Tips for Getting Your Kids to Love Fruits & Veggies

I often get the question: How do you get your kids to eat such a variety of foods?

Quickly followed by: My kids are so picky and would never eat that stuff.

I'm thankful to have two great eaters.  They're pretty open to trying new things and are regularly finding new foods to enjoy.  They definitely have favorite foods, preferences and odd foods they enjoy.  But, overall, they are great eaters.  Their favorites have changed over the years.  It's important to remember that kid's favorite foods will change often.

These tips have worked well for our family.

1. Your kids will want to eat what you are eating
Inevitably my children want to eat what I am eating.  This is true for healthy food and for junk food.  If I'm snacking on Oreos, my kids will ask to have some Oreos.  If I'm eating a salad, they'll ask to share my salad and eat the items they love.  So if you are modeling eating fruits and veggies, your kids will take notice and want to try what mom and dad are eating.

Example 1: Fletcher will eat anything that is in my salad bowl.  He loves sharing salads with me.  I have just been making my salads a little bigger, giving him a fork and telling him no double dipping.

Example 2: He'll also help me eat cinnamon rolls. #balance :)

2.  Introduce something 5-10 times before deciding they don't like it
I roasted broccoli so many nights before my kids decided they loved it.  I never made them eat a ton of it.  I just ask that they take one bite.  If they don't care for the food after one bite, they an remove it from their plate.   Keep offering the foods and one day they'll surprise you and want to try it.  Or make a game of it - like a taste testing party and give the food a review from each person.  I made chili back in the Fall and had the kids taste it probably 8 different times.  On the last time he tried it, Fletcher decided he loved it and ate several bowls of it.  Kids are silly!  Don't make meal time stressful.  Make it fun.  Give them things you know they love and then introduce a new food item with their favorites.

3. Ask the kids to help prep fruits and veggies
Get some kid friendly knives and ask the kids to help you chop fruits and veggies.  I've found that my kids are much more excited about eating foods when they help prepare them.  We also offer DIPS to try out crunch veggies - honey mustard, ranch dressing or hummus are favorite dips.  The kids seem to enjoy trying out different dressings with their veggies.

4. Make food fun
Make shapes, rainbows, cute cut outs of your food.  Vary the way you cut up the food so that your kids are fine to eat it in any form.  For example, offer cucumbers with the peeling, without the peeling, cut into circles, spears or diced up.  That way your children will be familiar with any and all forms of a cucumber.  Also try giving your kids veggies in a variety of forms - steamed carrots, roasted carrots, crunchy carrot sticks, carrots in a salad, carrot circles or carrot cake :)  It's fun to show kids that fruits and veggies can be enjoyed in many different forms.

I try to do one fun lunch every week - Monogrammed lunch O & F for the kids and ice cube tray lunches are always a hit at my house.

 
5. Food as Fuel
It's important to teach your kids that healthy foods fuel your body.  They help you grow big and strong and they help your mind to stay sharp.  We also talk about how good we feel when we eat healthy meals.  Candy and junk food do not do this.  We don't talk about good foods or bad foods, but we talk about foods that help your body feel good. 

My kids are just getting to an age where they understand healthy food and eating a colorful rainbow of foods at each meal.  I try and help them practice moderation and add treats into our regular routine.  I feel like banning certain foods or categories of food give kids the desire to binge on them anytime they are offered.  We eat sweets regularly, but make sure to eat a wide variety of healthy things with them.

Favorite Fruits:
Cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, olives, grapes, peaches, nectarines, pineapple, apples, cherries, watermelon and pumpkin.   

Favorite Veggies:
Corn, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, sweet peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and edamame. 

My kids don't love avocados, brussels sprouts, onions, clementines, oranges, pears, celery, kiwi, blueberries or bananas right now.  I don't stress about this dislike list.  I keep offering all of them with meals because I like all of them.  One day they may love them.  Both kids loved bananas when they were younger, but don't care for them right now. 

What fruits and veggies do your kids enjoy?