How To Get Your Children to Eat More Veggies - Gerbil Meets Mouse Publishing

Written by Lydia Lukidis

I can’t be the only parent who finds it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to feed my child vegetables!! Things were easy enough when she was a baby and she gobbled down spoonfuls of carrots and beets without a clue as to what they were.

But then, she turned 2.

And along with the proverbial Terrible Twos came the “NO! I don’t wanna eat vegetables!” This was her face anytime I gingerly placed a piece of broccoli or a few shreds of red pepper in front of her:

And on and on it went.

I was going bananas. I obsessed over dramatic questions. How my child would grow without any vegetables? How would she be healthy? Would she be like this forever?

Out of my frustration, I decided to write a picture book that entices little ones to eat their veggies. That’s when the illustrious Mr. Broccoli Bob was conceived and soon enough Melvin and the Madcap Musical came to life. Mr. Broccoli Bob is the distinguished host of an all-vegetable cabaret. This was my attempt to make veggies more fun, and show the virtues of eating veggies in an amusing way children can relate to.

I wrote the book last year. And guess what? Since I read it to my daughter, she actually (GASP) started to eat broccoli! So I did my Happy Dance.

Another trick I learned is that presentation is KEY. For instance, my daughter would never go near tomatoes or red peppers. But one day, I turned them into a happy face on a rice cracker with hummus and much to my amazement, she gobbled it up. Victory!

If your little one is a picky eater and doesn’t “love” vegetables, here are some fun and easy snacks to entice them! The bonus is that they take under 5 minutes to prepare. I got them off the internet and included the links with credits. Hope these recipes are useful! As for my daughter and I, it’s a work in progress. We have a select few vegetables that have been “approved,” and I’m hoping that the more my daughter sees me eating vegetables, the more she’ll be inspired to eat a wider variety herself!