Kids are notorious for being picky eaters, and are equally notorious for not eating their vegetables. According to the Centers For Disease Control (CDC), nine out of 10 children don’t eat enough veggies to maintain a healthy diet. It’s easy as an adult to force yourself to eat your greens (if you don’t already enjoy them), but how do you convince your little picky eater to eat them? The answers are surprisingly simple, and might surprise you.
- Stop treating vegetables like a punishment, and make them something to be excited about.
It’s not easy to get a picky kid to eat something they have decided they don’t like. More often than not, vegetables are the culprit of a child’s dissatisfaction — poor vegetables. It can be a hard battle, or an all-out war, to get your child to comply. However, one of the ways to get your child to see vegetables in a new light is to stop the fight. Giving them the power to decide, but showing them that they’re missing out on delicious food that you enjoy, is a great way to get them to be more open to trying their veggies. Kids never want to miss out on fun, so if you make vegetables seem like an enjoyable food, they won’t be as hostile in resisting you, and they won’t want to miss out on the experience. Especially with Personal Chef To Go’s meal delivery, mealtime can be an exciting event from the time your meals are delivered to your door, to sitting down at the table to eat.
- Eat your own veggies
You are your child’s biggest role model. The biggest predictor of a child’s behavior is the behavioral patterns of their parents, and eating habits are no exception. If vegetables and healthy food is the norm in your home, and you enjoy them, your child is more likely to also. Personal Chef To Go’s meal delivery is a great option to make sure your family stays healthy. Our chefs are calorie conscious when preparing your meals, and you can be sure the food you recieve is going to make your body happy. That being said, if you don’t enjoy vegetables, that is not to say you have to force yourself to like them. Any effort made to eat healthy foods like vegetables, and show your child that they aren’t the only ones who have to eat them, will help to open their mind. The younger they are, the better. Instilling healthy habits are more likely to last in the long-run if they are established early on.
- Get them involved
Not only kids, but anyone is more likely to eat their vegetables if they are involved in the preparation process. Put your kids in charge of preparing the vegetable and make it their thing. They are more inclined to eat their greens if they are the ones to prepare them and make them “delicious”. If they’re proud of their work in preparing dinner, they’re more likely to eat it. With your meals from Personal Chef To Go, you can have them cook the vegetable side for you. You can also instruct them in adding “secret delicious ingredients” like salt, butter, or anything to enhance the taste of your delicious meal. Give them the power and make them feel like they created the dish even though it was previously prepared.
- Speak their language
“Because I said so,” and “ because it’s healthy,” are not going to help your cause. In order to get kids to see your point, you have to speak in language that makes sense to them. Explaining to them that vegetables are going to help them become “big and strong”, “help them grow,” and help them “feel happy,” are great alternatives in reasoning with them. Most kids want to grow because they feel limited by their size, so explaining that vegetables are the way to get there is a great method to get kids to eat their greens!
- Make the veggies taste better
There is no harm in adding salt, a little butter, garlic, or any other flavor enhancer to your vegetables! If your veggies are seasoned, most likely your child will enjoy them more because the “vegetable taste” is hidden. This way, your child will form a positive association with vegetables and be more likely to want to eat them. With Personal Chef To Go, our freshly prepared meals delivered to your door, are seasoned by our chefs. With us, no vegetable is left tasting bland, and your satisfied kid will be the proof!
When the food in your home is delicious, even the most picky eaters will want a plate! At Personal Chef To Go, our freshly prepared meals are delicious and delivered straight to your door! Our chefs make sure that you are getting healthy and flavorful meals that will get your kids to eat their veggies. Not to mention our meals are good for them too! Contact us today to learn more about how to get our delicious weekly meals delivered right to your door.
