Getting your kids to eat green vegetables
At one point or another, every parent in the world has struggled with getting their kids to eat their veggies. Interestingly, the same cannot be said for foods with no nutritional value, like candy. If your child would much rather eat chocolate than spinach, you're in good company.
One day they will understand how important a good diet is to their overall health and well-being, but for the time being, it's up to you to figure out how to get them to eat right. Faced with this dilemma, many parents have found creative ways to sneak greens into favorite recipes, like adding very finely chopped kale into spaghetti sauce. What they don't know won't hurt them, right? In this case, it's more likely to help them.
It's also common for parents to resort to stretching the truth and inventing harmless fibs to entice their toddlers to eat their veggies. The little white lies that parents tell their kids are a well-intentioned means to an end.
Have you used any of them?
When your child turns up their nose at the steamed broccoli on their plate, have you told them eating it will make them "big and strong"? If so, you're in the majority. The following are additional examples of common motivational statements used by parents of picky eaters.
* Carrots help you see in the dark.
* Spinach will make your muscles get big (ala Popeye).
* If you swallow a vegetable seed, you'll grow that veggie in your tummy.
* You'll land on Santa's naughty list if you don't eat your greens.
* If you eat too much of a certain food, you'll turn into it.
* If you don't keep your ears clean, potatoes will grow in them.
* All meat is chicken.
* Eating too much junk food will cause you to grow a mustache.
More healthy food you can convince your little one to eat
It's no surprise that parents of picky eaters are resorting to these white lies nowadays, because we are more aware than ever of the benefits of eating healthier. Don't despair if you still aren't having luck, because we have come up with tasty ways to make meals that include vegetables and other foods with high nutritional value that your fussy eater is bound to like.
Better yet why not encourage your child to help you cook our healthy recipes? They will be even more excited to eat something they took part in making.
