- Vegetables can be creatively incorporated into familiar foods like muffins (zucchini bread, banana bread), pancakes, and soups (tomato, butternut squash) to make them more appealing.
- Offering a veggie platter with a variety of colorful vegetables and dips encourages children to enjoy vegetables socially and interactively, especially if they help with preparation.
- Stuffed vegetables like peppers or zucchini boats make eating veggies more fun and flavorful compared to plain vegetables.
- Renaming vegetable dishes with fun or appealing names (e.g., "zucchini boat" instead of summer squash) can increase children's willingness to try them.
- Other creative methods include making colorful veggie faces, veggie skewers, veggie chips, integrating vegetables into pasta dishes, and offering dips such as hummus, guacamole, or yogurt-based sauces to increase appeal.
- Using fun presentations like veggie art, veggie popsicles, or themed platters can engage children and encourage trying new vegetables.
- Allowing children to participate in meal prep and making vegetable eating a fun, interactive experience fosters positive eating habits.
Getting Kids to Eat Vegetables
Making vegetables fun, colorful, and part of familiar foods helps kids enjoy eating them.
Filomena Kersey, RDN, CD, CSO, LD, Pediatric Dietician
