How to get kids to eat their vegetables

Are you slipping your children broccoli in their cupcakes? Is the pizza crust made of riced cauliflower? If you’re tricking the kids into eating their veggies, you may be winning the battle but losing the war.

Instead, listen to some research-based advice from a nutrition expert and Kansas State University professor who says getting kids used to vegetables can start in the womb.

Studies show that pregnant women who eat bitter foods, like kale and Brussels sprouts, have children who are more receptive when they try those foods for the first time.

“During pregnancy, an embryo and then a fetus is obtaining information about the outside world,” said Richard Rosenkranz of KSU’s Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health. “So, moms can set the stage for what their kids will want to eat before they’re even born.”

According to work by Dr. Julie Mennella, a biopsychologist specializing in the development of food and flavor preferences, both amniotic fluid and breast milk have the potential to transmit flavor profiles from foods eaten by the mother, Rosenkranz said.

Forget the frown

Some infants may frown while eating bitter vegetables, but if they still swallow the food, their desire toward the food can be increased over time by continuing to serve it to them, Rosenkranz said.

Take a bite, too

Babies as young as 6 months are able to notice eating behaviors and take cues from their parents, Rosenkranz said.

“Babies start to think, ‘Why does he keep putting this stuff in front of me, but he never eats it?’ We’re being watched by our kids from very young ages,” Rosenkranz said.

Start sweet

Parents can take advantage of watching eyes by eating vegetables similar to the ones they serve their babies and toddlers, Rosenkranz said. Start with sweeter vegetables like corn and carrots, he said.

To develop toddlers’ growing tactile and fine motor skills, parents can chop carrots into bite-size pieces and encourage toddlers to pick up corn kernel by kernel.

For school-age kids, get creative.

“Make use of natural color variation in different types of vegetables, and feel free to make food into shapes or faces so that they look like fun,” Rosenkranz said.

CAN do

Make eating vegetables convenient, attractive and normative, or CAN.

“When on the go or when kids are hungry, make vegetables the most convenient food item to eat, and kids will eat more of them,” Rosenkranz said. “Be consistent about offering them regularly at meals and snacks, so it is not unusual for them to be on the plate or in a container for snacking. Have lots of opportunities for kids to eat them, possibly multiple types to choose from. Make sure other family members are eating them, too, so it is seen as normal.”

End competition

“Vegetables often lose in a contest with kids’ most preferred foods. It is not really fair to expect kids to choose foods that often are less tasty than other options,” Rosenkranz said. “One way to win is to make sure that vegetables do not compete with kids’ favorite foods. When choosing between carrots and nothing, kids will often choose to eat the carrots.”

That doesn’t mean to starve kids or only offer vegetables, Rosenkranz said.

“Vegetables can be presented to hungry kids as an appetizer or snack, and then kids can have the opportunity to eat other foods at a later time. This is an approach now used in many preschools where kids are seated at the table, and the vegetables are served in advance, followed several minutes later by the rest of their meal,” he said.