Does your family cringe every time they see you pick up broccoli in the grocery store or try to use it during dinner? Do they avoid vegetables and complain about them during meals? You can add more vegetables to your family’s diet without hearing complaints!
Try these proven strategies:
1. Add the one bite rule. The rule can help both adults and children try new vegetables without feeling overwhelmed.
· The one bite rule is easy to implement during meal times and requires that everyone take at least one bite of the food before rejecting it. Family members often reject the vegetables before they try them, so this keeps the balance.
· Studies reveal that it can take multiple exposures to a new food before a person likes it. The one bite rule is a good way to keep them exposed to new vegetables.
2. Make the vegetables look good. A beautiful arrangement can make a difference.
· A clump of cooked kale or spinach doesn’t look appetizing or appealing. If you arrange the food in a beautiful manner, it can help convince the family to try it.
· You can make animals out of vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes, celery, and other foods. You can also make entire scenes with boats, flowers, sunshine, clouds, or other ideas.
3. Make the vegetables taste good. How are you preparing the vegetables? Are you using a little bit of oil, herbs, and spices? A few simple ingredients can make vegetables outstanding and delicious. Garlic is an easy way to add flavor to veggies.
· Herbs and spices like thyme, rosemary, or sage can make the vegetables more interesting and appealing.
4. Hide the vegetables in other foods. It’s a sneaky method, but many families use it every day to get more vegetables in their diets.
· If you add vegetables or vegetable purees to other foods while you’re cooking, then the family may not notice the addition. You can make pizza crust with cauliflower, squash, or zucchini.
· Add vegetables to fruit smoothies, so the blended concoction is healthier.
· Include vegetables such as zucchini and carrots in muffins as you make them. The final result doesn’t taste bitter.
· Add zucchini to pancakes, and they won’t believe they’re eating vegetables for breakfast. The addition of other ingredients hides the flavor of the zucchini.
· Add vegetables to your recipes by using purees, mashing, or grating them.
5. Get the family involved in preparing vegetables. Getting the entire family involved in meal preparation can motivate them to cook and eat their vegetables.
· Children who help pick out vegetables at the grocery store are more likely to eat them later. Plus, if they’re involved in cooking the foods, then they want to taste the results.
· However, if you’re hiding vegetables in your food, then you may want to ask them to leave the kitchen during this sneaky process.
Vegetables are a crucial part of the diet, so it’s important to ensure your family is getting enough. There are ways to add more vegetables to their diets without hearing more complaints and seeing full plates of untouched broccoli or carrots.
By the Urban Life Center Team