7-Step Veggie Plan

Get Your Veggie-Shy Kids Eating More Veggies And Fruits

Are your kids getting 8-10 servings of vegetables and fruits every day (with the emphasis on vegetables)? Be honest. 8-10 servings is a lot of veggies and fruits. It would probably make up most of a person's diet if they were consuming that much. If your family isn't eating that amount of plant food, you aren't the only ones. In "The Future of Food," National Geographic reports that Americans average a whopping 3741 calories/day. Only 8% of that is plant food.Yet your kids' health depends on them eating those veggies and fruits. Harvard's Nutrition Source tells us, "A diet rich in vegetables and fruits can lower blood pressure, reduce risk of heart disease and stroke, prevent some types of cancer, lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and have a positive effect upon blood sugar which can help keep appetite in check."Dr. Joel Fuhrman, doctor of functional medicine, puts it another way: make nutrient density the basis of your family diet. Nutrient density is a simple equation to represent the greatest nutritional content in the least calories. On this basis, Dr. Fuhrman's health pyramid makes leafy greens the foundation of a healthy diet.But how can you get your veggie-shy kids to eat more veggies and fruits? Try this 7-step plan:

1. It begins with you. Michael Pollan, journalist, award-winning author and food guru, offers a simple plan for eating healthfully: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." It might require some retraining for you to implement this easiest (and best) of all diet plans, but if you eat this way, it's more likely your kids will too.
2. Remodel your kitchen. You can do this kind of remodeling very inexpensively. Go through every cabinet and your refrigerator and freezer and remove all highly processed foods and all foods with added sugars. Food manufacturers hide sugars under a multitude of names. You can find 56 of them here. Now refill your kitchen storage areas with whole grain dry goods like pasta, rice and quinoa, nuts, seeds, unsweetened yogurt or milk, a little (very little) meat, chicken and fish if you eat it, and our star performers, fresh veggies and fruits.
3. Put veggie snacks within reach of kids. Keep containers of cut-up raw veggies in the 'fridge within reach of your kids so they can snack on them at any time. Tomatoes taste best at room temperature, so keep a bowl of fresh fruits and grape tomatoes within reach too.
4. Always use fresh veggies and fruits. They taste sooooo much better!
5. Hiding things works. If your kids don't eat kale or Romaine with relish, pack it into green smoothies (use a variety of greens). The trick with making these thick beverages not only beautiful but exuberantly healthful and tasty is to use lots of greens with sweet, "white" fruits like banana and pineapple and apple. You can even throw a chunk of carrot into your blender. It won't affect the beautiful, bright green color, and it will add a bit of sweetness and a lot of nutrition. Ice thickens the drink, so be sure to throw in a few ice cubes. High powered blenders are great for smoothies if you have one, but regular blenders will work. Another way to hide veggies is in soups. Start with single veggies like tomatoes or beets or carrots. Cut veggie into chunks and place in a soup pot with a large onion chunked. Add water, less for veggies with higher water content (almost none for tomatoes). Cook until soft, stirring occasionally and adding a bit of water if necessary to avoid burning at the bottom. Blend and add seasoning or herbs to taste -- salt and a bit of hot paprika, chopped basil for the tomato soup, a bit of fresh ginger and a little yogurt for the carrot soup.
6. Expand your family's ideas of what to eat at a meal. If you "remodeled" your kitchen, you don't have any breakfast cereals on your shelf. Try a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions and cilantro lightly dressed with olive oil and lemon for breakfast, as they do in the Middle East. Get creative! Throw in a few walnuts or avocado. Try a bean dish, also eaten for breakfast in parts of the Middle East, ful (fava beans) or hummus (chickpeas). Poach eggs in saucy tomatoes and peppers.
7. Make food an adventure in learning where things come from. Most very young kids love to eat veggies straight from the garden. Plant a veggie garden with your kids. Let them help choose what to grow, help with the garden, and eat its first fruits with no more processing than rinsing. If a garden isn't feasible in your location, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are popping up in lots of areas. Many have "worker shares" so you can participate with your kids in growing the food. Some farms allow people to come in and pick what they can eat. Perhaps a neighbor who has a farm would like some help for a share in the harvest. At the very least, take your kids shopping in the produce section of the supermarket with you, and make it fun and educational, and let them participate.

Most importantly, share the joy of veggies with your kids. Comment on their wonderful colors, their variety of shapes and textures, the many things you can do with them, including making fun, creative critters. If you share the wonder of veggies with your kids, they will love veggies for the rest of their lives.We are here to serve your children's health needs. Regular health check-ups are your best health insurance. Please contact us to schedule an appointment.