I am definitely learning as I go as I parent, but one thing I have been able to successfully do is get both of my kids excited to eat vegetables and fruits! This has been a culmination of taking tips suggested by others and learning as I go as a parent. You know your children best, so you just take these tips and adjust them to your kids and your lifestyle. To be completely honest, I think these tips apply to all ages (even adults) who are still picky eaters (I use them on my husband all the time!).
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Table of Contents
How to Get Kids to Eat Vegetables & Fruits (& be Excited About it!)
No Pressure
I do believe this is the most important step to take. If you just act like it is no big deal whether they touch it, try it or even look at it, you are one step closer! Any pressure, such as: “are you going to try it? did you like it? wasn’t that so good? why aren’t you eating more?” sort of thing will really set you back. If they do not feel the pressure, they will be more likely to explore and indulge on their own.
Be the Example
If you want your kids to get excited and eat more fruits and vegetables, then you need to eat more fruits and vegetables and make it a point to do so in front of them! In my experience, there is nothing my kids would rather eat than my food! We can all have the same plates of food, but for some reason, the food on my plate always tastes better to them! And, even if they don’t eat off your plate, they see what you are eating and will be more enticed the next time, whether that’s just starting with wanting to touch it.
Even if you don’t like certain produce items, refrain from vocalizing that or sharing why you don’t want to eat it because your kids will pick up on that before even being interested enough to try it.
Let Them Help You Prepare the Food
I started doing this out of necessity because as babies get older, they get curious and want to be involved and do and see what you are doing and that doesn’t stop once you make it to the kitchen! This includes everything from preparing quick fruit bowls with me, to cutting melons, cutting vegetables to cook, putting food in the Instant Pot, etc. In addition to keeping them entertained, there are so many added benefits that come from this, including:
- Learning about new food
- How different items cook
- How different fruits have seeds and which ones are edible (same with skins)
- Learning how to use forks and spoons (as they get older and want to eat the fruit as you cut it!)
- Practicing their listening skills, and much more!
Not to mention, this has been some of the most fun that I have had as a mother! It is wonderful bonding time and I am teaching my kids how to eat healthily without any of us even thinking about it.
(I have used this Toddler Tower with my daughter starting at 18 months, and my son starting at 10 months. They quickly learn how to climb into and out of it on their own and you can adjust the height as they grow, so that they can easily access the food you are preparing on the counter.)
Continuous Exposure
I once read that it can take a kid up to 100 times to be exposed to a food before they will try it. That sounds a little bit extreme and at that point, I am not even sure that it’s worth it because, you know, we are all picky about certain foods (even still, as adults). I have, however, practiced continuous exposure just by going about my daily life. One big AHA moment I had with this was last summer, when my daughter was helping me prepare my daily fruit bowls and stone fruit season rolled around. Of course, apricots were included daily, but even though she was big on peaches, nectarines and cherries, she wouldn’t try apricots. I acted like it was no big deal and after awhile, she started feeling the apricot with her fingers and then, after about 20 days (you know, once apricot season is almost over!), she tried a piece and then it was game over! She ate so many apricots after that first bite that it was unreal, but it was also a real eye opener as to how kids work!
Finger Foods
I recommend introducing “finger foods” as soon as your child is old enough to safely participate. They love to be in control and to touch and feel the different textures of the food. For both of my kids, once they started to be able to handle the food, their consumption increased exponentially. Not only that, but it is fun for them and allows them to learn about new foods, whether they decide to try them or not, which is really the goal. Even if they don’t try it the first time, or second or third time, you are providing them with exposure and some fun. Also, just giving slices of banana or apple compared to giving them the whole thing to take their own bites really makes a big difference.
Let Them Get Messy
This might be one of their favorite things to do! Let them play with the avocado and smear it around and rub it in their hair! As long as you don’t pay too much attention to it and just clean them up as normal, it is a phase that will pass, but it is also a learning phase that will translate into interest in different foods and textures. To be completely honest, my husband has a lot of trouble participating in this, as it can be pretty stressful to clean up at times, but the costs outweigh the benefits. In the pictures below (from left to right), it’s black bean soup (black beans blended with water), frozen blueberries and a mash up of avocado, frozen blueberries and bananas.
