https://www.safeandhealthylife.com/7-tricks-get-kids-eat-vegetables/

Image Credit: Pexels

We live in a day and age where green and organic diets are the in thing – and it’s about time. As we enjoy the benefits of healthy living, we must also include our little ones in the big move. However, if you are a parent then you know better than anyone else how hard it is to get kids to eat fruits and veggies.

Contrary to popular belief, children don’t actually naturally hate fruits and veggies. Just look at infants and how they gobble up that butternut and kale mash like it. For the most part, it is all about understanding older children and what makes them tick in terms of food preparation and presentation.

Below are 5 simple tips, tricks, and hacks that should help you get your children to eat fruits and veggies. (See also: Top 10 Fruits to Boost Your Daily Health)

5 Ways to Get Your Kids on the Fruits and Veggies Bandwagon

1. Juicing

Juicing makes it easy for the little ones to consume fruits and veggies without having to think about weird textures or monotonous colors that might ordinarily put them off. It also makes it a lot more convenient for you to include a wider variety of healthy ingredients.

Though veggie-based juices are healthier in the long-term, start with mostly fruit juices. It takes kids a while to get used to the taste of vegetable juices so introduce these slowly. Over time, you can swap fruits for their favorite veggies.

Keep in mind that though the freshly pressed juice is a great way to consume more vitamins and minerals, it shouldn’t replace eating whole fruits and vegetables.

If you need help picking a good unit, check out this buying guide of top rated juicers by Wicked Reviews.

2. Food art

When it comes to feeding children, a presentation is everything. Simply placing a plate of sorry-looking greens and boring fruit slices in front of them is not enough.

To get them interested, try and play around with the plate settings and explore your inner food Picasso with some food art. Don’t worry, you don’t have to build a dollhouse out of carrots and kale leaves. You just need something simple like a smiley face made out of fruit slices and a crunchy celery stick.

You could also make your presentation a little more appealing to kids by making it a literal splash of color. A nice fruit bowl with red apples, orange tangerine slices, blueberries, watermelon, and other colorful produce should do the trick.

3. Tasty recipes

Another way to get children to eat healthy food is by making it tasty. It’s not your children’s fault that they don’t like the bland peas and plain old boring boiled broccoli. Get them on Team Green by simply investing some time in finding and trying out new recipes.

What most parents don’t realize is that the Internet is full of amazing healthy recipes that are easy to make. From grilled broccoli to yummy veggie casseroles, make your child’s life easier by serving them healthy meals that are actually tasty. (See also: 7 Tricks to Get Kids to Eat Vegetables)

4. Healthy alternatives to junk

You could also get your children to eat fruits and vegetables by making them look, smell, taste or even feel like their favorite junk foods.

For example, instead of sugar-laden ice-cream, try homemade fruit-based ice-cream with moderate sweetening. Or maybe switch out potato chips for crisp cold apple slices. There are many recipes online for faux junk food made from fruits and vegetables. All you have to do is to find your kid’s favorite snack and find the healthy alternative for it.

5. Leading by example

Finally, if you want your children to eat fruits and vegetables then you need to do it as well. In fact, make it a whole family affair and get everyone on the healthy food train. Involving everyone in your household in this major move helps make the children a lot more receptive to the change.

Conclusion

With these 5 simple tips, your little babies will be certified fruit and veggie junkies. What is probably the most important is leading by example. Children are proper copycats and showing them your love for healthy food will greatly influence them to follow in your footsteps.

About The Author:

Karmen is a freelance writer/virtual assistant living in the beautiful country of France. She studied contemporary history at uni but always felt a pull towards everything nutrition and health-related. She finally got her nutritionist diploma in 2016 and has been writing articles about health, nutrition, and fitness ever since. She is currently working as a Marketing Consultant providing services to small businesses in different niches and works as a writer/editor at Wicked-Reviews.com.

Love to Share