by Texas Homesteader ~
I’ve found a super easy (almost sneaky) way to get my family to willingly & happily eat more veggies. Come see this oh-so-simple Homestead Hack.
Serving Healthy Foods More Often
I’ve always tried to make sure my family ate a well-balanced diet. Of course I don’t feel there’s anything wrong with eating some less-healthy foods too… as long as it’s in moderation.
Fried foods, sweets, salty snacks – all were ok as long as they were enjoyed in proper moderation.
My goal was to get them to eat more of the healthy stuff, go lighter on the less healthy stuff and just enjoy actual junk foods on more rare occasions.
Luckily I found a sneaky way to tip the balance toward the healthier food options. Here’s how I got my family to willingly eat more healthy vegetables.
Getting Children To Eat More Vegetables Voluntarily
My goal as a mom is to get my children excited about eating healthy foods.
When the kids were little I’d use this trick:
I always had raw vegetables already cut up and readily accessible in a fun brightly-colored container in the refrigerator.
Oftentimes it was simply baby carrots, celery sticks, washed & cut broccoli crowns, etc.
Make Eating Vegetables Sound Fun To Kids!
But to the kids I called this container of healthy vegetables ‘Veggie Snack‘. That way I could make it sound even more enticing to them.
Heck, the word ‘snack‘ was even in the name!
Sometimes there was also something to dip them in – Homemade Hummus, ranch dip, etc.
But oftentimes they opted for just the crunchy veggie. Now doesn’t that do a mama’s heart proud??
(And in case you’re wondering – yes, this is the exact same hack I used with with the kids for healthy popsicle treats. I’d serve them homemade popsicles made from frozen applesauce instead of commercially-purchased & sugar-filled popsicles with empty calories.
I called my healthier homemade version ‘Apple Sticks’ and the kids loved them.)
Giving Hungry Children Healthy Snacks Before Supper
Anyway, if I was fixing dinner when one of the kids came to me saying they were hungry, I’d bring out this grab-n-go veggie snack and tell them they were free to nibble on a few before supper.
And of course if the other kids saw one of them snacking, they’d all want in on the action too. They felt they were really getting away with something to be allowed to snack before supper.
But I didn’t mind at all. Nor did I worry this pre-supper snack would ruin their appetite. I knew it was simply a healthy serving of vegetables for them!
Healthy Snacking Is Not Just For The Kids…
Truth be told, even though now it’s just RancherMan & me at home I still use this same hack. I’m able to get him to willingly eat more vegetables. As a SNACK!
You see, currently in my refrigerator I have a vintage jar filled with sliced raw carrot strips. I put a little water in the bottom of the jar to keep the carrots crisp.
This is a good way to use up all those Ugly Carrots I had. Ya know, when those ugly carrots are peeled and sliced uniformly into carrot sticks, suddenly they’re pretty again!
I’ll use those ugly carrots to offer healthy snacks to RancherMan. And I make sure it’s HIS choice. How?
Well on any given evening RancherMan is typically hovering in the kitchen with me asking what he can do to help in the meal preparation. Why yes we do everything together, #dontyoujustloveit??!!
Anyway, when I go into the kitchen to begin making supper, I often bring this jar out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter right next to where I’m doing the food preparations.
Of course I grab one of the carrots sticks and munch on it as I’m preparing supper, making sure RancherMan can see me enjoying that crunchy carrot. You know, so I can plant that seed.
Aaaah, the power of suggestion!
RancherMan prefers crunchy snacks. So when he sees me munching on a carrot he’ll often grab one for himself. As a matter of fact he typically enjoys several carrot sticks while supper is being prepared.
What an easy way to encourage him to eat more veggies. And all it took was the power of suggestion, y’all.
He loves carrots, he just might not think of snacking on them otherwise.
Raw Vegetables Added To Supper Table
Then when our meal is actually served I’ll add that pretty jar of crisp carrots to the table. That way they can become an additional crunchy mealtime food too.
Often after we’ve filled our plates and eaten our supper, we’ll stay at the table chatting for a bit. It’s often then that he’ll grab another carrot stick and munch on a couple more.
After supper I’ll return the jar of carrots to the refrigerator to await their next counter-top appearance.
I never have to worry that the carrots I buy will go bad in the refrigerator. They’re brought out and enjoyed frequently. Often as a healthy SNACK!
~TxH~
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