Fueled By Food: Adding in Healthy Foods for Kids

A Blog Series by Registered Dietician, Keven Kailey

Getting your child to try new foods can be a challenge. I was picky growing up and refused to eat vegetables. I even convinced my elementary school lunch lady that I was allergic to iceberg lettuce. She would make a special lunch, just for me. This worked out great until my mom, who was also a teacher at the elementary school, found out. Soon after I was no longer “allowed” to be allergic to iceberg lettuce.

Now, as a Registered Dietitian, I have learned that I love many different vegetables, even iceberg lettuce. All it took was some trial and error preparing vegetables. I learned how best to prepare vegetables to my liking! Below I will share tactics to help your child become more open to trying new foods!

Many children may be intimidated to try raw vegetables. First, try changing how the food is prepared. For example, I do not enjoy raw veggies like carrots. I have found that if they are cooked or in a stew, I really love their flavor. An added benefit to helping your children become more comfortable with trying new foods, is that you will have to enjoy them as well!

One other habit that I have found successful is to encourage your children to help you pick out the vegetables/fruit/food while grocery shopping. Teach them why you may want green bananas versus yellow/brown, or why you don’t want squishy fruits or vegetables. This helps the child gain more comfort with the food, which will ultimately help them be more open to trying it. Also, it allows them to feel some pride when their choice of fruit/vegetable tastes good!

A commonly discussed study to increase fruit and vegetable intake is the Boost study. This consisted of over 340 7th grade students who had multiple different interventions to increase their fruit and vegetable intake. One of the components was parental intervention to help increase access at home to fruits and vegetables, increase parental education, and increase awareness of the importance of these foods for their children. The study found that in the population studied, parents that were more involved with the Boost program had children with significantly higher intake of both fruits and vegetables when combined with education at school and access to the fruits and vegetables. Now, this isn’t a cause-and-effect scenario, but the more involved you can be in educating yourself and your children, the more likely they will be to fuel their bodies with the right foods!

Another great way to encourage healthier eating is to start gardening with your child. Even a small tomato plant or herbs can help them be more open to trying foods. In the study linked, over 3000 elementary students around age 9 increased their vegetable intake with the incorporation of gardening, nutrition education, and cooking. With the incorporation of multiple areas of exposure, the children had an increase in their confidence to try new vegetables and knew why they should consume them.

Lastly, one of the most fun methods is to start having your child help you prepare the food. The more they are involved, the better. Of course, use caution if you are cutting vegetables. There are multiple different kinds of kid safe utensils on Amazon or Walmart for less than $10 to further learn knife safety. These meals create great memories. I remember helping my family with holiday meals or making personal pizzas, and the joy that accompanies creating your own foods and having it taste delicious!

Like any new recipe, it takes trial and error. Some of the tactics listed may work one day with your children, but then the next day, no luck. Keep trying to encourage your children to fuel their bodies to further improve their performance. All athletes need to eat. If you can best fuel your performance, your goals become much easier to reach.

Keven Kailey, RD