12 Tips To Make Your Toddler Love Veggies

MORE REALLY IS MORE
A key motivation for eating more fruits and vegetables is their provision of healthy sustenance. They are low in fat and calories, are excellent sources of vitamins, and provide added fiber.

Aileen Binuya, M.D., a resident pediatrician at the Capitol Medical Center in Quezon City, says, "Kids now don't get enough color in their diet. The plan is to redesign with an assortment of brightly colored fruits and vegetables."

There is no limit to the benefit and convenience of adding fruits and vegetables in our diet. They require very little preparation and are easy to pick up and eat.

The trick is simple: include as many fruits and vegetables in your and your kids' diet-again, the more colorful, the better.

PERSUASION IS THE KEY
But just how do you get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables? Jacqueline Abadilla, M.D., mom to Alexis Nicole, and Gemma Rodil, mom to Frankie, suggest making it fun for the kids by thinking of creative ways to introduce fruits and vegetables to them. Never force the kids, they say.

What you eat is going to be a big influence on what your kids will like to eat. It will immensely help to start them early. Offer your toddlers different types of food and let them see you eat fruits and veggies as well. If kids have repeated opportunities to try a new vegetable or fruit, there is a greater chance for them to acquire the taste for it.

More tricks for toddlers and even bigger kids!

• Let your child help pick out fruits and vegetables when grocery shopping
• Let your child help prepare the meal
• Switch from soda to 100% fruit juice
• Add fruit pieces like bananas and berries to your child's cereal or yogurt
• Prepare chopped veggies with a cheese or ranch dip
• Try camouflaging! Chop the vegetables and mix them in your pasta sauces, soups, omelets and casseroles
• Find fruit and vegetable dishes that the kids already like to eat, then offer these often
• Add some chopped fruit to their jelly
• Make fruit kebabs using grapes, apples, pineapple chunks, bananas, etc.
• Offer a mix of fruits as dessert or snack
• Grow your own little vegetable garden at home

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SOURCES:

• Aileen Binuya, M.D., pediatrician, Capitol Medical Center
• What Color Is Your Diet? by Dr. David Heber, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California, with Susan Bowerman, a dietitian
• The Color Code by Dr. James A. Joseph, chief of the Neuroscience Laboratory at Tufts University