Vegetables are a battle in our house . . . and sometimes getting my kids to eat them is so taxing. Tonight was one of those nights.
I'm a little out of sorts today due to a stressful string of events (finding out a friend has cancer, nasty insurance salesman, and no time to sit down and relax today) and why I even thought about serving vegetables when Nate wasn't going to be home is beyond me. I mean, really . . . I could have just busted out the mandarin oranges or apples, knowing that dinner would be calm and peaceful because a green vegetable wasn't involved. But no, I stuck to what I had planned for dinner--chicken, noodles, and vegetables (carrots, peas, and broccoli).
Before the girls even started eating, I informed them that they had to eat two out of the three kinds of vegetables in order to A) get dessert and B) not have to eat them for breakfast. For example, Abby could choose to eat peas and carrots and not the broccoli. As we were eating, Jenna took a tiny, tiny, tiny piece of broccoli and put it in her mouth--she told me that she was done with her veggies. I have her one more chance to eat her 2 out of the 3 veggies, and finally had to send her to her room without dessert and the promise of peas and carrots for breakfast. She told me that she was going to throw her dinner away . . . . little does she know that there are leftovers in the fridge ready to be heated up in the morning.
Then there was Abby. She lasted longer than Jenna, but in the end handed me her plate and told me she was fine with no dessert and that she was going to have her veggies for breakfast. Stubborn little thing . . .
So, there you have it . . . I stuck to my guns and my children will be eating peas and carrots and broccoli for breakfast in the morning. Feel free to sign me up for mother of the year--this is either a brilliant idea or one that will crash and burn. We shall see, but I am anticipating another battle in the morning. Thankfully, Nate will be home to back me up. Who knows? Jenna may even be eating her veggies for an afternoon snack.
Any tips on how to get kids to eat vegetables would greatly be appreciated:)
2 comments:
Laura, for the longest time, I only served the boys fresh cut vegetables. I'd just put a few on a plate on the table and let them eat when they pleased. Then, I started with canned green beans (the only vegetable they'll eat), and frozen broccoli. They LOVE steamed broccoli now. I would just put one piece on their plate and then increase it every week or so to two pieces and then more. Salt works wonders too. Also, Matthew loves cooked carrots, and unfortunatley Lucas told the pediatrician that potatoes are vegetables...oh well. I hope that helps. Feel better.. you're in the home stretch!
I had to chuckle as I read this!! JUST TODAY Sarah was telling me that she had to use that same "threat" with Micah -- except it was practically for his whole dinner, not just his veggies. He was a trooper and ate them for breakfast. That was the first AND last time Sarah had to do that!
I read an article once (long time ago) about making dishes such as casseroles, pot pies, lasagnas, etc that you could "hide" vegetables in them. One tip specifically was cutting them up so small kids had a hard time noticing them. I can imagine this would be somewhat easy to do in spaghetti sauce... ?
Good luck! And hopefully the Hartke Boy will be a veggie eater. :-)
Post a Comment