Get them to eat those veggies! #peasandthankyou

Getting kids to eat vegetables can be hard, as I'm quickly figuring out!  Talker Man is NOT a vegetable eater and balks at anything resembling one.  I've come up with a few tips and tricks that I hope can help you get your kids to eat their veggies, and at the end, feel free to share any of your own tips and tricks that the rest of us may be able to adapt to use as well!!

1) Salsa.  For our house, salsa is a delicious snack and doesn't resemble vegetables in flavor or shape!  It's a great little healthy trick!

2) Spaghetti!  Another one of my tricks.  He's still young enough that he doesn't realize the red sauce is actually made of tomatoes and other healthy options!

3) Add baby food!  You know, the pureed jars that one day your baby eats and the next day they've decided are far too disgusting to be devoured?  Use them in sauces, meatloaf, burgers, whatever!  Just dump a jar in, nobody will know the difference!

4) Breads -- zucchini bread anyone?  He has no idea that it's anything more than something tasty.

5) Use dipping sauces - ranch or cheese work well here, sometimes I can get him to eat some broccoli just by telling him to dip it in a sauce.  This doesn't always work because he can visibly see the vegetable *eye roll*

6) Make a veggie pizza!  Talker Man won't eat the meat or pepperoni on a pizza so I try to use spinach, mushrooms (I have to cut them so they don't look like mushrooms), shredded carrots (they can look like cheese to a 4 year old), etc.

7) Stick it on the plate even if you don't think they're going to eat it.  Most of the time this doesn't work, but sometimes I'll catch him sneaking a bite to see how it tastes.  He doesn't know it, but that's a small victory!

8) Fruit/veggie juice, anyone?  It works here, sometimes.  If you dump it out of the container that your kid probably knows contains vegetables and put it into a plastic/glass juice container, they're more likely to drink it.  (Yes, this is from experience!)

9) For kids that will actually eat things that look like vegetables, make them fun!  Cut them into fun shapes or let them help you prepare their snack plate.

10) Keep trying.  And trying.  And trying.

I know these almost all ended up being ways to hide those vegetables, but in my house that's the only thing that's worked.  If he starts eating them off of his plate I'll be one happy mama!  On the flip side of this little coin, Tiny Man LOVES vegetables, he eats peas and green beans like they're candy and would choose them over a cookie any day.  It all depends on the kid and once you find what works, just go with it!   

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Peas and Thank You blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here.