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Vegetables are the best food for health on Earth. They are rich sources of vitamins, especially A and C, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and other powerful phytochemicals. How to get kids eating vegetables is a constant concern for parents, as they are healthy, low on calorie and cholesterol, and fat-free. Vegetables usually get the short shrift in kids’ world despite being nutritious, colourful and full of flavor. Canvassing for them with kids is no child’s play. Set an example Kids copy parents. If you enjoy vegetables in the children’s presence, they are more likely to eat them without fuss. Teach them Tell the kids about how the vegetables are grown, their shapes, colours and flavours. Let them buy vegetables they would like to eat. You will stop worrying about how to get kids eating vegetables, if you turn cooking these vegetables into a science experiment in which the children can participate. Educate them on how the same vegetable can be cooked in diverse ways and will taste different every time. Bribe them You can initially reward the child for eating a vegetable he dislikes. You can stop the rewards once the kid develops the taste for the vegetable. Cook for them Kids will gobble up vegetables that are crunchy and tasty. So, boiled and steamed vegetables score over those that are mashed, grilled or fried. Train their taste buds Children don’t like bitter flavours as their taste buds are more sensitive than adults. They will develop a liking for bitter vegetables like spinach, Brussels sprouts and asparagus only over a period of time as their taste buds adapt to these flavours. Meanwhile, you can feed them sweet flavours. You can roast vegetables so that their natural sweetness comes out. The other option is to use either honey or maple syrup or sweet and sour sauce. Let them play with food Slice vegetables of different colours into various shapes, and let the kids make a collage on their plates. They are likely to end up tasting their vegetable collage. Kids will relish eating raw vegetables with a dip or a dressing. Use fresh veggies Canned vegetables lose flavor and are not as tasty as the fresh produce. Kids may actually enjoy the fresh avatar of what they thought was ‘yucky’. Mix them up Replace noodles with spaghetti squash and hide it behind a lot of sauce, or mix carrot juice with apple juice. You can keep experimenting with the dishes and cocktails. Hard sell super veggies Repeatedly tell stories about how vegetables make superkids. Carrots give supervision; spinach will make you superstrong like Popeye and so on. By hook or crook As the last resort, slip vegetables into dishes that your kids enjoy eating. For example, you can add pumpkin, zucchini or even carrots to mixture for muffin. You can even cut vegetables finely and put them in soup. Try, and try again Don’t give up. Continue serving the vegetables, ultimately you will find a way, or a vegetable that the kid enjoys eating.
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vegetables, eating healthy, kids,
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