We all know how important it is for everyone to get their five-a-day in fruit and vegetables, but sometimes no matter how hard you try, your toddler just doesn’t want to eat up their greens. Here are five top tips on how to make vegetables more appealing to your little one.
1. Start from an early age
Introduce different vegetables either into the purees you make, or offer as part of your Baby Led Weaning process. Remember to try one new vegetable at a time to ensure there are no allergies. Your baby will experience the different tastes, textures and flavours each time you introduce a new vegetable which means the flavour won’t be unusual to them when they move onto more complex meals.
2. Lead by example
Your toddler looks at everything you do and learns from your behaviour. If you turn your nose up at Brussels sprouts, then you can’t blame them from doing the same. Use this opportunity to try new things yourself, your child may enjoy things that you don’t particularly like, but make sure you remain positive and encouraging when eating.
3. Make food look inviting
We’re not talking about creating pieces of art from food, (although if that does interest you take a look at some of these amazing ideas on Pinterest). By keeping the food bright, colourful and interesting you can engage toddlers with the food on their plate. If your toddler is struggling to eat certain veggies, why not turn the meal into something simple, like a smiling face, then you can encourage them to try each different part.
4. Avoid emphasising ‘good for you’
A recent study suggested that when children are told that a food will help them achieve a goal, for example ‘carrots will help you see in the dark’, then that food becomes less tasty to them as it has a different purpose than tasting good. For toddlers, food needs to be seen as enjoyable and yummy to eat, focus more on how great the food tastes to encourage your child to eat more.
5. Get involved
Encourage your toddler to take an interest in their food before it reaches their plate. It can be as simple as asking them to help wash or peel the vegetables before dinner or you could look at growing your own veggies. This can be done in the garden, or if you’re not green-fingered in a window box. Having your child plant seeds and being able to watch the vegetables grow means they will have a vested interest and are more likely to want to taste something they have helped make themselves.
So this is our advice. How do you get your toddler to eat their veggies?
