Healthy happy kids:)

Once upon a time I had the most picky eater you've ever met. Not only did he adamantly refuse to eat his veggies, he wouldn't even touch anything remotely healthy. He would pick at his meals and maybe eat a bite or two- if I was really lucky- and then refuse to eat any more. I tried making him sit at the table for hours until he ate his food. I tried bribing him with yummy desserts. I tried turning on the TV so he wouldn't notice I was shoving peas into his mouth. I tried sending him to bed without any dinner.

 Nothing worked.

 And I would get so frustrated that I stopped trying to make him eat healthy food for awhile (his diet consisted of yogurt, cold cereal, and sometimes fruit. Not bad but not what a rambunctious little boy needs to keep up his energy!). The result: a very sad child that caught every virus that came his way. And I got sick of that too...even more sick of trying to keep him not sick than I was sick of trying to get him to eat! (did you follow all that? he he) So I peeled myself off the ground and decided to revamp my efforts. I wish I could say I came up with a fail-proof Master Plan of what to do and not do that works like a charm. But the truth is I learned a lot just from trial and error. But the end result was worth all the tries. My picky eater is a certifiable veggieholic.

Now he asks if he can pleeeease have a few more carrots before he goes to bed (whether this is a result of him actually craving carrots or just trying to stay up a few minutes later I'm not saying..) and I don't have to bribe him or hold him down while I shove bell peppers down his throat. I don't even have to be tricky about it...hiding carrot puree in his orange juice, squash in his pancakes, zucchini fried so long its past recognition (and nutrients:/)- these are all things of the past. I now hand him a plate of assorted vegetables and he gobbles them down and then asks for more. I kid you not. 

And in case you have a horribly picky eater that keeps getting sick because they don't have the nutrients to keep them healthy and strong which in turn is making you want to pull out your hair and call in a sick day too just so you don't have to deal with the maddening meal times *breath* I thought I would share some of the things that worked for me:) 

He particularly loves red bell peppers.

1) Serve the veggies while you prepare the rest of the meal. For lunch I will give my boys a plate with carrots, celery and peanut butter, bell pepper strips, frozen or fresh peas, asparagus, tomatoes, or whatever else is in season and let them eat that while I prepare sandwiches or warm up left overs. Because they are so hungry they usually will gobble up whatever is placed in front of them first. If I give them veggies on a plate next to chips and a sandwich they will most likely go for the chips and sandwich first because they look more appetizing. This way the veggies aren't competing with anything else!

2) Bribery. For a long time this didn't work with my son. He wouldn't eat veggies even if I gave him a whole bag of marshmallows after! But one day his reasoning skills kicked in and my life got loads easier. Now I can tell him he will get a brownie after he eats all of his dinner (veggies included!) and that's usually enough to motivate him to eat every bite on his plate without another complaint. The prize doesn't always have to be sweets either- promising a game of softball or a bike ride after he eats all his dinner works wonders as well.

3) Parental example. This was probably one of my kid's downfalls in the first place. I don't love picking up raw veggies and eating them like I'm a rabbit. I love them cooked into casseroles or on a skewer marinated alongside chicken chunks and then thrown on the grill, but not straight out of the bag they came in. So I had to change myself for this one. And I'll admit, I still give my kids way more raw veggies than I'm willing to eat but that's still to their advantage right? Right. And they love it so we all win.

4) Veggies are exciting! I tried to make veggies seem more appealing by getting all excited about eating them. You don't necessarily have to do a happy dance while you peel your carrots (although that might work...if you do it please record it and post it on you tube and then send me a note telling me you did) but when I pull the the veggies out I'll say something like, "Look Caleb! We have cucumbers today!! Isn't that GREAT?!?!?!" Eh, kids are impressionable. The excitement of veggies will rub off on them.

5) Let the kids get involved. This is a fantastic way to help kids enjoy their veggies. I love to buy corn on the cob just so my kids can help me shuck it. They love it! And then I have to assure them they can have it back right after we cook it. They can hardly wait and it gets chowed down the minute it cools off enough. No butter or salt required. 

The other thing I love to have my kids help with is planting the veggies. Last year my son helped me plant the seeds and water the plants every day. He was ecstatic when the little green shoots appeared. And then he got to watch the tomatoes ripen and it was the best day ever when he finally got to pick them and eat them. This was great on so many levels- he actually got to see where his veggies come from, he learned what it takes for plants to grow, he learned the different stages of plant maturation, and he got to have some rewarding responsibilities (watering them and making sure little brother didn't pick them too early). I highly recommend planting a garden, even if its a little one in buckets on your patio...like us.

6) Present variety and options. I usually give my kids several different veggies at lunch and dinner. Not only do the kids get different nutrients from each veggie, but they also get to choose which veggies they eat first, second...last. Of course they have to eat all their veggies but for some reason having options= happy kids. Having a variety also keeps things new and exciting (as exciting as veggies can be). One day we'll have frozen peas and carrots. The next day we'll have corn and bell peppers. I'm not mentioning fruit because my kids have never had a problem eating fruit...and yes we eat lots of fruit each day:)

7) A veggie a day... I give my kids veggies EVERY lunch and dinner. In the past I served them based on  convenience; if I had time I would prepare them with their lunch and if I was too busy or lazy I would just skip on the veggies and just serve up a pb&j. This made my kids wonder if they could get away with not eating veggies like they had the day before and when I did make vegetables they would throw a fit and try to get out of it. Now they know veggies are just a part of the meals every single day and there's no complaining or fit throwing. And they'll even ask for seconds...oh happy day!!

These are just a few ideas that have worked really well with my chillins. If you have an ultra picky eater maybe one or all of these will work for you too? Its worth a try!! My man child has so much more energy and hes just happier in general. I.love.it! 

Do you have any good suggestions that have helped your kids breach the nasty vegetables perception?? Send them my way!! Just in case my kids remember veggies are supposed to be gross:)