Healthy Eating for Kids: A Uphill Climb You Don't Have to Make Alone

How do you get your kids to eat their vegetables? I get asked this all the time (granted, we are a vegan family, but still, these days, it's all too easy to become "junk food vegans," with ultra-processed and high added salt/fat/sugar food options cropping up everywhere).

Strategies we use:

1). Sometimes we serve the vegetables first, while they are hungry, and call it an "appetizer." For fruits we know they like, we'll save for dessert.

2) Exposure. Don't stress if they don't like a particular food or eat much of it the first few times you offer it, or if they randomly reject something they seemed to like before. We have four kids. We consider 3/4 likes a big win, 2/4 a good day, and 1/4 not too bad. Just continue to place to food on the plate, model eating it. We do have a "try one bite" rule and make it a fun game to give the food a rating. Two thumbs up, two thumbs down, or "so so" one thumb up, one thumb down.

3) Try replacing processed foods with more natural/whole-food options. Example, peanut butter and jelly. Look for peanut butter without added oils. Instead of jelly, put real fruit on the sandwich. Our kids love this!

I'll be sharing pictures of the snacks and meals we feed our kids, for ideas, inspiration, and motivation! Feel free to share your pics, strategies, or recipes as well.

*This information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult you health care team for personalized medical advice and treatment.