Fruits and Vegetables: Reluctant Eaters
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This week on Health Watch, we’ve been talking about eating enough fruits and vegetables and encouraging kids to start healthy eating habits. Previously, we offered some tips about introducing fruits and vegetables, but what if kids resist?
Cindy Cunningham, a registered dietitian at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says to just keep offering a variety of foods even if kids reject them. Don’t force kids to eat a food, but just keep making it available because kids do often change their minds about what they like, especially once the food is familiar. Involve kids in menu planning. Make a family trip to the farmer’s market or supermarket and pick out some new fruit or vegetable to try, and then let kids read cookbooks or magazines to find ways of preparing the new food. Let kids choose a food for each color of the rainbow in the “eat the rainbow” game.
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