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CTC Readers' Poll:
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"I
got my daughter started in vegetable gardening at the age of 4. It's
not much, just a small raised bed and one tub in which she usually
likes to plant cucumbers and sugar snap peas. But she always loves to
eat them because she grew them herself. Plus she gets to spend quality
time with dad tending the garden throughout the growing season."
~ Michael
"We have what we call a 'courtesy bite' which means the first time my daughter is introduced to a new food she simply has to take one 'courtesy bite.' It is said that a new food needs to be offered at least 12 times before a child begins to like it. So after she's tried a certain food 12 different times on different occasions she can honestly say to us that she doesn't like it and then not have to eat it anymore." ~ Suzie "After eating too many sweets and junk food, I decided to try to get my four children to eat healthy. I would go through my cookbooks and look for recipes with whole grains and a lot of fruits and veggies. I'd make the recipe and have my kids pick the name for it. From then on, they would ask for it by the name they had chosen. I never tell them we're eating healthy, I just pick something and place it on the table. For example, I made a dish with chicken, cracked wheat and chickpeas. My kids named it Sponge Bob Surprise. They feel like part of the menu planning and don't have a problem eating it. They sometimes pick really goofy names. My kids are 8 -12 now and we've been doing this for about 4 years." ~ Michele "We used three methods that worked well with our
children, three of whom were very picky
eaters. "I tried to be flexible & inventive. At one point my boys would only eat frozen veggies. I'd cut up peppers, etc and stick them in bags in the freezer; the boys could take them any time without asking. I also tried to involve them in the meal planning/preparation. In the summer I would send them into the garden to pick the fruit and veggies for supper. We made stir-fry a lot. Dipping carrots in ketchup and pasta with gingerale "sauce" & veggies were favourites. The only time the kids would eat eggs was when my brother cooked them with green food colouring. I prepared meatballs & hamburger patties in advance by adding ground up zucchini. At one time the stores had powdered baby fruit and veggies in jars; I'd add a bit to Kraft dinner and casseroles. I got away with making tofu grilled cheese sandwiches until they saw the packaging one day! I never had success with making the food look like clown faces and stuff." ~ Jane "You can have a theme dinner. Our favorite is a fishy meal. You can have fish, seaweed (spinach or French style green beans), macaroni shells, gold fish crackers. Also, if you take hotdogs and slice the bottom two/thirds into eighths then poke a smily face into the intact end and boil until the 'legs' curl. Voila! Octopus! You can also do international dinners and learn about other countries while trying new foods." ~ Sandy "One of the easiest ways to get my children to eat their veggies when they were young was to finely chop veggies like carrots, green beans and any other kinds you have and add them to meat loaf. If they are fine enough, they never know they are there. My daughter liked catsup, so she would often eat veggies when I stirred catsup into them." ~ Anne "Muffins and breads! I have found many recipes for baked goods that include veggies: spinach, zucchini, pumpkin. Because we all like the fruit of the oven (or bread maker) at our house, lots of 'stealth vegetables' go into our bodies without our thinking about it." ~ Danielle "I think the problem is that parents try too hard to
find 'inventive; solutions to get kids to
eat. Blue ketchup? Fish sticks with
colored sprinkles? (I swear I saw
these in the grocery store!) Kids turn up their noses
because adults rush to please them. There's
nothing inventive about getting kids to eat healthy,
just common sense: It's not easy... but its not complicated, either." ~ Catherine in Minnesota "My kids always seem to like the raw veggies better than cooked. Plus a little dip always helps! Also, we've come up with some funny names, like carrots coins, and they try and compete to see who has the largest 'coin.' Also, we have tried 'broccoli trees.' Just come up with some creative names. And I've noticed if I tell them they need to at least eat one bite of the veggie, when I'm not looking and if I don't make a big deal of it, they go on and eat it. Also, we always try to have some fruit each meal or for snacks. They seem to eat that better. As a Registered Dietitian, I've always learned to go by the age of the child for the number of tablespoons for the serving size. For instance, a 3 year old would get 3 tablespoons. We seem to worry that they're not eating enough when we're gauging what they eat by adult portions. Also, remember to balance it out over a week, rather than focus so much on each day and freaking out if you don't get the right amounts in. They tend to make it up the next day. Try not to get into power struggles over food, although that can be easier said than done!" ~ Sylvia W., RD
"Now
this wasn't done to 'trick' a child to eat veggies but to
'trick' a grown man to eat turnips. He
had come to visit for a weekend, unexpectedly. I had no
extra food in the house but had planned to make a thick
soup (or as Rachael Ray calls it 'Stoup'). He noticed I
had a turnip laying on the counter and he immediately said
he hated turnips. After asking if he was allergic to them
or whether he just didn't like them and finding it was the
latter, I immediately assured him that I didn't put turnip
in my soups.
I had an extra turnip in the fridge so while he went outdoors I went ahead and made my soup, grating the turnip up and putting it in the soup. Since there was no chunks of turnip in the soup, he ate two servings of the soup. ( I had left the extra turnip laying on the counter so he thought I really hadn't used it) And Ron, if you are reading this: You ate turnips!" ~ Louise "Here's a tip I use on myself to eat healthy foods I don't like! I passed it on to my 10 year old nephew and it seemed to help him too: When eating a food you don't like, first put a small bite of a food you do like in your mouth, then a small bite of the food you don't like and chew them together. You won't notice the taste of the food you don't like." ~ Susan "My pediatrician always recommended putting baby food (carrots or squash) into things like spaghetti sauce because my kids don't like to eat vegetables. However, now my kids don't like spaghetti sauce either, they just want plain noodles, so now I try to mix whole wheat noodles in with the regular. If you can try and sneak things in wherever you can it seems to help. Instead of just buying chocolate milk, try Ovaltine or Pediasure. Instead of just chicken noodle soup, try adding a little bit of extra chopped up carrots. Instead of just pancakes, try blueberry pancakes or sliced strawberries on top. Try yogurt with a little added diced up fresh fruit. Also, don't be afraid to try new things. I have an 8-year-old that loves cottage cheese. Nobody else in the family eats it, but he loves it! He doesn't like to drink milk, so the cottage cheese helps with his calcium intake." ~ Beth
"*The
kids always have to take 3 'No thank you' bites of
a new food, or when we're at someone else's house.
*They do not get
served seconds of the main meal or their favorite part
of the meal (i.e. breadsticks,etc.) until they've had
seconds of the veggie
*If we are having
something that they don't especially care for, we remind
them that maybe their taste buds have grown in now for
that food, so they have to eat it to find out (experts
say it takes about 12 times to start to like food)
*Anytime we have a
treat, we always have fruit first - it's a rule - no
negotiating (unless we're at a friends house!)
* Our children
always have a snack of fruit before bedtime, but, if
they did not finish their meal at supper, it goes into
the fridge and must be eaten before their snack. If they
say they're not hungry, back into the fridge it goes
until breakfast. Believe me, that only had to happen to
each of my children once. Thus, we do NOT have picky
eaters." ~ Julie
Editor's Note: Thanks to all these readers who took time to write! |
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