According to the CDC, statistics from 2003-2010 show that only 7% of children, adolescents and teens (age 2-18) eat the recommended servings of vegetables each day (1-3 cups/day, depending on age).  Better news shows that some progress has been made in the area of fruit consumption, but 60% of children still fail to meet the 1-2 cup serving per day.  Fruit juice consumption is on the decline which is also an improvement.

While schools play a role in a child’s early exposure to fruit and vegetables, parents have the ultimate responsibility to influence their child’s eating habits and food consumption.  While we know that commanding our children to “finish their vegetables” is ineffective, helping our kids adapt their palate is not necessarily an easy task.  For some, it is not so difficult but for others, it is a monstrous challenge.

But there are ways to go about introducing different foods, discussing healthy eating habits and explaining how our bodies benefit from eating fruits and vegetables.  However, some of your most effective conversations may not be at the dinner table, but instead in a low pressure and even fun environment.  Here are some creative ideas to help you instill knowledge, gain influence and take your kids on a food discovery adventure.

Picture Books

Books and cartoons that emphasize healthy eating, and fruits and vegetables is a great non-threatening tool that can introduce kids to unfamiliar food and allow for questions and learning without any fear they will be persuaded to “just try it.”  Under pressure, kids often respond like many parents and push back, refuse or rebel.  This leaves everyone utterly frustrated.  But, books are a medium that can be used to teach without ever putting the food in the mouth.  You can laugh, pretend, giggle, question, and talk about all things food- no pressure.

Cooking Together

Sometimes kids are scared of what they don’t know or what is unfamiliar. By including your kids in preparing family meals, you are allowing them to see the foods from beginning to end.  You are helping to dismantle untrue assumptions, reducing anxiety, and being completely open with all the ingredients that go into the meal.

If you have some picky eaters or those that don’t seem interested in cooking at all, try including them in the preparation of one of their favorite meals.  Maybe that is homemade pizza, tacos, or spaghetti and meatballs.  The first cooking experience with mommy or daddy should not include a “scary” food but ones they already enjoy. Even if your kids are very small, allow them to use a whisk in an empty bowl or play with the measuring spoons while you are preparing a part of the meal.  Tell them what you are doing, share about the ingredients and talk up how yummy it will taste.

The goal is perk interest and allow the child to observe the cooking process. Allow and encourage them to taste (if appropriate) at different times in the process, asking them what they think and if it needs more seasoning.  Get their opinions and allow them to become a “chef” with you.

At the dinner table, recognize your child’s role in preparing and flavoring the meal.  If you have several kids, you can consider rotating “kid sous chef” so that you can keep your sanity and the child gets your undivided attention in the kitchen.  Who knows, maybe you have the next Food Network Star eating at your dinner table?!

Start a Garden

It is truly exciting when after planting some seeds, tiny sprouts begin to appear.  Kids get so excited to smell, pick, prepare and taste their harvest. Even if you don’t have a lot of room in the yard for a raised bed, try a container garden on the back porch.  Your family could also consider a blueberry bush or citrus tree or avocado tree for purchase at the local garden supply store.  Find out what grows well in your region and try it out.  Take your kids with you and ask them to choose the seeds or plants you will buy. The process of teaching them about how to tend and care for plants helps them develop an appreciation for farmers and food that we eat.  Parents can also allow their children to find or think up a recipe for how to prepare the foods they have grown.

To find what fruits and vegetables grow well in your region, insert your zip code here and view the calendar.

Visit a Local Farm, Orchard, or Fruit & Veggie Patch

Many farms are family friendly inviting you to pick fresh produce, take hayride tours and even sample some of the farm’s edible delights. This is the perfect time for parents to talk with kids about how foods are grown. Use these opportunities to intentionally talk with your kids about healthy eating. Talk about how fresh picked produce have the most vitamins and minerals and haven’t been processed.  Explain how some companies take foods and process them, adding sugar, salt and preservatives that make them less healthy for our bodies.

Allow them to pick out a food that looks appealing to them and choose how they would like to prepare it and eat it.  Use this time to ask your child questions and allow them to ask you questions.  Encourage them to use their senses and describe what they notice.  Allow them to explore different foods and have fun in the process.

Become the Example

If we want our kids to eat right, it begins with us.  Do you talk about all the wonderful flavors of fruits and vegetables?  Do you show anticipation about trying an unfamiliar food or making a new recipe?  Do you look for different ways to prepare produce that enhances their sweetness, emphasizes their robust and differing flavors and makes them a star at the dinner table?  Do the vegetables look dull and drab sitting in the serving bowl or do you make them look appetizing?  Do you demonstrate the food behaviors you want your children to have?

Wisely said, “More is caught than taught.”– Dave Ramsey

By creating intentional opportunities to talk about, explore, prepare, and even grow fruits and vegetables, parents are helping remove the negative stigma that produce often receives and reduces pressure for the child to eat them.  Kids often feel like they have to suffer through the vegetable dish to get the dessert or treat as a reward.  By encouraging child-led exploration of fruits and vegetables, you are empowering them with knowledge, guiding their questions and acknowledging their opinions. Open and respectful conversation about fruits and vegetables earns their trust.  You are planting seeds that over time, will bud and produce fruit.  Just keep watering.

Go grab your kids and have some fun!

TRUTH: And look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. Then God looked over all that he had made, and it was excellent in every way.  –Genesis 1:29,31

REFERENCE

Children eating more fruit, but fruit and vegetable intake still too low. (2014, August 5). Retrieved October 9, 2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0805-fruits-vegetables.html