Including vegetables in your children’s diet is essential as veggies give your kids their needed vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, energy, and water. Veggies also help them from chronic diseases later in life. Because vegetables make our body healthy, most probably you have a vegetable garden in your Lessandra Monticello house and lot.
However, though veggies are healthy and good for the body, not all kids are inclined to eat them, thinking they taste bitter or like they’re eating grass or a tree. If your kids are not interested in eating vegetables, don’t lose hope! There are different ways you can encourage them to eat their veggies. Here are some of them:
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To better acquaint your kids with vegetables, it is best to get them involved in preparing and cooking them. When kids are involved in cooking, they are more likely to try their creations.
You can also teach your kids how to prepare one vegetable in multiple ways. That way, they can also determine which one they love best.
The taste and appearance of vegetables can affect your children’s perception of vegetables. When preparing vegetables, keep in mind to make them tasty and appetizing. For example, aside from adding in salt, make your steamed or stir-fried veggies zestier by adding a spritz of lemon juice.
Aside from cooking vegetables in different ways, it would be nice to cut your vegetables into different shapes and sizes. Afterwards, you can arrange them neatly or creatively when you serve them at your dinner table.
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Present your kids with different types of vegetables. You may bring them along with you when you go grocery shopping so that they are familiar with the wide variety of vegetables available in the market.
To make them appreciate vegetables, you may introduce them to colorful vegetables such as purple cabbage, multi-colored carrots, and cherry tomatoes.
Trying to eat something you’re not familiar with is a considerable achievement. So when your kids give a vegetable they’re too afraid to eat a bite, give them praise. They will be encouraged to taste and eat more vegetables. The aim of giving praise is for them to eat more vegetables, not to receive other rewards from you.
On the other hand, avoid punishing your child for not eating vegetables because it can negatively affect them. If they refuse to eat, just let them try it again another time. You have to be patient.
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After playing at the amenity area of your Lessandra Monticello community, you may serve your kids vegetables as their snacks. This way, they may learn how to love eating veggies. You may combine chopped vegetables such as carrot sticks or cucumber slices in a container.
You may even serve them with a variety of dips to enhance their flavors. Cheese dip, ranch dip, and mayo dip are just some of the ones you can try to encourage your child to eat vegetables.
You may slice, dice, puree, or grate vegetables when you include them in your child’s favorite meals so that they can get the nutrients they need from these veggies. For example, if your kid isn’t a fan of squash, you can make squash soup paired with toast. You can also do the same with tomato, or combine different vegetables like squash, potato, and carrot to make a hearty vegetable soup.
However, it is still important that you give your kids vegetables in their original form so that they will be accustomed to their textures, taste, and appearance.
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Of course, nothing beats being a good example to your kids. If you encourage them to eat vegetables, they should see that you too are enjoying the same vegetables you are teaching them to eat.
May these simple tips help you teach your children how to eat their vegetables!
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