If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “My child won’t eat vegetables…”  

As a feeding therapist it’s a statement I’ve heard more times than I can count, and the truth is that children refusing to eat vegetables is about as commonplace as toddlers and tantrums. 

Whether your toddler won’t eat vegetables, 5 year old won’t eat vegetables, or your 8 year old is refusing to eat vegetables, this can be frustrating, as common as it is.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that you can’t teach your child to enjoy and actually like vegetables. In fact, I’m going to give you my best tips and strategies for how to get YOUR child to eat vegetables.

I’m going to spare you the details on why veggies are such an important part of your kid’s diet – most of you already know that, and it’s probably what brought you here in the first place. 

I’m also going to admit up front that this is an area that we are always working on in my house. Isaac, my 2 year old picky eater, only eats raw carrots readily. However, last week he happily ate spaghetti squash, which is usually something he totally avoids, because I used the strategies below.

My point is, there is hope! And, if you want some specific vegetable recipes for kids, well, I’ve got a boatload for you in that link!

One very important fact that I want you to keep in mind as you work your way through the tips below is that kids’ taste buds are actually different from ours. Veggies often taste bitter, very bitter to them, and the texture is unusual.

 It is easy to understand why kids aren’t interested once you start to think about it.

 And while explaining the benefits of vegetables to kids seems like a good idea, it often turns into us trying to talk them into eating the veggies, which they interpret as pressure and then out of the gate aren’t even open to trying them. 

Read more about why its important to avoid pressure during meals (you may just have your mind blown, seriously.)

The important thing is that we need to get them comfortable with vegetables, because honestly they’re fairly foreign to them. As with any food that they don’t prefer, what they really need is a chance to explore it when the pressure to eat it is off.

So while veggies are important, I don’t want you to put pressure on yourself or your child to eat them, and if you need to ease your worrying parent conscience (oh, and I get that) then reading about what your child’s nutritional actually are here will be really helpful. 

I can almost promise you that you’ll be surprised!

Let’s dive into specific tricks (although I’m not a fan of hiding vegetables) and tips for how to get your child to actually eat vegetables. Make sure you give them a go multiple times before throwing in the towel, oftentimes kids need a lot of consistency and repetition. 

And, of course, remember to act casual and make it fun – that may be the biggest key to actually getting toddlers and kids to eat vegetables!

1. Serve veggies raw (carrots, zucchini, green beans, celery, etc.) with a preferred dip like ranch, peanut butter, sour cream, etc. Obviously, there are some choking hazards with the toddler crowd, so be careful of raw carrot and celery.

Some kids like the crunchy texture much better than cooked and dipping is usually a win with kids. Plus, dips help mask the sometimes strong taste for kids. Yes, we want them to be able to eat them plain, but this will help get them there.

So if your child won’t eat vegetables, whether they are 4,5,or even 8 years old, dips are a great way to take that first step. 

Don’t hesitate to try this with a hot meal that you wouldn’t normally pair it with. By the way raw veggies pack the most nutrition. 

Take it a step further and try serving raw veggies (or any veggie for that matter) with a dip, here’s 47 different dip ideas for kids! 

It could be as simple as mixing some seasoning on top or placing the veggies into a bowl. Take a few bites while you’re cooking and casually suggest that your kid try a bite. Maybe they’ll surprise you! 

Read more about how and why to cook with your kids, that also includes a delicious pumpkin waffles. 

Keep the veggie you’re mixing in small and don’t add too much on your first try. If possible, let your kid know in advance that you are mixing it all together or even better, cook it together. You can also remind your child that it is their choice to pick out the veggie, but this is how you are serving it for the family. However, I would only offer that up, if they seem to be getting stressed. If your child likes eggs, then this Made Your Way Quiche will be a perfect recipe to try!

8. Put veggies between or on some type of bread.  For example, add veggies to the inside of a quesadilla, burrito, sandwich, or pita. The bread and other foods mixed with the veggies help to soften the strong tastes and different textures. Let me be clear though, the point isn’t to hide the veggie, in fact, I want you to point it out (casually) to your kid, if you haven’t already. Chances are they are going to detect it anyways and then feel like you were trying to dupe them. 

If they helped you cook, then they know it’s there and will be more comfortable with it. Ultimately, if they think you tricked them, they likely won’t eat it. Most kids love bread and bread products – if yours doesn’t, then skip this tip.

One of my favorite ways to use this tip is with a special bruschetta bar for kids, I know it sounds strange, but check it out because it’s super versatile and easy.

9. Serve vegetable muffins or breads.  Think pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato or spinach. These muffins can be down right delicious and will often be seen as a special treat in the eyes of your child. Our family favorite recipe is thisbanana pumpkin bread, that also happens to be high-fiber and immune boosting!

There you have it, some simple strategies you can try today to get more vegetables in your kid’s diet. Keep in mind that it is important to keepmealtimes and meal prep as positive as possible. 

Stress levels can get high quickly and your child will pick up on it. Avoid power struggles and focus on any new things your child may have done with the food like touching or smelling it. 

A few weeks ago I wanted to serve spaghetti squash as a main part of our dinner. This is a non-preferred food for both of my kiddos. Well, Sam will usually try it, but I really wanted him to eat it, a full serving of it. 

So, I had to put my therapist hat on (it is usually on anyways) and think about kid’s issues with veggies.

I took other foods my kids eat, chicken, cheese, and black beans and mixed it with the spaghetti squash, but I diced it all up so it was an even texture and they wouldn’t get any strings of squash when they took a bite.

Texture like that can totally overwhelm a kid and often stops them from taking another bite.  

At this point you might be thinking, my kid would never eat all that. That’s okay, use foods your kid eats.

And, if eating foods mixed together is hard for them then keep it simple by using just a little bit of an evenly diced up veggies and one other food. It could be broccoli and cheese or ground beef and zucchini.  

However, that’s not the only thing I did, I took this spaghetti squash mixture and wrapped it up in a tortilla, like a burrito.  This encases the food in bread, a favorite of so many kids! And, it eliminates the overwhelming visual of the mixed food.  

I toasted the burrito in the pan because my kids love crispy, and voila they both ate spaghetti squash for the first time.