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My daughters aren't the pickiest eaters in the world. Usually they'll try something at least once. Even Sue Sue, who used to make herself gag if you gave her new foods, has gamely adhered to my "one bite" rule. Still, making sure my girls eat enough veggies is a battle.
Hubby and I are trying to eat better (meaning no more processed food... or at least a lot less of it). To fulfill that goal, we purchased a vegetable steamer. It's been a great addition to our kitchen. We use it all the time. Last week one of my daughters expressed interest in trying some steamed vegetables. The next night I steamed broccoli and made a cheese sauce. They gobbled it up... and asked for seconds! A few nights later I decided to steam asparagus for them.... same results!
I am convinced that as long as it comes out of the steamer, they will eat it. I'm now trying to figure out what other vegetables to steam and experiment with. Cheese sauce and a steamer... a small price to pay to get my girls to eat veggies.
Some of you are going to wish you had this problem. My daughters cannot get enough vegetables! I need to start a garden, because they are all about the leafy greens lately. Unfortunately, we are basically the only people in our neighborhood who don't own a dog, so our backyard has become a "Bunny Refuge," which means a garden is not a possibility right now.
Anyway, the girls who, until recently, shunned chocolate milk, ask for veggies on a regular basis. Two nights ago they wanted green beans, but when I couldn't open the canning jar they settled for frozen peas. They devoured the peas and asked for more. The night before that they ate a salad... and asked for more. They've eaten all the vegetables, so last night they had to go without. You would have thought I was the meanest mom on Earth.
Even my pickiest eater, the one who forced me to establish the "One Bite Rule," likes her veggies. She especially enjoys cucumbers dipped in Ranch dressing. So, I'm going to try something new. It seems my daughters are going through a growth spurt. They eat what I think is a huge meal for preschoolers and then ask for seconds. (They're on the "skinny side," so if they want to eat more, I'm not going to stop them.) Today, when I go to the grocery store, I'm going to stock up on vegetables (and some fruit for breakfast and lunch). Before I'm finished making their meal, I'm going to invite them to the table for a little crudite. The worst that can happen is they won't want to sit down to eat raw vegetables before dinner. I'm sure it's not something I'll do every night, but I figure if they want to eat vegetables, why would I discourage them?
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Vegetables... oh, vegetables. They are such a tricky thing to feed children. The same babies who devoured squash, peas and carrots refuse to even try these foods as toddlers and preschoolers. But I, like many moms before me, have learned the trick to getting picky eaters to try anything. Dipping sauce.
In the beginning, I only used dips for chicken nuggets. Then I noticed when we had nuggets and vegetables, they would actually eat the vegetables if they could dip them. We now go through a bottle of ranch dressing a week and a bottle of barbeque sauce every two weeks. For those of you who haven't tried this, you may be shaking your head in disbelief. Need proof? My daughters will now eat carrots, broccoli, green peppers, celery, snap peas and cherry tomatoes (not a veggie, but they think it is)... as long as they have something to dip them in. In rare instances they'll even agree to use hummus as their dip.
Now I need to figure out what to use as a dip to encourage them to eat fruit. Sometimes they'll agree to dip their fruit in yogurt, but other times they refuse. Fruit is obviously sweeter than vegetables, so most fruits are always a hit, but there are still a few things they're reluctant to try.
