All Kids Hate Vegetables

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At least that’s what Chef Boyardee would have you believe.

This annoys me on so many levels, I don’t even know where to begin.  Yes, I’m aware that it’s only a commercial, and that Chef Boyardee is not evil.  Believe it or not, I actually let my children eat this once in a while, but the whole idea about kids refusing to eat it if they ever found out there were vegetables in it is insane.  Guess what.  Kids like vegetables.  At least, all the kids I know do.  Of course not everyone likes every vegetable (or any anything for that matter), but this blanket statement is the crux of our children’s health issues, of our nation’s health issues if I might be so bold.  The fact is, young tastebuds need to try things on average of five times before they become accustomed to the taste. We start out with about 10,000 taste buds and by the age of 60, we’re down to less than 7000, making  the younger palette more sensitive and therefore more apt to turn away from strongly flavored foods.  Training your child to eat a well balanced diet is not hard, however and will be one of the most beneficial things you ever do for him or her and for the whole family.

The more I thought about this, the more I realized that there is a bit of an art to getting your family eating well.  I hope that the suggestions here help a family or two with this struggle.

• Start slowly and whatever you do, don’t make a big deal about it.  In our house, we have a rule about dinner.  You don’t have to clean your plate, but you must try everything. Just a bite.  If you don’t like it, don’t eat it, but I won’t be making a special meal for anyone, so eat or starve, the end.
• Start with the easy vegetables: tomatoes, carrots, corn, gradually add the stronger flavored ones into the mix.
• Toss green vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, spinach) into pasta with a garlic and oil saute.
• roast potatoes with green beans  and quartered onions- drizzle a little olive oil on raw veggies, add salt, toss and put in a 400 degree oven for an hour.  They come out crispy and sweet and delicious – experiment with other roasted vegetables.
• pasta salad – this is the easiest way to get kids eating veggies.  I use whole grain pasta and make my own vinaigrette for the healthiest version. (Ex. Virgin Olive Oil, white balsamic vinegar, shallot and a little honey) We put in tomato, scallion, carrots, broccoli, cucumber, celery, asparagus, etc.  blanch or steam the broccoli, carrots,  and asparagus.
• Use the internet, find recipes that interest you.  Subscribe to a food blog or two, expand your horizons.  A Veggie Venture, A Year of Crockpotting, Cleaner Plate Club, Smitten Kitchen, The Amateur Gormet and Thursday Night Smackdown are a few of my favorites, but visit Alltop for the mother lode of food blogs.

See?  That’s not so scary, right? It’s so worth it.  I mean who wants to find a delicious looking recipe only to not be able to try it because your kids won’t eat it?  And that whole making two separate dinners thing?  Who has time for that? I won’t even address the idea of making purees and hiding them in brownies.  That’s just wrong.

A final note about the commercial.  How old is that kid that he can’t read the label sitting right next to his plate, for himself?

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