Full Answer
What fruits and vegetables are good for kids?
May 06, 2006 · in addition to eating vegetables each day, your kids should try to eat a variety of dark green vegetables (broccoli, greens, spinach, romaine lettuce), orange vegetables (carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, winter squash), dry beans and peas, starchy vegetables (corn, green peas, white potatoes), and other vegetables (cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, …
What vegetables are good for kids?
Sep 20, 2019 · Everyone knows that veggies are good for us—and especially for our kids. Here are our favorite easy ways to prepare them, plus a few tricks to make every vegetable taste delicious for little ...
How to get your kids to eat more veggies?
Dec 20, 2021 · Green beans have potassium, fiber, a little iron, and protein, and are a really versatile veggie. be sure to cook them soft so they’re easy for the kids to chew. Sesame Maple Green Beans: These green beans are slightly sweet, a little bit salty, and it’s a perfect side dish to meat, chicken, eggs, or even beans. And they’re quick to make!
How to make your kids eat their Veggies?
Jul 28, 2009 · To find out what kids really want, we called on a panel of boys and girls ages 4 to 11 and asked them to taste, rate, and critique the following recipes. Based on our taste testing, the key to getting kids to eat their veggies was adding a …
Sweet bell peppers
There’s no doubt that kids love sweets. Use their preference for sweetness by introducing them to kid-friendly sweet bell peppers. Red, orange and yellow bell peppers can be served cut into strips as a snack—just pair with hummus or another protein-packed dip.
Sweet potatoes & squash
Sweet potatoes and squash get even sweeter when they’re roasted, steamed and sauteed. Steamed butternut squash can easily be pureed and incorporated into a cheese-like sauce or a warming soup served with a dollop of Greek yogurt.
Grape tomatoes
Small and round grape tomatoes are super easy to incorporate at snack time—simply rinse and enjoy! (For little eaters, it may be best to cut them in half, too.) You can also pair them with a black bean dip, which will add fiber and protein. Because grape tomatoes are acidic and slightly sweet, they appeal to a variety of palates.
Sweet corn
Starchy and sweet, corn has a bright yellow color that tends to be less daunting than greens, making it one of the most approachable vegetables for kids and picky eaters. Corn on the cob can be grilled, dried kernels can be air-popped to make popcorn and frozen corn can be steamed and added to rice for a simple side.
Spinach
Start by using spinach as an undercover veggie, incorporating it into sweet treats like smoothies and popsicles.
Peas
Much like corn, peas are a starchy, sweet and kid-friendly vegetable. The addition of steamed peas to fried rice or macaroni and cheese is a great way to get some color on the plate in a way that’s accepted by picky eaters.
Jicama
If your child enjoys vegetables with a crunchy texture and mild flavor, it’s time to introduce them to jicama. Jicama is essentially a cross between a potato and an apple in texture, with a mild flavor and high water content. Jicama sticks can be dipped in nut butter, guacamole or salsa, bean dips, hummus and more.
Here are the Most Amazing Veggies That Make Kids Smarter!
Inside: Vegetables for kids is important for their health and wellness. Here are 12 reasons why vegetables for kids is important; the top 13 vegetables for kids and 7 ways to get them to eat their daily portion of healthy veggies.
Vegetables for Kids: Best Brain & Immune-building Foods
Note: This blog post contains information from one of my “Tidbits of Wisdom for Parents” YouTube video series. To access the 5-minute video of “What are the Best Brain Foods for Making Kids Smarter?” click here.
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Daily Vegetable Servings for Kids
You may be familiar with the general rule of aiming for three to five servings of vegetables each day, but the Choose My Plate guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offer much more specific recommendations based on children's ages.
What Is a Serving of Vegetables?
What counts as a serving of vegetables? According to the USDA, "One cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice, or two cups of raw leafy greens, can be considered as one serving from the vegetable group." 1
How to Get Kids to Eat More Vegetables
The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study once found that "by 15 months, French fries and other fried potatoes are the most commonly consumed vegetables." 2 While these can be a delicious and nutritious part of a varied and healthful diet, variety is really important when it comes to vegetable intake (and food intake in general!).
Basic Ways to Cook Vegetables
Knowing what to do with the cabbage or spinach when you get them home from the supermarket can also be a challenge. Here are some fast, easy ways to prepare vegetables for the whole family, plus a few sure-fire way to make veggies taste better—for kids and adults!
