Food & Beverage Facts and Tips

Vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals. The problem is that you often have to tell your kids hundreds of times to eat their vegetables and they still aren’t happy about it.

For some reason, children have an aversion to vegetables. They will cry and sit for hours before you finally give in and send them from the table.

Vegetables do not always have to be the enemy. The key is to find a creative way to prepare them and your family will become vegetable lovers rather than vegetable haters!

Do you remember when you were a child and your mother dropped a soggy green lump of cabbage on your plate. Did you want to eat it? Almost certainly not.

There are various ways to encourage your children to eat their vegetables. You might even need to trick them! Broccoli is an example of a vegetable, which is high in vitamin and mineral content, and there are plenty of ways to prepare it. Here are some tips:

Raw - you can put a plateful of raw broccoli in bite size pieces in the refrigerator, arranged around a little dish of salad dressing. Children love to dip their food and serving it in this way is something new for them. Leave the tips of the broccoli on the plate and either encourage your child to eat some or make a game of it. Grilled vegetable recipes are not the only way to prepare veggies.

Bribery - Do not laugh, it works! Tell your child that if he or she eats their veggies, you will give them a special treat when they are done. It is important that you follow through and give him or her the treat.

Cheese - cheese naturally enhances the flavor of broccoli. When you add a cheese sauce, you are changing the flavor and adding texture. You may find your children eating their vegetables before anything else.

Lasagna - add broccoli to lasagna and smother it with sauce and cheese. Your children may not notice that it is there, and if they do, they will find it to be delicious.

Chopped or Minced - precook the broccoli and cool it for a while before blending it in a food processor. You can then add it to any dish you are making and your kids will not see or taste it.

Shakes - this might sound weird but it works. Make a milkshake with milk, ice cream, and chocolate syrup. Add some broccoli to the shake (make sure the kids aren’t watching!) and blend it some more. As long as you use a chunky type of ice cream, your kids will not realize the broccoli is there and hopefully they will drink the shake too fast to notice any stray green bits!

These are just some of the ways you can encourage your children to eat vegetables and get more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients into their diet.

Tags: gourmet, food tips