Tasha Goes Blue: Open Mouth – Insert Veggies
The first question some of you wanted to know from THIS POST is the infamous, “How do you get your kids to eat their veggies?!” question. Well, I promised you advice and sarcasm, so here ya go!
My kids love their veggies and they eat them without blinking an eye…did I promise honesty? While my kids do enjoy quite a variety of veggies and the like, they would happily take a donut over a carrot any day. Heck, so would I! But I started them young, and that’s key! But it’s never too late to get those veggies in those mouths…I promise! First off, I talk to my boys daily about the importance of healthy eating habits. “Why do I need to eat my peas?!” While “Because I said so” is the easiest answer, I really try to explain that I want them to be big and strong and healthy, blah, blah, blah. Also, I always put the veggies on their plate, even if I know they don’t like them! One of these days they will realize that I am not giving up! They might be 25, but dog-gone-it they will!! Bottom line, I MAKE my kids eat their veggies…yes, that’s right…I MAKE THEM!! Not in the hold you down and shove the spinach down your throat kind of way either…read on…
Have I ever told you that I am very deceptive? I love Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious Cookbook. I get so many great ideas on steaming and pureeing foods then sneaking them into my kids’ meals. What they don’t know won’t hurt them! And then when I found the Beaba BabyCook, it was that much easier to get the job done! Do my kids ever notice the hidden veggies? Nah…most of the time they eat their macaroni and cheese laced with squash with happy little yellow smiles on their faces!
This brings me to my next point, if they do taste something “off” about their dinner or I put a veggie in front of them that they are not excited about…we have a rule about their response, or tantrum, whatever you want to call it. You know how it goes, one child says, “Ewww!! What’s this green stuff?!” And before you know it, all the little copycats are pushing away their plates! No, no, no…that is unacceptable! (channeling my Super Nanny voice) We have a rule that while at the dinner table, we do not use words like gross, yucky, disgusting, Mommy where did you learn how to cook, etc, etc. They know the rules, and they know the rewards of polite behavior at the table…
Which bring me to my final bit of advice…and this is the kicker, people! It’s very simple…no veggies = no dessert!! That’s it! Sounds too simple, right? Trust me, the first few times we did the whole, “Eat your veggies or noooo dessert!” rule, there was mutiny aboard the S.S. Lehman! It takes persistence! It takes strength! It takes a very large glass of wine! Seriously, they will only miss out on dessert a few times while everyone else happily licks their ice cream cone before they realize how serious you are! If the going gets rough, we don’t sit at the table all night arguing with them, either. A couple of warnings, then the timer is set, if they don’t take their bites before the timer goes off, that’s IT!! (We do as many bites and minutes on the timer for how old they are, so our four year old has to take four bites of said revolting veggie and then has four minutes to do so if a tantrum erupts!)
And before you get all “I can’t believe you give your kids a sugery dessert every single night” on me, let me clarify one thing. Dessert in our house can be anything from a fruit and yogurt smoothie to making faces out of apples, peanut butter and raisins. Keep it simple and fun and your kids will love it! One last tip: sprinkles make everything look like dessert, even if it’s just applesauce!!
