If you want to make yourself healthy and lose some weight then you do need to eat all your greens – and the same thing is true for your kids. Vegetables are high in vitamins and minerals but low in calories and they also contain lots of fiber.
So how do you get your kids to start eating those veggies that they despise? It’s not as hard as you might think – they just need to retrain their tastebuds. Unfortunately, a large part of unhealthy children’s diets consits of artifically flavored foods and those kids have gotten used to the tasty fats, sugars, and other ingredients that are added to make the foods taste better, but are also unhealthy. This is why natural foods like vegetables and whole grains seem somewhat tasteless to many people – adults and children.
Once kids start eating the good stuff and stop eating the bad stuff, they’ll begin to realize the wonderful flavors that Mother Nature has already provided for us. Over time, they won’t even miss the bad stuff because not only will their tongue begin to enjoy those flavors, but they’ll start to realize how great they FEEL when they eat the good stuff like veggies and whole grains.
Kids can get involved and more excited about trying new veggies by helping parents prepare the vegetables to be cooked. Most of the artificial flavors are derived from nature and it’s actually possible to add the flavoring to your veggies. Add onions, garlic, pepper and vinegar to your vegetables so that the vegetables taste of something that you like. If you’re a fan of spicy foods then you can even add some chili pepper to your vegetables for that extra kick. Whatever it is you like to eat you can add it to your vegetables for some extra flavor.
So, give it a shot. The upside is that by having your kids learn to eat healthier, you’ll start eating better as well….and that’s never a bad thing.