Healthy Eating Tips For Kids This Spring

After a long winter, spring weather and a bounty of new produce are a welcome arrival. Here are some tips to get your kids excited about spring fruits & vegetables, too!

1. Take a trip to the farmer's market.

A farmer's market at the height of spring is a sight to take in! All the colors, smells, and the hustle and bustle can be a fun weekend activity. Moreover, if kids make a connection to food, they are more likely to want to try it. Teach your kids about seasonality, where our food comes from, from whom our food comes, and even let them select a few items to take home and try. Once you are home, get them helping out in the kitchen. If a child is allowed to help in preparing a meal, he or she is more likely to sample something they normally would not try.

2. Introduce a new vegetable once a week.

One healthy eating habit is a curious and adventurous palate. To encourage adventurous eaters, try to keep the dinner table from becoming too monotonous. Introduce a new fruit or vegetable once a week. Don't be afraid that you are wasting your time; it's important for children to be exposed to new things, even if they don't like the taste or texture the first few times. Keep serving new items and let the whole family taste and try, but keep it light and fun. Your goal is to provide a positive environment of exposure, not a pressurized one.

3. Start slow.

So you would like your kids to start eating a variety of vegetables, but they only like broccoli and carrots. It's a familiar story. One way to get a picky eater to try something is to use it in a recipe they already like, just to get them more familiar with the vegetable. You might find that it will lessen an aversion to most vegetables over time.

• When using spinach, try substituting half with swiss chard, bok choy, or another green
• Instead of all potatoes, try adding some sweet potatoes, parsnips, rutabaga, yucca, or plantains
• Try it as a topping. For example, toss some arugula on top of pizza as it comes out of the oven
• Make it into a dip. For example, try blending boiled fava beans into a dip for carrots and whole wheat
crackers

4. Encourage fresh fruit for dessert.

• Serve cut produce with fresh mint and a drizzle of honey
• Puree fruits in a blender with yogurt for a healthy smoothie. Or, turn the puree into frozen yogurt ice pops.
• Don't stick with basics; try plums, apricots, nectarines, and melons!
• Try a new fruit from the market in a cobbler or crisp.

5. Be a good role model.

At the end of the day, almost no one likes all fruits and all vegetables, so we can't expect children to either. The best way to encourage healthy eating habits is to model them! If your kids are watching you trying new things and enjoying vegetables and fruits, they won't feel too pressured, and will learn to like eating them, too.