Worried about your kids not getting enough green foods? I was, too, and I’m a natural foods chef with a degree in Natural Health! Here’s how I reframed my perspective on green foods and feeding expectations, and now I get plenty of green foods into my two kiddos.
As health-conscious parents, we all strive to raise children who love their vegetables, especially green vegetables.
From avocados as first foods to blending kale and spinach into everything, having a child who eats their greens is considered a crunchy-community badge of honor.
But what about when your child flat-out refuses green foods, or turns their nose up at nearly every vegetable?
That’s what happened to me. Twice. Even as a natural foods chef, B.S. in natural health, and health & wellness writer, my toddlers just weren’t interested in green vegetables.
And you know what? At ages 13 and 6 today, they now eat plenty of green foods, even spinach and kale.
Here are the lessons I learned about reframing my expectations and strategies around feeding and nutrition, and how I got my kids to (finally) eat more green foods.
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Embrace All The Green Foods (Not Just Leafy Greens)
Plant-forward parents tend to see bitter, leafy green vegetables as the holy grail of green foods, and for good reason. These foods have been shown to be rich in nutrients, like iron, calcium, and vitamin K, as well as cancer-fighting glucosinolates and antioxidants.
But, as I quickly learned, most kids aren’t going to go for these, at least not when they’re very young. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying, but don’t feel bad if they refuse.
However, the good news is there are lots of other nutrient-dense, fiber-rich green foods most toddlers and kids will adore, including:
- Kiwis: Provide vitamins C, E, K, folate, magnesium, calcium, and potassium.
- Green grapes: Rich in disease-fighting polyphenols, and a source of vitamin A, vitamin K, and various trace minerals.
- Seaweed: Although not for every kid, some love the salty, umami-rich flavor of seaweeds, like nori or seaweed snacks. Seaweeds are also a powerhouse of minerals, including iodine as well as vitamins A, C, B, and essential fatty acids.
- Certain edible algae, like spirulina, can be blended into smoothies and also offer a wealth of nutrients, including B-vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin K, protein, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and even plant-based B12.
- Avocados: A creamy source of healthy fat, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and trace minerals.
- Green Peas (sugar snap, snow peas, and shelled peas): Chock-full of fiber, and a source of folate, vitamin K, vitamin C, zinc, magnesium, and iron.
- Green pears: Contains vitamins A, C, K, potassium, and protective antioxidants.
- Edamame: A great source of plant-based protein, fiber, iron, vitamin C, and minerals.
- Pistachios: Crunchy and salty, these nuts contain protein, healthy fats, iron, magnesium, calcium, zinc, selenium, vitamins A, E, and B vitamins, and lutein, which is excellent for eye health.
- Cucumbers: A crunchy source of bone-building silica, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.
- Pickles: Naturally fermented pickles contain probiotics that help support a healthy gut.
The takeaway: Green foods go beyond leafy greens, and anything green will help build a diverse visual and taste palate, paving the way for more green foods as little taste buds mature.
Learn About The Division Of Responsibility In Feeding
Parenting can seem so complicated (especially when you’re tired), but often the best solutions are deceptively simple.
In researching “picky eating” (a term I never use with my children but that works for search engines), I came across the work of nutritionist and family therapist Ellyn Satter, who authored “Feeding With Love And Good Sense: 18 Months Through 6 Years”.
The book is a quick read, and basically, she promotes what’s called the division of responsibility in feeding.
In a nutshell, our responsibility as parents is to provide healthy, balanced meals or snacks, and it’s the child’s responsibility to decide what to eat and how much.
Gasp. Could it be that simple? Turns out, it is.
Different experts and families apply this in nuanced ways. For our family, this meant either my husband or I planned and served nutritious meals with at least two things everyone would like.
We would serve the toddler a bit of everything, then it was up to them to decide what they ate and how much.
Honestly, I wish I had learned about this earlier because it takes so much pressure off the parents, eliminates meal-time battles, and gives the child autonomy, which is what little ones want most.
It takes some time, planning, patience, consistency, and faith, but ultimately pays off!
We also continued serving our children snacks between meals, which Satter doesn’t recommend in the original book.
In our experience, super-active growing children need some extra fuel, and we’re big believers in a daily superfood smoothie ritual, which we’ll cover next.
Make Smoothies A Daily Practice
We have made daily superfood smoothies with fruits, vegetables, and green powders part of our children’s routine since toddlerhood.
This solves so many problems, including concerns about them getting enough green foods or vegetables. Plus, they absolutely love it and look forward to it as their afternoon snack.
Our children don’t mind green or odd-colored smoothies as long as they taste good.
However, if your kids wouldn’t knowingly touch a green drink with a ten-foot pole, here are some tips:
- Serve them in stainless steel containers. This hides the color.
- Use dark-colored fruit juice, like grape, cranberry, or pomegranate, to keep things pink or purple.
- Add wild blueberries, cherries, and raspberries. Their dark, antioxidant-rich colors hide just about anything green.
- Add citrus, kiwi, and/or pineapple—these are some of the best flavor maskers.
- Start with fresh baby spinach and avocado. These veggies are very mild in flavor, making them almost indetectable, and avocado makes a smoothie taste like ice cream.
- Add vanilla extract. This elevates a smoothie to more of a milkshake-like flavor.
- Go easy on the kale. Kale can easily be hidden in smoothies, but a little goes a long way. Start with just a couple of leaves and see how it goes.
