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10 tips to get your kids to eat more plant-rich meals

Written by our Bootcamp instructor Natalia: a happy mum of a pretty picky kindergarden-er and spent a few last years applying both her behavioural science skills as well as her mum-researcher drive to find solutions

While some kids seem to be born with a carrot in their mouth, love spices and scream with joy seeing tofu, for others, trying new things is more of a challenge.

Parents all over the world wonder how to get those kids to eat more variety, and sustainability-minded parents are wondering how to switch to a more plant-rich way of eating while feeding them all the nutrients the kids’ bodies need to grow and thrive.

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Make it fun

If you have kids, you know they are all about fun. Try and apply this logic to the meal time and discovering new flavours. Fun food shapes (star-shape carrots anyone?), tiny food containers (risotto served in a cupcake cup, because it looks good), cutlery (skewers, toothpicks, spoons shaped like bulldozers), anything that will turn a meal into a fun thing will help kids try the new thing you prepared.

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Add sprinkles

Kids love sprinkles. Even more, if you put them into a container like for spices, that they can then shake onto their plate. Then, they will be encourage to try to eat the food with sprinkes. They may also only eat sprinkles. Oh well. Things that work well and are at the same time rich in nutrients:

• Any seeds, like pumpkin, sunflower, or sesame, preferably roasted for a few minutes on a pan for more flavour and crunch.
• Breadcrumbs with a bit of nutritional yeast fried in olive oil
• Croutons for the soup.

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Add a sauce

Simple natural (plant-based) yogurt, or a sauce made of almond butter with honey and soy sauce, or … can make wonders.

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Meal = layer

Think of meals as layers that you can construct just before eating. If you know there is a flavour that maybe challenging for the kid, keep it aside and let everyone add it to their meal at the table. The kid might also do it, when they see others. Or might not. Or they might do it next time. But this will help them create a better environment to learn, and will also help you avoid trying to rinse all the bits of parsley from the pasta, or pick all the peas from the rice, while the rest of the family enjoy their meal.

 

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Add a safe food

You know your kid best. To every meal, add something you know 100% they will eat. And as for the rest, they may or may not. This will avoid stress and make it easier for the kid to try a new thing, while not going hungry. And you will not need to make a new meal from scratch on the spot.

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Make no comment

Yes, this is a weird one. But for some kids, the minute you comment on them eating a thing, like saying “Oh, you see, you like it in the end”, they will stop in their tracks and not come back to it. Hold your breath and keep quiet, even if you can’t believe what you are seeing.

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Add an add-on

Easy to do, nutrient-full thing to the meal for the kiddo(s), like an egg, or a chicken breast, can be a life saver for both your plant-eating and their nutrition needs. It’s ok if you all eat veg and kiddos have more animal protein. If that’s a necessary element of their learning curve, then be it.

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No pressure

No human likes to be pressured. When we are pressured, we feel we lose our autonomy and reactance, a negative reaction to the perception our freedoms are threatened, kicks in. Kids are just the same. Any pressure we put on them to eat plant-fully risks producing the opposite result. Patience is the way to go.

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Cook with them

When we do something with our own hands, we value it more. It’s called the IKEA effect. This applies to cooking – and kids – as well. When we get them to help prepare the meal, they have more opportunities to get to know it better, get used to different smells, textures and flavours, try its main ingredients, and value it more because they created it.

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Keep trying

Most kids come to it eventually. It’s just that for some, learning new flavours, textures and shapes takes more time. But the more they are exposed to those new things, the more likely it becomes that they will eventually take a bite, then eat a spoon full, then, finally, clear their plate. It’s important to keep proposing. Don’t give up.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice. Always consult your doctor before making dietary changes. We are not liable for any health-related issues arising from the use of this information.