Most kids give parents a hard time about eating their vegetables. Most parents try to out smart those kids by hiding vegetables in the food. Smoothies are one of the most popular ways to get veggies into kids these days. However, nutrition expert Gillian Harris told NPR recently hiding vegetables from kids could lead to problems down the road. She suggests teaching your kids to actually like vegetables. Some ways to do that include:
1. Allowing them to try many different vegetables to see what colors, tastes and textures they like.
2. Always offer vegetables so they get used to them by the time they're 7 or 8
3. Pair the veggies with something yummy like dip.
4. Give the veggie a cool name like "X Ray Vision Carrots"
5. Allow you kids to play with their vegetables. After some touching and smushing they just might put them in their mouth.
If your kids don't get used to eating vegetables on their own they could grow up with picky or poor eating habits. Which could lead to being over weight, cardiovascular problems and even cancer. These are all really good suggestions. This is one area I didn't pay much attention to as a parent. Out of my 4 kids 2 of them are careful about what they eat. The other two don't seem very careful yet they stay pretty thin. I'm not an expert but I think sometimes metabolism has something to do with that. Eventually, I think we all learn to statr paying attention to our diet. The sooner the better though.
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