Tips For Getting Your Kids to Eat Vegetables

I do not eat green eggs and ham, 
I do not like them Sam-I-Am.

We all remember those singsong, rhyming words. 

I would not could not with a goat. 
I will not will not in a boat.

We all want a fun Dr. Seuss happy ending, but what do you do when your own picky little eater refuses to eat any of the vegetables on their plate?

I have never made green eggs and ham, but I do have a couple of picky eaters that make Sam-I-Am's journey seem like a piece of cake.  

So how do I combat my 2 little monsters who refuse to eat their veggies?

Sam-I-Am not, but Mom does know best.

A few helpful tips are:

Have your children help you pick out and prepare the vegetables. 

Let your kids see you eating your vegetables and enjoying them. 

If they don't like a particular veggie, what don't they like about it? Talk to them, they might just not like the way it looks, or the texture, or the way it is prepared.  

When they do eat them, try not to make a big deal about it. Eating vegetables is normal, and shouldn't require praise. You make a big deal about it, they will make a big deal about it.

But when none of those work, what do you do? 

Well, my secret is easy. I simply don't tell them. I sneak them in. 

I dice, chop, blend whatever veggies that I can and add them in the sauce, or the meat, or into the recipe.

Carrots are great in pulled pork, taco meat, meatloaf or spaghetti sauce. 
Green beans are also great in meatloaf or spaghetti sauce. 
Onions compliment just about anything, and as long as I chop them very fine, my girls never notice. Spinach also blends nicely in with any red sauce or turkey meatloaf or meatballs. I have even made hamburgers and turkey burgers with mushrooms, onions, carrots and spinach blended into the meat. I sometimes will add crushed tomatoes to taco meat with no problem, but when I use diced, they pick them out. Broccoli, cauliflower, greens, zucchini, summer squash, you name it, if they wouldn't eat it, I have probably hid it in somewhere. 

Parenthood is challenging at times. I am far from perfect.  I am learning as we go, and each day there is something new.  

So I pick and choose my battles. 

My way may be sneaky, but they are eating healthier, and we aren't fighting about it. 

There was no battle. 

I avoided the war altogether. 

Do you have a picky eater?  How do you get them to eat their veggies?

Share it with me below, I would love to hear from you!

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