How to Get Your Kid to Eat Their Vegetables!

Definition of a picky eater �" children who only eat vegetables when forced to or coerced with a huge dessert. When you are a first time mom, you want to do everything right. When my son started eating real food, I bought all organic vegetables, steamed them, and then pureed them in a blender. Every meal was a health lover's dream. I thought I was a genius. And then he learned the word “NO” and that was the end of that.

He Didn't Like MY Green Beans

For years I sat at the dinner table prodding (actually begging) my son to please eat the teaspoonful of greens that were on his plate. Invariably, he won as he would gag and I would feel guilty. One day he had dinner at a friend's house and when he came home he told me what they had for dinner and he said he ate GREEN BEANS. I immediately called my friend to see what the story was. She confirmed that he had eaten green beans and loved them. I was sure they weren't in cahoots together, so I asked, "how did you make them?" It hit me - maybe it's not the green beans he doesn't like, it's my green beans he doesn’t like. Soon thereafter, I made green beans, a la my friend Ellen, and the rest of the story is history, a success story to say the least.

Get Creative

Of course, you can't give your kids the one vegetable they do eat every night, so you have to get creative with your vegetables. For instance, at our house we love Asian flavors; typically with soy, ginger, garlic and a splash of sesame oil. I find that those flavors work for us. At your house it may be Italian, and you may want to incorporate those flavors into your vegetables. For instance toss your broccoli with a little olive oil, garlic and tomatoes. Take it one step further and serve those flavors over pasta and you can be sure it will be a hit with the kids. Snow peas are a vegetable kids usually love to eat and if not, try sautéing them in a little olive oil with julienne red peppers and toss with pine nuts. Or, sliver them and add to a stir fry.

Maybe You Don't Have a Picky Eater After All

The point is, maybe you don’t have a picky eater after all, maybe you just haven’t figured out the right way to get your kids to eat vegetables without saying “ugh” first. Once you find your “secret ingredients," mr. or ms. picky may turn out to be not so picky after all.

About the Author

Shelley Janson is a chef, writer, and business consultant. In 1985 Janson founded the Epicurean School of Culinary Arts, the first short term Professional Chef Training Program in Los Angeles. A frequent “foodie” contributor to local and nationally-syndicated television programs, Janson is also well-known for producing special food events for department stores, corporations, and fundraisers for nonprofits. Her client list includes MySpace, Oprah Winfrey’s HARPO Productions, and Martha Stewart Living. As a nutrition enthusiast, Janson is now launching her next career as THE FOOD COACH, empowering kids by teaching them about foods and nutrition to help them build healthy lifestyles. Look for her classes at Whole Foods and her other Food Coach articles at www.modernmom.com. Shelley can be reached at (310)488-5074 or contact@thefoodcoaches.com or you can check out her website at www.thefoodcoaches.com.

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