Getting your kids to eat a healthy balanced diet can be a real hassle. Fortunately, you can use the tips below to help them increase their vegetable intake. Read on to find out what they are.
Try dips for lunches and snacks
One great way to help your kids get more veg into their diet is to make dips for lunches and snacks. Indeed, dips can help you get more vegetables into them in two ways, both in the dip itself and by using vegetables as a carrier for the dip.
By replacing a bag of chips or a candy bar with a tray including a pot of dip, and some raw vegetable crudites like carrots, cucumber, peppers, and tomatoes, you will be helping your child eat so much better.
The great thing about dips and veggies is that you can make them ahead of time and just keep them in pots in the fridge ready to do. All you need to do is dump all the ingredients into the blend and pulse. It's that easy!
Make veggie-heavy dinners
One of the most obvious ways to help your child increase their intake of vegetables is to make veggie-packed dinners every night. Of course, for this to be a success you will need to find veggie-chocked recipes that are also delicious! Luckily, there is a wealth of great recipes like these healthy turkey stuffed peppers that will have your whole family clearing their plates. Just collect a selection of 5-10 to get you started and you can plan your week's meals from there.
Try a new veggie every week
Another way to encourage your little ones to have a good relationship with eating vegetables is to make trying new varieties a fun experience. You can do this by introducing a new vegetable to the household every week. This is good for all the family including the adults as it helps to keep everyone's diets and pallets as varied as possible.
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The critical thing here to remember is that you can only ever encourage your child to try a new type of vegetable, but you do not have control over whether they will like them or not. Therefore encourage them heavily in the tasting stage, but also let them trust their own experience and reject the vegetable if they do not like it. Remember, it's important to not add punishment or disapproval for not liking something new, as tastes change as we mature and a positive approach to being willing to try new things is much more important.
Sneak in some secret veggies
Last of all, if all else fails then why not get a little sneaky and create some dishes that don’t seem like they have vegetables in them but do? There are plenty of options that you can make that do this including pasta and pizza sauces that are made with finely chopped and blended veggies like onions, zucchini, and carrots. Blending up carrots and adding them to sauces can help add some natural sugar and make the dishes a little sweeter too.
Curries and chilies are also great options for hiding veg, as the veg will add flavor and make the sauce creamier. Just make sure it's pureed up well, if your little one is particularly picky then they won't be able to work it out!
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