To mask vegetables in the child’s favorite dishes, to serve them beautifully, to put cartoons during meals - parents go to all sorts of tricks to make the crumbs eat healthy broccoli. How to help your baby love the taste of vegetables? Read our tips.
Statistics show that only 40% of Russian children eat vegetables every day, and even in the amount that is considered the norm. It is difficult to blame parents, because persuading the baby to try mashed cauliflower or boiled beet salad is a real test. Fortunately, the problem can be solved.
1. Use the rule 10 times
Parents of three-year-olds most often complain about a child’s complete rejection of vegetables. Their problem is that they lost time and did not introduce the kid to a variety of tastes during the introduction of complementary foods or surrendered too soon, faced with the unwillingness of the crumbs to eat any product. Offer new tastes at least 10 times: if the child frowns and spits out broccoli the first 9 times, the chances are that he will eventually eat it with pleasure.
2. Experiment with food consistency, color and plate depth
There is another common reason why children do not want to eat vegetables - they simply are not familiar with the consistency of a new dish for them. Perhaps your favorite cookie crumbs crunch, but pumpkin porridge - no. To solve the problem, in this case, you need to gradually offer the child food of different consistencies - jelly, mashed potatoes, pieces of vegetables, soft, hard, oily food.
By the way, scientists have proved that subconsciously eating red and orange flowers seems more attractive to people, and green food - on the contrary. Therefore, first give the baby vegetables of “attractive” colors: carrots, pumpkins, tomatoes. Then gently add the rest to his diet.
In addition, children are more likely to eat from small deep plates than from large and wide ones. Color is also important - it is better that the child’s plate is yellow, orange or red.
3. Offer vegetables without coercion
In no case do not put ultimatums to the child (“until you eat everything, you will not leave the table”) and do not resort to blackmail (“if you don’t get the mashed potatoes, you won’t get the candy”). The “one bite” rule is much more effective: arrange with the baby to try only one piece of broccoli and describe its taste, even if it does not swallow if it does not want to. The taste can be changed with seasonings and various additives. So, vegetables become more appetizing when animal fats are added to them - cheese, butter, sour cream.
Control the serving size.Better the kid asks for the supplement than immediately loses his appetite, seeing a huge portion for him that he can’t overpower.
4. Start each meal with vegetables
Remember yourself: when you are hungry, even unloved dishes begin to seem more delicious to you. After satisfying an acute hunger, this amazing effect no longer works. Therefore, always start your meal with vegetable stew, soup, salad or casserole. To begin with, it is enough if the crumbs eat at least a couple of spoons - this is better than nothing.
5. Refuse sweets, cookies, nuts
This is a commonplace, but quite effective measure. When there is a choice between a donut in a sweet glaze and an apple, it is difficult to resist a donut. If on a plate there is a cucumber, tomato and carrot, the chances that the child will still try the vegetables increase dramatically. So it is better to refuse sweets, pastries, salted nuts, chips.
By the way, you can make tasty and healthy chips from vegetables that are sure to please the baby. They are easy to make at home - just put slices of zucchini, carrots, pumpkin or beets on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, add a little seasoning and bake at a low temperature until crisp. Store in an opaque sealed jar.
6. Set an example
Eat with crumbs, show that you enjoy the taste of vegetables, say how you like them. Set not only your own example, but also an example from the side. So, in the United States during the period of popularity of the cartoon about the sailor Popeye, children became more willing to eat spinach. This is because canned spinach gave this character super strength.
Watch movies and cartoons about food with children, read fairy tales. Their choice is huge: “Ratatouille”, “Cloudy with a chance of meatballs”, episodes of “Smesharikov”, “Masha and the Bear”. It all depends on the age and interests of your child.
7. Cook vegetables with chicken or meat
If a vegetable side dish is prepared with meat or chicken, it becomes even tastier, saturated with the aroma of herbs and spices, as well as meat juice. It is highly likely that the baby will not just eat such a dish without vagaries, but even ask for an addition.
Try also experimenting with serving. With the help of vegetables, you can turn a chicken leg into a funny crayfish, mashed potatoes into hedgehogs, and a salad will become more attractive for a child if served in a “glass” of bell pepper.
We also read: 9 tips to help your child love healthy foods
I myself am a raw foodist and taught my daughter from the cradle only to plant and raw food. The daughter grows healthy and does not complain about vegetables. If your child does not eat vegetables, try to ban them on the contrary, the opposite effect will work.
I did not encounter such a problem, I guess. because I didn’t try to force me to eat what I don’t like.After all, food should be a pleasure for both a child and an adult. And vegetables such as carrots, boiled beets are sweet, and the child will eat them without problems. When the teeth are already there, you can give the grated raw carrot.