Making vegetables tasty for children has driven even the most dedicated parents to the brink of despair. But don’t give up on vegetables too quickly. In fact, there are a few good tricks that can quickly encourage your children to eat vegetables.
Eating vegetables for a healthy lifestyle
The German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends that both adults and children eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. One portion corresponds to about the size of a palm. This may not sound like much at first glance. But if you’re a real vegetable hater, you have to be creative and active to reach your daily quota.
Tip: Children are most curious about new taste experiences up to the age of 2. During this time, you should offer your child as wide a variety of vegetable preparations as possible.
1. You always eat with your eyes
Especially for small children, colours and shapes on the plate play an important role. It doesn’t have to be the “cucumber crocodile” that you know from children’s birthday parties, but try and arrange vegetable sticks or slices into a flower, butterfly or face, for example. You will see that “tomato eyes”, “carrot noses” or “cucumber ears” disappear into the mouths of these mini gourmets faster than you can say “Peppa Pig”.
2. Become a child again
The beautiful thing about life with children is being able to immerse yourself in the children’s world again. So be creative and try to empathise with the feelings of a vegetable hater. Make up stories about the vegetables. For example, the pepper becomes an unexpected vitamin C superhero or the aubergine is a shape-shifter on a secret mission. The content doesn’t have to be from a book. It can be crazy and funny to entertain your child and distract them from their aversion to vegetables.
3. Cooking together
Children love being able to do things that are normally only reserved for adults. Cooking is a good example of this. Create a relaxed atmosphere and a safe environment in the kitchen for your little chefs. With appropriate safety knives, you can give your child cucumbers, peppers, etc. to chop. Stirring a large wooden spoon in the Ratatouille becomes a wonderful experience for young and old alike.
4. Find sneaky ways to hide vegetables in food
Does your child refuse raw food? Then switch things around and just hide the important vegetable portions in your family’s favourite dishes. For example, chop carrots and celery into a Bolognese sauce or broccoli or cauliflower puree and serve these vegetables as a soup. Stay creative and get inspired by our recipes here on the blog.
5. Be a role model
Children imitate the behaviour of adults. So set a good example and demonstrate with your eating habits that vegetables can be not just healthy, but delicious.
If you want to try out these tips and tricks together with your child, Panasonic kitchen appliances such as the NN-DS59 4-in-1 combo microwave take the work out of cooking for you. With their help, you can easily prepare a variety of delicious and healthy dishes that you and your children will love.
