How to Get Kids to Eat Veggies! #ILikeVeggies (2024)

By Rachael | Updated on October 22, 2020

How To Get Kids To Eat Veggies! #ILikeVeggies

We all know that getting kids to eat their veggies can be really challenging. And like most things with parenting it takes consistency and persistence. I myself have one very picky little eater which has lead to our family having a little mantra we say A LOT in a sing-song voice: “Try it, you’ll like it!”

Serve with Wild Orange Colada and Crock Pot Chicken Thighs

Obviously I am not alone in this dinnertime dilemma, so Birds Eye has partnered with Melissa d’Arabian, celebrity chef, mom of four, and host of FoodNetwork.com’s web series The Picky Eaters Project, to make a difference and help moms to get their children eating more veggies, one bite at a time.

This is so important because according to The State of the Plate report, today, 9 out of 10 people in the United States do not get the proper amount of vegetables. This is adults too, not just kids.

Birds Eye frozen vegetables help moms get nutritious, tasty veggies on the plate with less work by providing more than 40 unique vegetable blends year round, at affordable prices. They have an awesome campaign called: Step Up To The Plate, which is Birds Eye’s long-term commitment to reshaping kids’ veggie perceptions and getting children to like veggies for life. They want to show families how to fill half the plate with veggies in fun and simple ways moms and kids will both like.

Here’s how Melissa d’Arabian gets more veggies into her kids:

So I have to ask…How do you get your kids to eat vegetables?

Here are my top 5 ways, and a great recipe that is chock full of veggies, but so yummy your kids won’t complain…as long as they try it!

Make it Fun

There are lots of ways to make veggie eating fun for kids. Food art is great. Another really effective method at our house is the “Build Your Own” option. I serve something like Hawaiian haystacks, with lots of options, and the kids get to load it up with whatever they want. This is great for potato bars, stir fry plates, omelets, etc.

Let them Help

Truthfully, I kind of hate having the kids in my kitchen. They make bigger messes, and everything takes longer. BUT when kids help to prepare a meal, they become more invested in that meal. Whether it is getting the bag of veggies out of the freezer and sautéing them, or choosing which veggies you are going to use while at the grocery store, get them involved in the process.

Constant Exposure

Research shows when a kid initially turns down a food, they need to be exposed to it 8-10 more times before they will be open to accepting it. They have to become more familiar with it before they will rate it better. If you want your kids to eat more veggies, keep putting them on the plate! Every single day. Every single meal.

Keep it Positive

Keep things positive, positive food experiences decrease picky eating. One of the biggest mistakes parents make is setting their child up for rejection. Saying, “You have to try at least one bite, I think you will like it” tells them that they probably won’t like it. You never know. They may love it, so don’t put it in their heads that there is a chance they won’t.

Give Incentive

Keep it in terms that they relate to. Don’t say, “It’s Healthy” say, “Eating veggies can help you grow taller so you will be big enough to ride the rollercoaster next summer.”

Now let’s get to the recipe: No Fail Stir Fry

Doesn’t this look delicious? It is. My kids gobbled it up!
But if your kid still won’t give it a try, you can always try hiding the veggies in foods they already like, such as Mac & Cheese or Pizza!

Kid Friendly Healthy Pizza

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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