Thursday, August 30, 2012

How to Get Kids to Love Their Veggies


Below is a short excerpt from my "How to Grow Potatoes" booklet, which is available on Amazon. From what I've seen, kids will eat a lot more veggies and fruits (not just potatoes) if you get them involved in growing some of their own organic food. Carrots, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, blueberries, and fruit are other examples of fresh foods that my kids love to pick and eat from the home garden.

Kids love picking potatoes. Finding those white, gold, purple, and red tubers in the soil is like uncovering buried treasure. If you cannot get your kids to eat their vegetables, try involving them in the garden (even if it’s just one container on your doorstep). When kids see where their food comes from and share in the excitement of harvesting it, everything changes. They become far more likely to eat and enjoy their veggies (okay, not all their veggies, but more than before).

Many vegetables in our garden (cucumbers, carrots, snap peas, and tomatoes) never even make it into the kitchen. Kids eat them on the spot. This does not hold true with spuds, which are cooked before eating, but they’re quite the popular item after that. One of our kids loves potatoes and the other one doesn’t, but both are eager to eat them once reminded that “these are the potatoes you picked.”  It makes a huge difference.

Do not rely on my opinion alone. Read an article entitled, “Children Eat More Fruits and Vegetables If They Are Homegrown”, in Science Daily. The article reported on a study at Saint Louis University. The study provided clear evidence that kids who eat homegrown produce are twice as likely to eat their fruits and veggies every day. This is, most likely, a lifetime benefit.

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