How to get your child to eat Veggies

I don't know about you but for us meal times can be stressful.  Picky eaters can steal the peace and enjoyment of any meal.  Do not fear though....this too shall pass!   

Here are several things that the experienced mothers in my family and mentor have shared with me and successfully worked for my picky eater.

1. Do not give them snacks.  Especially the junk snacks, like crackers, cookies, gummy bears, apple sauce, ice-cream, yogurt and other process foods.  If they eat a big meal they can wait till the next meal and if they are too young, they can have a fruit, nuts or a smaller bottle (if still taking one).  When I stopped giving them snacks, both my kids and especially the picky eater, improved at meal times and were more willing to eat the food served on their plate.

2.  When they do not want to eat what's on their plate, I save it for the next meal or serve it to them two hours later as their "snack" since they have an empty stomach.  Now, I do this with foods that I know they are familiar with and not with things that they have never had before or that we all know are strong in flavor like onions, beets, etc... 

3.  When I introduce new foods I expect them to at least try one bit before they are allowed to move to the next meal.  All I ask is that they try it once.  Later on if its food like rice cooked differently and I know they like rice, but don't want to try it because it looks different, I make them eat two or three bites.  Usually what happens is that they end up liking it anyway.  I also, always put the new food on their plate every time we eat it.  Like one pea, literally or ones pinch, etc... They need to start getting use to seeing it and one day they might try it.  

4.  At home we eat salads and fruits every day, so we model to our kids what to eat (unfortantly they have also seen us eat junk food, but this is not on a regular basis, and after our little one had the stroke, we are changing our diets even more).  I am trying to not buy process foods at all, even the ones that I thought were ok.  The first few weeks was hard for all of us, but we are slowly adapting.  My little ones health has been a great motivator to pursue a more plant based diet, even though I always thought we were pretty good & healthy vegetarian eaters.  I encourage everyone to take a look at your diet and see how you can grow in that area.  Do not settle for good enough, challenge yourself and this can be a great prevention for health challenges later on.  Let us not fall into the traps of quick, easy to make, fast foods, that in the long run are not good for us.  No one puts junk in the gas tank of a expensive car, they put in the best gas for that specific type of car.

5. One of my friends said, "I determine what, when and where my child eats.  She can choose if she will eat it or not.  Hunger is my ally and eventually she will eat."  This is so true and it takes a strong parent to stick to it.  Because when our kids cry, whine, complain, and repeat all over again, we eventually give in.  I am learning to be that strong parent.  I am doing better but not there yet.  My kids and I are better in this area.  The little one is being more open to try new things and the oldest one is eating almost everything, because I explained to her it's good for her and the importance of health.  I am doing better at sticking to the above points and not get frustrated at the table when they do not eat.

My little one surprised me the other night when she asked for spinach, sometimes I put it on her plate sometimes I forget.  She never eats it, but this particular day she did and she has since then.  My oldest surprised me after not eating pizza for three weeks, I finally rewarded us all with our favorite pizza and tons of salad on the side as opposed to only pizza like we usually do when we have pizza day.  Well, she placed her avocados and tomatoes and put it on her pizza and said how delicious it was.  I know her taste buds are changing and now she is enjoying these foods more than ever.

I go on mission trips all the time and when I first went with my first born, I wondered how would I feed her, because we have strict meal schedules on those trips and I eat what it is provided to the entire group.  Well, I thought, kids that are starving in undeveloped countries are not picky eaters, they just eat.  I am going to an undeveloped country to serve, I am sure my kids can eat whatever is served....what do you know, after a couple of days of getting use to the food my kids did eat and she didn't starve.  Kinda makes me think, do we give too much power to our kids when it comes too food.  Are we letting their taste buds decide what is good and healthy for them?  We should be the ones that set them up for a healthier lifestyle by what we model and the time we invest into teaching them right from the beginning.