This is a guest blog submitted by Jaynebug@xangaWe were at a local Trader Joes one day, they usually have a tasting place in the back for new items or just letting you try something different, and that day they had spinach pizza. My daughter walked up to get a sample. She took a bite and smiled, then looked at me. Several moms were standing there and it was like time stopped as they watched my daughter’s reaction to the pizza, "Can dad make this mom? It's good!" The ladies stood there shocked that a seven year old little girl would like a spinach pizza.
"How do you get her to eat things like that? My son wouldn't even try it if I asked him", one parent asked. "Well I suppose it's because we have given them veggies since they were babies" I replied."Do you cover them in cheese so they'll eat them?""Why would I do that? They like the vegetables just as they are. Nicely steamed with nothing on them.""Not even butter?""Not even butter. When they were infants we used a food grinder and even took it with us to restaurants. Maybe that helped."We all like our vegetables fresh, and slightly steamed. I think being the example and eating them probably helped my children. They help prepare meals and cut vegetables, which makes it fun for them. I think when you've helped prepare something, you're more likely to try it. Sometimes I'll be cutting vegetables for dinner and the kids come through the kitchen and while my back is turned, the raw veggies disappear. One day my son was dancing around the kitchen crunching on some raw broccoli and I asked him what he was dancing about.
"I'm doing the veggie dance mom. This tastes so good! My mouth is so happy it makes my feet move."
I wasn't a big vegetable eater as a child because we had frozen vegetable all the time. No taste, no snap when you bit into it and over cooked. It wasn't until I got together with my husband that I really tasted vegetables. I was shocked they could be so good. In our fast food world, we tend to forget the vegetables or think a piece of lettuce and some tomato in our sandwich is the answer. You miss out on so much that way. All it takes is a steam basket, some water and about four to six minutes and you've got the best for your family.
How did your parents get you to eat vegetables? How do you cook your vegetables? Do you enjoy them?
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Comments (18)
My mom's rule is this: eat your vegetables first, or you don't eat anything else.
A veggie dance? How cute!
My parents gave me vegetables at a young age and I literally eat every single vegetable with the exception of a few. I dont get it when people are like "I dont like corn" or "I hate carrots" they are SO good! we used to have a salad every single day at dinner and we never had salad dressing-- just fresh vegetables out of the garden. Yumm!! Now that I am in college I have the salad bar which is OK but no one at my table eats their vegetables which is sad :( or if they do it's like a potato or buttered brocolli.
My eating habits come from my parents. Our family rarely eats meat. My mother loves gardening and we have fresh vegetables and herbs every summer.
Also, a very big trick is what you eat when you are pregnant. What you eat while pregnant determines your childs future taste buds. It's been scientifically proven so... don't use pregnancy as an excuse to pig out and eat junk.
I love veggies, I ate them alot when I was a kid I think haveing fresh instead of frozen does make a big difference. I like them steamed but I really love them roasted too! My mom puts broccoli in the oven with alittle olive oil and its sooo good!
@shes_lump@xanga -
lol my mom must have eaten alot of chocolate and broccoli when she was pregnant with me
I def. think that is true because my mom ate alot of peanut butter when she was pregnant with my sister and then was sick of it and didn't eat it with me. My sister loves peanut butter and i hate it
Haha that's so cute.
When you're saying "No dessert until you eat your veggies," you're implying that vegetables don't taste good, but if you eat them, you'll get a reward. That's no way to promote a lifestyle of eating veggies.
Good for you as a parent to just treat veggies like any other food. Delicious!
My parents never really had a problem with any of us eating vegetables... it was a non-issue in our house. When we were growing up, we didn't have junk food or sodas in our pantry, and my mom made one meal for everybody- if we were hungry, that's what we ate.
For my own kids, I will do the same thing. I've heard a lot of people say that that is wrong, or mean, or whatever, but I think not giving children the option of a less healthy meal is kind and will pay off a lot later in life. For example, my mother breast fed me exclusively when I was a baby- no "tastes" of ice cream or anything like that- and I don't eat many sweets to this day. It's a matter of personal taste, and our personal taste is built by what we are taught to like as small children.
I am most definitely purchasing a good food mill when I get pregnant. :)
I love my vegetables (whether this if fresh or frozen) not so keen on the salad side of things.
We do try to have vegetables with the main meal each day.
The way I get Mountain to eat his veggies is by putting them on my plate, and acting like they're the best thing ever. Then he'll act along with me when I give him some. I still don't understand where he picked up on hating grean things on his food, though. He's only 2, and he'll pick peppers off of his pizza and omelets. We keep feeding him those things just the same; maybe he'll grow to like them.
I love veggies. I like them raw or stir fried or even steamed is good. My mom is a raw food vegan so basically she eats no meat, no animal products, no processed foods. She's hardcore. Yea but I grew up with almost no junk food or pop. If I wanted candy or something I would trade at lunch with people. lol
My parents never had to force me to eat vegetables. I just loved them.
I especially liked eating raw and steamed vegetables.
I personally love veggies. There are very few that I will not eat. The kids I take care of love their veggies too. They actually choose broccoli and carrotts over french fries!
I basically came out of my mother's womb chewing on a carrot. I swear, I could become a vegetarian if meat wasn't so damn good. It is VERY important to me as a mom to give my son every vegetable out there. Most of the time he'll eat them, he loves peas and green beans. My husband is not a big veggie eater and wasn't brought up with alot of them in the house....because his mother was picky. So everyone ate what she ate, she likes cheese. Hm. anyway, I steam my vegetables. I will put some butter on them only because my parents did it and I know no other way. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the mix and there we have it- some veggies. We have started buying the frozen vegetables and not only are they ten times more juicy, they're cheaper and better for you than cans are. Plus we don't have a pantry, haha.
i never saw a veggie that i would not eat!
My mum did what you did- she always gave us things like carrot sticks, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli etc when we got hungry.
Just steamed stuff, and 20+ years later, I still love it.
I still snack on veges and I'm thankful she educated me on the importance of eating my vegetables.
I'm less prone to eating junk food, because she never gave my sister & I junk food when we got hungry.
Her believe was (and still is), don't eat the way I've been eating my entire life; I never was taught how to make healthy choices.
My favourite vegetables are spinach, broccoli, cauliflower & carrots. Oh and some of the Asian stuff we get here, but I can't remember their English names!
@WishIwasCultured@xanga - I'll have to try that with the brocolli/ I love roasted veggies.
@Andrea_TheNerd@xanga - I just found this was posted. I don't know how I missed it. You've got a great technique. He'll come around
My parents got me to eat my vegetables by making me sit at the table until I'd finished them.
But I'm glad they did, because I'm not averse to veggies now.
I don't like them cooked at all (that was probably the problem when I was a kid). I'll eat them as veggie sticks (plain... no dip) or in a salad or chopped up in a bowl with some salt and pepper.