kids to be wowed immediately right? So here’s my trick (it’s not a really honest one, but sometimes you have to do what it takes right?); make sure it is the most delicious version of it.

Let me give you an example. Carrots naturally have some sweetness to them. To enhance that, add 2 drops of honey when you are preparing them. They will become even sweeter. Your kids will love them. Next time you only add 1 drop and the third time try it without it. Now your kids are eating carrots!

4. Hide veggies

One of the best ways to get kids to eat veggies is to simply hide them. My homemade roasted tomato sauce is a great example. It is packed with tomatoes, garlic and onions all blended together into a smooth sauce. A lot of times I will add carrots and bell pepper to the roasting pan as well to get even more veggies in! I know they can’t eat blended food the rest of their lives, but for now I’ll take it!

Other great examples are hiding vegetables in smoothies or even in pancakes (blend beetroot in the batter to make them purple or spinach to make them green… a colorful stack of pancakes who can resist that!?).

In fact, in most of my (family weekday meal) recipes I have included tips and tricks on how to make them kid proof.

All of these recipes have ‘family friendly instructions’:

• Balsamic cherry tomato tagliatelle;
• Grilled Mahi Mahi and pineapple tacos;
• 1-skillet chicken cherry tomato orzo;
• 1-pot coconut curry noodle soup;
• Hungarian goulash stew;
• 1-skillet Thai lentil curry;
• Easy Tikka Masala;
• and there are many more.

5. Superhero foods

Think like a kid. When my boys where totally into superheroes, I introduced my ‘the Hulk smoothie’ (one of my 3 green smoothies) to get them to eat more veggies. They are made with kale, avocado, mint and spinach among others). They wanted to try it (Hulk food so duh!) and they loved it! I made sure they really loved the first one though; I put enough fruit in it they like to get the taste right and added a splash of honey to make it a bit sweeter. And ever since they drink green smoothies (even without the extra sweetness).

6. Already put out veggies before dinner

My youngest likes tomatoes, but never eats them (at home). He tells me all the time he had them for lunch at school. I have seen him eat them at my mom’s house. So lately I have been putting some tomato wedges, cucumber and carrots on the table when I am cooking dinner and sure enough he eats them. He eats them because he is hungry and is not distracted be other food (if you can choose between chicken and tomato what would you go for?). So another trick to get kids to eat veggies is to get some vegetables out in small bowls while you are still preparing dinner. Less of a fight at the dinner table, because he already had his veggies. WIN!

7. Let your kids help you out in the kitchen

I think the most important tip to get kids to eat veggies is to have them help you out in the kitchen. And for me – a foodie – also something I like them to get involved in. Yes, in the beginning it will cost you more time to prepare something, but you have to start somewhere, right?

I have mine help me out all the time and I really think it helps. They see how dishes are created. They feel proud when they make something from scratch themselves. I really think that knowing what something is made of, will stimulate them to give new dishes a try. I always ask my kids to taste the food we are preparing. And they are more likely to do so in the kitchen, because we are creating instead of consuming. And once they do so in the kitchen, they will be more willing to do so at the dinner table as well. Check out this blogpost about why kids should help out in the kitchen for more details about the benefits of children being involved in the process of preparing food.

8. From ‘separate piles’ to mixed foods

A lot of kids don’t like it when foods are mixed together, but they will eat them separately. So do mine. I have been given them their food in ‘separate piles’ and they are happy. But in the end we want them to eat the dish we had planned for dinner instead of all the separate parts, right? By explaining them that it is nothing more than mixing the things they like together, I am slowly getting them to try new dishes (simple example: fried rice with chicken and cubed vegetables). Let them help you out in the kitchen and they can see for theirselves.

Let’s talk about t(w)eens..

How do we get our teenagers to eat more veggies (or healthier in general)?

Once kids get older, they spread their wings more and you are not in control of what they eat all the time anymore. Putting the emphasis on educating them about healthy eating (and leading by example) instead of telling them what to do/eat, becomes important now. That way they can make the right choice without you having to tell them.

To start with, I am not a nutritionist, but I have read a lot about nutrition and what it does to/for the body. And in general I am interested in a healthy diet.  So everything mentioned here is just my opinion. I am not preaching anything extreme, just some general health recommendations, like not eating tons of processed food (first of all because you don’t know what is in it exactly).

Like I said, I am very interested in a healthy diet. And now that both my sons are competitive surfers, knowing what is good for your body and how to get stronger is more important that ever. So when my oldest son was studying for a science test about nutrition, I was right beside him reading along. That test and his competitive mind, triggered awareness and the willingness to eat healthier for him.

Not only that, he is figuring out what a highly active boy his age should eat; how much and what type of protein, carbohydrates and fats are good for him? And which micro nutrients and how many. He is so interested now, that he asks me which of my recipes are good for him. And… he is trying new foods, because he knows they are good for him. Begging for packaged food has occurred less and less frequent lately. When he wants a snack, a lot of times he grabs a piece of fruit now. My other son, who is only 10, is not that far yet. But his brother’s diet (awareness) is rubbing off on him.

Less processed food

Knowing what a healthy diet is, makes me buy less and less processed foods. The less you eat it, the less you want it. If it is not around, you will grab something else and before you know it, eating healthier is part of your routine. And if it is your routine, it will become your family’s routine as well! Where to start? Well, I started with making my own breakfast cereals: homemade granola, and homemade cocoa puffs, for example. I love to start the day healthy! And now that my kids start their day healthy as well, I have one thing less to worry about.

Another thing with growing teenagers is they ask for so many snacks! I try to get them to eat fruit and veggies as much as I can when they ask for a snack, but it doesn’t always work. My oldest loves to snack on bread and tortillas. So I have been making my own whole wheat tortillas and other flat breads like whole wheat naan bread and whole wheat pita bread lately. Cutting out the store bought version of these items, has been a big thing. I feel so much better about it. Yes it is extra work in the kitchen, but once you get the hang of it, and it becomes a routine, it is quite easy.

Healthy, homemade snacks

Always having healthy snacks at hand, helps. I have been making a lot of breakfast cookies lately, loads them up on all the healthy stuff (I have 3 types of breakfast cookies here for you to try). Offering just healthy snacks at home, makes it easier for me to let go and say yes to packaged foods when out and about with friends. 

How to get kids to eat veggies? It is not easy. I know all too well. But all of these tips and tricks are helping me and I am sure they will help you as well. Give this a try. I am positive you will be successful.

Let me know how you do. Have my tips been useful? Are you still struggling with it? Leave a comment and I will answer your question. Tag pictures of your successes @familicious.kitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #familicious #eatyourveggies