Add Sauce
I am not a big fan of this, but am 1,000% sure that it works! I have only used this method when eating out and sauce naturally comes with the meal or when the kids are eating off of my husband’s plate (he likes a good chili sauce or ranch). If the kids know that they cannot eat the sauce plain, there is room for them to try dipping a new food into the sauce. This worked recently with my daughter when she finally decided to eat lettuce for the first time! Ranch dressing came with a salad and I put the littlest amount of ranch on it, and she ate a ton of lettuce after refusing it for two years!
Rotating Things They Like
Let them eat what they want until they get sick of it and switch it out. You can always keep offering alternatives, but be realistic about it. If they are eating fruits and vegetables, who cares if they are eating the same ones over and over?! It’s just like with us, and how once we find something that we like, we keep going back to it.
Switch it Up!
Kids aren’t going to eat the same thing the same way all the time. I am totally okay with serving food different ways to switch it up when need be. That could be offering the fruit whole, sliced, cut into stars (I use these shape cutters), frozen or dried. These small switch ups have worked wonders when my kids get bored of things.
Frozen Fruit
There is nothing more enticing than frozen fruit for a teething baby/toddler! Even when they aren’t teething, there is something really exciting about frozen fruit for them. I am not talking about taking frozen fruit out of the bag, thawing it and giving it to your kids. I really mean to just take the frozen fruit out of the bag, cut it if you need to into bite-sized pieces, and give it to them to eat. Of course, it is different than the fresh version of that piece of fruit, but it still tastes good and is cold and can be eaten with their fingers! Our favorites (and by favorites, I mean that we have gone through bags and bags of these) are frozen blueberries (the smaller sized berries, the better), mango, and cherries. An added bonus to buying the frozen fruit is that it is significantly cheaper than fresh fruit.
This also goes for some of the smaller frozen vegetable options as well, such as frozen cauliflower rice, peas and corn.
Dried Fruit
Since I am a big fan of dried fruit, I love that this is something I can share with my kids. With both of them, I started out with raisins and then expanded from there. Dried mango (ripped into bite-sized) pieces has been the biggest hit, and even before my kids were able to chew and digest it, they liked to suck on the larger pieces.
Basic Principles Related to Feeding Kids
I think it is also important to mention a few of the basic principles that I follow when it comes to food with my children.
No Negative Talk
Keep the comments related to diets, healthy, fat/slim, etc. to yourself. All you need to focus on is teaching your children (by example) how to eat properly. They do not need to be concerned about additional societal pressures and stigmas that were passed down to you. If they learn to eat properly, especially at a young age, they will be set!
Dietary Needs
Keep in mind their dietary needs and what it takes to make them full. Eating a bowl of fruit is awesome, even if that’s all they eat. But keep in mind that that will then result in them getting hungrier faster compared to if they ate more of a “balanced meal.” Along the same thought process, if, for example, my daughter only wants to eat granola for breakfast, I give her a bowl of granola and then a bowl of fruit just to give her more options if she wants to eat it. I never pressure her to eat anything, I just give her options.
No Forced Eating
I never force my kids to eat anything. I offer them new things to try and if they don’t want it, then they don’t want it. Also, if they aren’t very hungry during meal time and don’t want to eat a lot, I never do the “eat one bite” or how ever many bites rule. I also keep the concept of food and eating very light and as little pressure as possible, and it is never an issue. I know what food I am offering my kids and they then have the option to choose which food they are going to eat and how much of it they are going to eat.
Additional Examples
I really do practice what I preach! You can watch the video below for additional examples and explanations related to how I have gotten and kept these two little angels excited about eating fruits and vegetables.
Our Favorite Accessories to Help
Here’s a list of some of our favorite accessories that have been helpful to get and keep the kids excited!
- Cherry Pitter – These is the greatest thing ever to have during cherry season. You and your child will both benefit from this, as your kids can enjoy the cherries and you don’t have to worry about them swallowing the seeds.
- Popsicle Molds – Let your kids help pick the ingredients and taste the mix before filling the popsicle molds. It is such a fun thing to do together and it doesn’t take much to get kids excited about it. We mainly just use frozen fruit mixed with water, and my kids cannot get enough of them.
- Shape Cutters – We have used these with apples to get the kids to try them at first, and with softer foods, like a spinach pancake, the kids can cut the shapes themselves.
- Toddler Tower – This was the greatest investment we have made in our journey. There is nothing greater for you or your kids for you all to be able to be involved in food preparation. It is fun, exciting and beneficial. The toddler tower allows your child to easily and safely be included and involved.
I hope one or many of these tips helps you in your journey towards healthy little eaters! Just remember to be patient, play it cool and it will come!