5 Ways I Get My Kids to Eat More Veggies

This post is sponsored by Garden Lites. All opinions are my own.

So you’ve probably heard some of these before but I’m going to share how I get my kids to eat more veggies anyway in the hopes that it might help somebody. If you’re a parent whose kids don’t want to eat vegetables then I’ve got a few tips that you might want to try.

Every kid is different so these may or may not work for you. And even if your kiddo is going through a picky phase don’t be discouraged! My 8 year old did not like meat when he was younger but he eventually came around and is an excellent eater overall.

Shop Together

When you do your grocery shopping let your little one help pick out some of the produce. Getting to help is fun for them and my kids love to have “their” carrots and “their” kale. My kids also love to pick their own veggies from the garden and fruit from the berry patch. It gets them excited about eating fresh produce.

Structured Choice

This one ties in with the shopping tip. I read about structured choice back in my days of dealing with the terrible 2s (and 3s) and this is one parenting tactic I couldn’t live without.

Instead of just telling your child to eat his peas try asking him before the meal if he wants peas or carrots. He then feels a sense of control and isn’t fighting eating something just because you told him to. This isn’t 100 percent foolproof but it works most of the time with my kids even now that they’re older.

Cook Together

My boys love to cook with me! Cooking always gets them excited about what we are eating. Even really young children can help with mixing ingredients, stirring, and more!

Put Veggies in Everything

Ok, maybe I don’t put veggies in everything but I do try to see where I can squeeze in some extra vegetables. I put them in fruit smoothies, baked goods, meatballs, and wherever else I can. In our freezer I like to stock some fun veggie-filled muffins that we eat for breakfasts or snacks.

Garden Lites makes some really tasty muffins that have vegetables as the first and primary ingredient. My kids really love the Double Chocolate and Banana Chocolate Chip.

Garden Lites muffins are gluten free and you can find them in the frozen section of your local grocer. Check the store locator to find out where to get them near you.

Lead By Example

My last tip is simply to lead by example. Confession: I’m not a big veggie lover. There’s a lot of veggies that I don’t like… but my kids have no idea because I just eat them.

Ok, so now I want to know… what are your tips for getting kids to eat more vegetables? Leave them in the comments below!