I hate Veggies……

“I hate brinjal, cauliflower, bittergourd, bottlegourd, spinach, cabbage………..”, these were the words of my niece when I asked her which vegetable she doesn’t like. Well the list was endless and almost covered all the vegetablesJ. Vegetables are never included in the favorite food list of a kid. Almost all the kids hate veggies and it worries poor moms a lot.

The vegetables are rich in vitamins such as Vitamin A, Vitamin K and Vitamin B6, provitamins, dietary minerals and carbohydrates. Vegetables contain a great variety of other phytochemicals, some of which have been claimed to have antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties. Parents, mostly mothers, try all the tricks to feed veggies to their kids but most of the time it goes in vain.

The items which top the favorite food list of kids are pizza, burgers, pasta, french fries and anything which is fried and is non healthy and can lead to obesity. In US, the problem of childhood obesity is increasing. Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese. Child obesity in India is also on a rise. Kids are becoming addicted to junk food. One can find McDonald’s , dominos, pizza hut etc. in almost every mall and near any shopping place.  Junk foods are high in saturated fat which leads to high cholesterol levels making one feel lethargic and heavy.

Parents need to see that their kids eat veggies on a daily basis. Vegetables can be presented to kids in an interesting way. There are lots of healthy recipes which combine vegetables and few other ingredients and make a tasty and healthy meal. One can find many recipes available online and can try some non conventional recipe of vegetables.

One of the ways to make your kids eat vegetable is go out for a shopping with them and let them pick the vegetables. Then ask them to help you while preparing the vegetable like putting veggies into the pan and so on and keep on praising them for helping you out.  This is an effective way to make your kids like the vegetables.

Parents need to make sure that their kids develop healthy way of eating and say, “I love veggies”.

From

10on10 Team