- Add small amounts of green powders. These are concentrated green foods that add a nice hit of nutrition, with minimal flavor and color.
We like using organic barley grass and/or Hawaiian spirulina, which is a good source of iron, protein, and various vitamins and minerals.
Even one-eighth to one-quarter of a teaspoon goes a long way for toddlers and kids. If you’re unsure, check with their healthcare practitioner for individual recommendations.
- Go with bananas or mango as a base. These are naturally sweet, creamy, and chock-full of nutrients and fiber.
- If your kids can detect anything green, try purple cabbage. It may sound strange, but blended up with grape juice, bananas, and lots of berries, this antioxidant-rich purple veggie is as healthful as leafy greens.
Money-saving tips: Daily smoothies can get pricey, especially if you buy organic fruits and veggies. To offset this, we buy organic frozen berries in bulk from our local price club and stick to avoiding “the dirty dozen”. You can also buy frozen avocados to reduce waste, or freeze your own.
Read more: From Herbs To Air Purifiers: 7 Natural Remedies To Tame Spring Allergies
Add Green Foods To, Well, Everything
As a crunchy mom to the core, I just can’t let a good meatloaf, meatball, or muffin batter go by without adding some green foods.
Some of my favorites to add include:
- Grated zucchini
- Chopped up spinach
- Parsley
- Avocado
- Kale
You can find endless hidden-vegetable recipes for muffins, breads, meatloaves, meatballs, spaghetti sauces, and more. Try some out, let go of the guilt of “tricking” your kids (in this case, what they don’t know will help them), and you’ll quickly become a pro.
What if the kids catch you adding green foods?
Mine did, and I just told them the truth, “I always add zucchini/spinach/greens powders to your muffins, didn’t you know?”
Mix Up Veggies With Fruits
One way I got my son (the very strong-willed one) to try new veggies was to serve a crudité platter with fruit and veggies.
I’d put this out on the coffee table as a snack or with dinner, and let him decide what he wanted to try.
Oftentimes, if I left the room, he’d venture out and try some new vegetables, which is why he now eats peas, cucumbers, and raw green beans.
It’s simple, it gives them the freedom to choose, and it’s a super-easy snack or side.
Go Raw!
My first child, who ate every vegetable as a baby, then only wanted raw tomatoes as a toddler, taught me something important: some kids just prefer raw vegetables.
I discovered this while working in the garden, where she suddenly became super into green beans, peas, carrots, zucchini, and sweet potatoes.
From then on, I served her a variety of raw veggies, and she ate them all.
As it turns out, she was never picky; she just didn’t like the texture and muted flavor of cooked vegetables.
My son is the same way, and seems to discover a new raw veggie he likes in the garden every season. Last year, it was raw asparagus, who knew?
Get Them Cooking
This won’t work for everyone, but generally, if children are involved in preparing food, they’ll be more likely to eat it.
This is how I got my son to eat salad. I ordered him some kid-safe knives and set him up to cut lettuce and other veggies.
I also let him help me make Caesar dressing one night. He put the lettuce and dressing together and has been a spinach Caesar salad fan ever since.
Perhaps all the spinach we’d been putting in his smoothies for years primed his taste buds, who knows.
Be Patient & Model Good Eating Habits
Finally, resist the urge to coerce, negotiate, bribe, beg, or punish a child to get them to eat their green foods.
None of us liked these tactics when we were kids, and studies have shown they can be counterproductive or even harmful in some cases.
Instead, practice what you’ve learned here and model good eating habits yourself. Create routines and rituals around meals and food prep, and make them enjoyable. A relaxed eating environment can make all the difference.
The Result: My Kids Now Eat Lots Of Green Foods, Including Leafy Greens
It took some time, patience, frustration, mistakes, and swift maneuvering, but I’m proud to report that both my children now eat plenty of green foods, including green veggies and leafy greens.
My daughter, now 13, loves pretty much everything, but admits she still prefers raw veggies and would eat a salad every night.
My son, who’s 6 (and a strong-willed Taurus), went from only eating tomatoes as a veggie to chowing down on salads, cucumbers, celery, raw green beans, sugar snap peas, asparagus, baked potatoes, peppers, onions, and lots of other colorful veggies.
As for me, I’m so glad I didn’t force the issue or try to coerce them, because, in the end, it created a healthy relationship with food and eating, including green foods!
A Final Piece Of Advice: Don’t Believe Everything You Read
In my research on how to get my kids to eat more veggies, I read dozens of reports from experts telling me that if my child was picky now, they’d likely be picky forever.
I’m so glad I didn’t listen, because that was not the case for either of my children, nor for dozens of other friends who have had this struggle.
Obviously, if you’re dealing with extreme pickiness, feeding disorders, or are worried about your child’s nutrition, get some help. But don’t be too quick to judge or label them as “picky” or “fussy” eaters.
As Ellyn Satter explains in Feeding With Love And Good Sense, children, especially toddlers, go through various developmental phases that may cause temporary pickiness or changes in eating patterns.
These can go on for days or weeks, so become familiar with these phases before jumping to any conclusions or dramatic actions.
And remember, every healthy food that goes into their bodies, green or not, is a win!
So change your perspective a bit, relax the need to control and track everything, try new things like raw foods or smoothies, test out the division of responsibility, and trust the process as you nourish them, body and soul.
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