Grow Healthy With Brighton 

Does meal time become a battle when it's time for your kids to eat fruits and vegetables? For many households, it does! Luckily, there are many ways to diffuse the tension at meal time while still getting your kids the fruits and vegetables that they need. Most mealtime battles happen because kids want control over their meal options. By implementing a few changes, you can give kids the "control" they crave and makes meal time more enjoyable.

1. Give your kids a choice between two options. For example, ask your kids if they would like carrots or peas for dinner. If they throw a fit, gently remind them that they chose the vegetable for tonight.

2. Involve your kids in the meal planning process. Kids are more likely to eat a meal that they helped plan and create. Depending on your child's age, kids can be involved in several different ways. For younger kids, ask them to help measure out the frozen peas or shuck the corn. For older kids, ask for help finding recipes and making the shopping list.

3. Try new fruits and vegetables. The supermarkets are stocked with a large variety of fruits and vegetables. Allow your kids to pick our a new fruit or vegetable (fresh, frozen, or canned) at the store for the whole family to try. Some stores may provide you with a sample if you ask the produce clerk.

4. Serve fruits and vegetables in a variety of new ways. Your child may not like canned green beans but they may love steamed green beans. Encourage your child to try a certain fruit and vegetable prepared in new ways before deciding that food is not for them.

5. Allow your child to not eat fruits or vegetables that they don't enjoy. Everyone has foods that they do not like and its okay for your child to dislike some fruits and vegetables. When your child expresses a dislike for a food, have them describe it and what they do not like about a food. Is it too sweet, too sour, or bitter? By identifying what they do not like about the food, it will help both of you understand more about taste preferences and keep them from just saying "Yuck, this is gross!"

6. Be a good role model. Kids learn by watching behaviors of adults during mealtimes. If you implement new processes, be sure that you stick to them, too!

Hannah Murphy, RD, CNSC
Platte Valley Medical Center