4 tips for getting your kids
to eat more vegetables

Are your kids picky eaters? There's no need to panic!

There are myriad tips and tricks to get them to eat more veggies without threatening to take away their dessert. Here are a few simple ways to get your kids to eat more vegetables!

Hidden vegetable sauces

Sometimes, eating vegetables isn't a question of taste but a question of appearance. While you don't have to lie to your kids about how many vegetables are in this sauce, you don’t have to tell them it's packed with them either. Simply add chopped broccoli, celery, and mushrooms and everything will blend perfectly well together. You can add vegetables to your pasta sauces and even poutine sauces! To make a vegetable poutine, simply cook some bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms in a pan and add them to your favourite gravy. You can find several kinds of poutine gravy at your Super C. The trick is to chop the vegetables so they're so small, your kids won't be able to pick them out of their meal. After all, who can resist a tasty poutine?

Colourful veggie soups!

Soups are an excellent way of getting your kids to eat loads of vegetables. In addition to being easy to prepare, they're a low-cost option because you can cook it in bulk and freeze it for later. You can add cauliflower, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, onions, etc. Furthermore, some fruits and vegetables will give your soups a colourful hue, which will no doubt please your kids. Different veggies make different colours!

Orange soup: butternut squash + carrot
Green soup: broccoli + green peas
Red soup: beet + Nantes carrot

Turn your kids into future chefs

Making kids feel involved is more likely to motivate them to take part in all kinds of projects. So go ahead and make your kids your sous-chef. They'll be even more happy to eat a meal they've helped prepare! This can also be a good opportunity to have them make some choices: "do want broccoli or carrots as a side?" or "do we put spinach in the lasagna, or do you prefer eating green beans on the side?" Offering them choices allows you to compromise without having to resort to an ultimatum. Everyone wins!

Sweet veggie smoothies

Sweet smoothies are a perfect example of a dessert that can be made with all kinds of vegetables. In fact, you can use vegetables to turn your smoothie a bright colour. Feel like a purple smoothie? Use beets in your fruit smoothies. Other vegetables such as celery, spinach, cucumbers, and carrots can be added to fruit smoothies without altering their taste too much. If you give your kids a tasty, sweet dessert, it won't even cross their minds that spinach might be one of the ingredients!

Endless options

You don't need to lie to kids to get them to eat more veggies. You just need a bit of creativity:

Have some pre-sliced vegetables on hand you can serve whenever they tell you they're hungry
Add some melted cheese on top of the vegetables your kids might not like too much
Try new vegetables dips. For instance, you can buy some pre-made ones at Super C or make your own. Need a quick option? You can add a twist to the classic mayo-ketchup dip with a bit of sour cream and seasoning (chives, oregano, etc.).

Keep an eye on your flyer to save even more the next time you shop for groceries. Getting your kids involved in this part of the process can be a way to get them to eat more vegetables. You can also ask them to choose a few vegetables they'd like to try this week. That way, they won’t be as likely to turn them down!

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