Avocado
Prep: Carefully cut the avocado in half. Remove the pit and scoop the flesh from the skin with a spoon.
Broccoli
Prep: Cut the florets from the stalks, leaving about an inch of stem. Further trim the broccoli so the florets aren’t humongous. Discard the stalk, or peel it and slice it into sticks for eating raw.
Butternut Squash
Prep: Use a vegetable peeler to peel the whole squash. Cut off the ends. Cut the squash in half where the neck meets the bulb. Cut the bulb in half length-wise and scoop out and discard the seeds.
Cabbage
Make a slaw: Thinly slice the cabbage and put it into a bowl. Add shredded carrot if you have some around. Toss with olive oil, lemon juice, a spoonful of mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.
Carrots
Prep: Cut off and discard the greens if there are any. Peel the carrots.
Cauliflower
Prep: Cut off and discard the leaves. Cut the cauliflower into quarters length-wise. Cut the florets off the core and discard the core.
Vegetable Recipes for Kids
I’m always recommending that the best way to get our kids to eat more vegetables is to make sure that they taste good to us. These vegetable recipes for kids hit that mark and are great places to start if you’re looking to introduce new veggies—or veggies that you’ve previously tried—in new ways.
Kids Vegetables List
I should say that this is not a comprehensive list of recipes (that would be epic!) but it’s a perfect place to start if you’re looking to incorporate more vegetables into your kid’s diets.
Asparagus Recipes
Oven-Roasted Asparagus : When I learned how to cook asparagus in the oven, it was like a lightbulb went off. This method is so easy because all you do is to toss the asparagus with a little oil, sprinkle, with salt, and let the heat from the oven soften up the stalks. They even get a little sweet as they roast!
Beets Recipes for Kids
Simple Boiled Beets : beets are naturally pretty sweet, when cooked they have a soft texture that’s easy for kids to eat, and they taste ridiculously good with a little butter and salt. This boiled beets recipe takes about 30 minutes and is mostly hands off—and it’s a good one to make-ahead to reheat later!
Bell Peppers Recipes for Kids
Oven-Roasted Red Peppers : With a simple sheet pan method and pantry spices, you can learn how to Roast Red Peppers in the oven to use in tacos, sandwiches, and just as a simple side. You can season them with just salt or add cumin and a dash of chili powder for a Mexican take.
Broccoli Recipes for Kids
Broccoli Tots : With a handful of accessible, healthy ingredients, you can bake broccoli tots that are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. And…they kind of taste like broccoli tater tots! You can even make them ahead and store them in the freezer for later.
Brussels Sprouts Recipes for Kids
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Honey: Try this quick Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Honey for a simple side for dinner. It’s slightly sweet and pleasantly nutty, and not a bit bitter!
Taste Testing, Kid Style
To find out what kids really want, we called on a panel of boys and girls ages 4 to 11 and asked them to taste, rate, and critique the following recipes.#N#Based on our taste testing, the key to getting kids to eat their veggies was adding a simple sauce or extra flavor to ordinary produce.
Maple-Glazed Carrots
Covered in sweet maple syrup, the kids fell for these not-so-plain carrots. And with only three ingredients, they're a quick and easy pick for you, too. "It's sweet and doesn't even taste like carrots," says Jaime, 11. "I would eat them with rice."
Parsleyed Corn on the Cob
We were apprehensive about serving the kids anything green, but when they tasted this corn, it was actually the parsley that made it a hit. "The 'green stuff' gives it a little spice," says Matt, 9. "This is the best corn I've ever had!" added his twin sister, Emilie.
Broccoli Bakers
Speaking of "green stuff," one of our tasters was a self-proclaimed broccoli hater. But when the broccoli was served in a cheesy baked potato, he gave this recipe our highest rating, and even suggested serving it with hamburger steak.
Sweet Potato Casserole
A lightened version of the Thanksgiving classic, this recipe was hiding vitamin-packed sweet potatoes under a marshmallow-pecan topping. "This is delicious," says Jaime, 11. "I'd eat it with anything!"
Green Beans with Honey-Mustard Glaze
Take the shortcut version of this recipe, and all you need are two ingredients and a few minutes to heat up these kid-approved green beans. "I'm not the biggest fan of green beans, but I would eat these," says Emilie, 9.
