How can I get my child to try more fruit and vegetables?
And then enjoy eating them!!
Trying to persuade a child to eat fruit and vegetables (and other things that are good for them!) is one of the most frustrating tasks of parenthood. As a parenting expert, I get asked this all the time and it was a very common subject discussed when parents attended my NHS clinic: how can I get my children to eat fruit and veg??
I would always empathise as I have been there too: I remember one of my daughters and how stressed and hopeless I felt when she left yet another plate of vegetables.
Is it normal that my child won't eat fruit and vegetables?
Yes! Many children can go through a phase of refusing food-especially vegetables. It is a normal part of development and often a way of children showing independence.
The official word for it is Neophobic. (You can read more about it here.)
How can I get my child to eat fruit and vegetables?
Working with so many parents I want to share my top 10 tips for helping to get your child to eat fruit and vegetables-and actually enjoy them.
Be a good role model, children copy our behaviour after all! If they see us eating crisps and drinking coke they will want to copy us so make sure your plate reflects a healthy diet.
If you are a parent who struggles to eat fruit and vegetable yourself try not to let your body language show your dislike for them as they will pick up on these cues.
Offer small amounts first, whole fruit is not always tempting. Buying pre-prepared fruit slices is great for these; or chop up and store in containers so nothing goes to waste.
Get creative with how you cook and deliver your vegetables. For example, some children won’t touch carrot cooked but will happily eat it raw! Try different methods of cooking such as.
raw
mashed
grated
baked
sliced
steamed
You could also serve your veggies in different ways, for example...
Try with a dip
Try fresh fruit in sugar-free Jelly pots (children will enjoy making these).
Top fruit pieces with yogurt.
if all else fails you can blend up some as a pasta sauce!
Get creative, I have made these with children:
Orange faces - slice the orange and use raisins for eyes and red pepper for mouth and half a tomato for nose. This is excellent for teaching body awareness, make a game about parts of the face. Questions like, “where is your nose?” “Where is your mouth?” “Where are mummies eyes?” Then name them when you both eat them.
Peanut butter apple sandwiches - slices of apple with peanut butter spread in between.
Chop and thread them onto skewers for a colourful kebab (great for their co-ordination)
Try serving vegetables with apple sauce, hummus or a yoghurt-based dip to help neutralise a bitter taste.
Get your kids involved-not only in preparation but also shopping too.
Talk about fruits and veggies: what they look like and how they feel, smell and taste. This will be good for their language development too as you can increase their describing words.
But more importantly, kids are more likely to try a food if they have seen it, felt it, smelt it etc.
Let them see the whole fruit first, even if you don't offer it. I have found children love to see a fresh pineapple before it is cut up and most of the children I have worked with love the taste of it.
Note, Use a plastic knife for safety.
Make theme days, try Fruity Friday or Vegetable Wednesday. Make a big announcement, make it fun, eating shouldn’t be boring!
Be persistent and keep offering, parents often give up (and I was one of these.) You need to offer foods between 10-15 times before children will accept.
Don’t force children to eat fruit and veg as you don’t want to create negative feelings with these foods.
You want to create positive food habits for LIFE.
Think outside the box. Pulses count as vegetables and are a useful source of iron, zinc and fibre - Try hummus or tinned butter beans.
Remember tinned, frozen or fresh are all good sources of vitamins and minerals - Tinned should be in natural juice.
Finally, give the fruit and veg another cool name like;
Super Hero Spinach.
Jumping Beans.
Cut the cucumber into splits and call them “crocodile jaws”
Cherry tomatoes can be “juice squiters”.
Parents often say to me their children will only eat children's food. Children’s food isn't necessarily special it is just highly palatable and therefore more likely to be accepted on their first taste. Vegetables or adult foods might take a little while longer before your child is willing to try them.
It can be very frustrating when your child rejects runner beans for the 15th time but keep offering.
Offer a small portion on their plate anytime you are serving it -try not to stress if it's not eaten,
it is still exposure.
If you are struggling with mealtime stress check out my video course mealtime success and learn some positive management strategies to help, or contact me about how we can work together.
I hope you have found these tips useful.
Any questions pop me an email- I reply to all my emails personally.
