getting kids to eat vegetables

siapa yang suka sayur? rasanya memang lebih ramai yang tak suka daripada suka.  saya pun sejak-sejak dah 'dewasa' nih jer baru gemar sayur.  being a mother, it is my conscious to ensure the kids to eat more veggies or at least have some green nutrition in their daily meals. and of course getting the children to eat veggies is often a battle. i'm trying hard to persuade them to eat by telling "all the good stories behind" but it seems failed.

me:  mama letak sayur dlm jemput-jemput ni ya?
dada: kalau sayur tak rasa bole la.
sayur tak rasa is either daun sup or daun bawang yang dipotong dengan sangat-sangat kecil.  kalau ada hirisan bawang, dia akan siang jemput-jemput tuh sampai lunyai hingga takde satu hirisan bwg pon!
kalau saya sudukan dia mee sup or makanan yang ader sayur, even sudu tuh dah nak masuk dalam mulut dia pun mata dia masih tajam check kat dalam sudu tuh ada sayur ke tak.  last-last dia hanya pilih part yang takde sayur jek .tension!

being here, i should be grateful enough because the school provide the well balance nutrition in every meals and the kids are trained to finish all them.  fareeha is now like to eat carrot, broccoli and cucumber while dada can eat tomato and french beans. but they are less likely to leaves type of veggies like spinach . luckily both of them like fruits very much (but certain fruits only) esp strawberry, cherry, kiwi and grapes.

perhaps the most important factor to consider is parent's own attitude and approach towards eating in general.  parents should not forcing children to eat vegetables - or any other food for that matter.  the correct way is to give kid to try a spoonful, but dont get angry if she refuses to eat it.   eventually she will try it, so keep reintroducing various food from time to time.  the important thing is, do not give up to put veggies into the meals often because the kids will get used to them and intend to try them sooner or later.

i tried to find some other tricks of the trade and here we go:

1. set out a plate of raw vegetables or a salad of cold, cooked vegetables before the meal---the time when kid is hungriest.

2. serve raw or lightly steamed vegetables with salad dressing or cheese sauce for dipping
3. help make your child familiar with veggies: serve them everyday
4. prepare meals together
5. let your child help choose fresh veggies when you're shopping
6. put some thought into presentation. cutting up a variety of coloured and shapes vegetables and placing them on plate can also make kids curious enough to try them.

7. include cooked veggies in soups or sauces where they may not be easily detected
8. give the vegetables silly names. kids may be interested in trying green dinosaur tree than broccoli
9. prepare vegetables differently. raw, steamed, mashed and grilled are just some of the ways you can prepare vegetables.

but actually i think my really biggest achieve here is ''getting hubby to eat vegetables" :). going through 8 years of marriage, from hate veggies person i managed to make him eat, love and crave for vegetables  *smile*. so, for mummies out there, let try our best to get our loved one to eat vegetables, ganbarimashou!!!

p/s:  i find this one interesting article on "pupils to be paid to eat healthy food". read here