Coaxing Kids, Dads, (and Moms)
to Eat Their Vegetables and Fruits
If you’re breathing and reading, you’re probably fully aware of how important fruits and vegetables are to your family’s health, especially long-term. Nutrients and phyto-nutrients, abundant in fruits and vegetables, help keep our bodies running smoothly while increasing mental alertness and all body functions. Produce plays a key role in preventing (or correcting) obesity and the diseases most often associated with it, particularly high blood pressure (which leads to heart disease and strokes) and diabetes. Roughage and nutrients in vegetables and fruits also guard against certain cancers, eye problems, and other illnesses. One way they play such a critical role in disease prevention is by building up and supporting the immune system.
As parents, you work hard building children of good character, strong morals and healthy bodies. Sometimes kids (and dare we suggest dads and even moms?) need a little extra persausion. French fries are the #1 “vegetable” consumed by Americans, but with their extraordinary fat content, can they really be counted as a vegetable? It’s so important that people get their 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Sometimes, it’s not so easy. What’s a mom to do? It’s easier than you think!
Consider the following suggestions adapted from an article by Tara Parker-Pope (Wall Street Journal, 11/21/06, D1):
v Keep trying. Research suggests it can take up to 15 exposures to a new food before a child will accept it. Children tend to be reluctant to accept new foods. Continue to give them opportunities, presenting the foods in different ways. I often tell my little ones, “That’s okay, we’ll try it again when you’re a little older.” Continue to serve the food, offering the child just one bite.
v Don‘t react. It’s not big news that bribing, threatening, and begging aren’t effective motivators. Research is showing that when it comes to trying new foods, celebrating the child’s attempt also promotes her dislike or aversion to the new taste. A simple, “I’m glad you liked it” and a smile should do the trick.
v Dress it up. Bring on the ranch dressing, ketchup, and especially the cheese! As a weight conscious teen I preferred broccoli with cheese to ice cream. (Admittedly, they were probably close in calories!) Anything that increases the enjoyment will encourage kids to branch out in their fruit and veggie exploration. Set out a vegetable and dip tray to stave off pre-dinner hunger. Offer fruit as after school snacks.
v Learn more! The more you know about nutrition, the better you are at deciding what your family needs and what “dress-ups” and other options are best. And, it may be much easier than you think. Today’s apples, for example, are often big enough to count as two servings. A cup of raw greens, like lettuce, is a serving. So a taco salad with some shredded carrots in it for lunch could fill two, three, or more servings of your daily quota for vegetables!
v Make connections. Introduce foods that are similar to or combined with food your child (or husband) already likes. Add apple chunks to green salad. Mix fruit into Jello. Add broccoli to pasta. Make spinach-rich pesto bruschetta. Try homemade, healthy oven fries, then branch to sweet potato fries. If they like broccoli “trees”, introduce “snow broccoli” (cauliflower).
v Be sneaky. Okay, normally, you want to be completely honest with your family (and everyone else). Slipping an extra serving or two of healthy vegetables and fruits on their plates is okay—just don’t mention it to them! Grind up green peppers in the blender with a little of your spaghetti sauce. Puree lots of strawberries and bananas with yogurt in a smoothie. Double the vegetables in their favorite soup.
v Walk the walk! Yes, be an example. As with all good things, character, morals, health, the old adage holds true: it’s what we do, not what we say that counts. Besides, you want to be around a long time to enjoy watching those kids grow up, don’t you? J
Seven Stones Market Baskets help by providing a weekly variety of produce at a great price. It’s there ready for you to use. Frequent newsletters and a website, www.sevenstonesmarket.com, teach how to store and use the produce while encouraging you, through recipes and tips, to try new “stuff”.