April 30, 2019
4 Ways To Encourage Your Toddler To Eat More Veggies
Smoothies
Smoothies are a simple way to hide greens, like spinach and kale, in lots of yummy fruits. It can be a lot of fun for your toddler to help put all of the ingredients for the smoothie into the blender. Having your toddler help in the creation of their food can also help encourage them to drink and eat it.
Tip: Adding frozen wild blueberries to your smoothies keeps them from turning green, in case your toddler is like mine and refuses to touch a green smoothie.
Add Dips
Healthy dips are a fun way to encourage toddlers to eat their veggies. These could include things like hummus, guacamole, cashew base caesar and ranch or homemade ketchup. Be careful when purchasing store dips because they can have hidden sugars and other unwanted ingredients. If they are only using their vegetables as a spoon for their healthy dip, then it is still a win!
Grow A Vegetable Garden
Getting your littles involved in growing a garden can be so much fun. Having them dig in the dirt, start seeds inside and watering are all toddler appropriate jobs to help get them involved. My toddlers are always more willing to pluck a new veggie fresh from the garden to try and munch on favourites while playing in the yard.
Snackie Plates
This is something I swear by in my household. Almost every afternoon, and often the kids ask for it for lunch, we share a big “snackie plate.” I fill the biggest plate I can find with tons of different fruits, veggies, dips and some age-appropriate nuts. You can’t encourage your kids to eat more vegetables if they aren’t readily available to them. This communal plate if fun for your toddler because they get to share with you and mimic what you are eating. Leading by example is a powerful tool.
