Mom Blog: How To Get Timmy To Eat A Damn Vegetable

Making healthy choices for ourselves is hard enough as it is... but when it becomes a family affair, it doesn't take long for parents to feel the urge to throw in the towel.

I know, because I have been one of those parents. Picture this: you bring an amazing little being into your world. You're tired, exhausted and excited for all the milestones. You can't wait for their first smile, their first dance move, their first belly laugh, and their first bite. You watch as your child grows and develops their own personality, their own likes and dislikes, and their own taste. That 1 year (or 6 months depending on the parent,) date quickly approaches and your excitement grows as you think about all the amazing food you're going to introduce to your little one. You start planning and purchasing fruits and vegetables to puree and sample to your eager, previously only milk fed leach, and quickly find this whole process is going to be a lot harder than you thought.

Some time goes by and if you're like most of the population, the ease of buying baby food in jars quickly outweighs the benefit of making it all from scratch. Parents in 2020 are busy, like really freaking busy.

There is never enough time in a day or money in a bank account. Everything is stressful, everyone is affected by their mental health or the mental health of those around them, and everyone is looking for an easy way to accomplish whatever is standing in front of them. Before long, the ease of processed foods takes over until one day, you look at yourself in the mirror and decide that enough is enough. Maybe you read an article somewhere about the benefits of cutting sugar, fat, or meat out of your diet. You start to change your eating habits to match the ones you read about. You watch a documentary that fuels you into the realization that the way you were eating, or the way your family has been eating, is one that is sure to lead you to your ultimate demise. Now we all know that most of this is fear mongering, but go with me for a second.

This fear fuels you... you want to become a healthier person. You try that new diet, you find that new program, you start up that new gym membership and before long you feel AMAZING! Better than you ever have! Your body is fuelled and fuelled well. You're getting out some of that energy thats been building up from all those stationary nights on the couch, (maybe you even loose a pound or two! Yay!) So what's next? You want to spread this feeling of accomplishment and start getting your family on the healthy train (choo choo!) but all Timmy wants to eat is fucking pizza. Despite your best efforts to give the little jerk your amazing homemade chicken fingers, he refuses to eat it and goes to bed hungry... that or you give in and give him some toast because your worried about being the worst Mom in the world by "starving" your child. This is a feeling I've been overwhelmed with and one that I've also been able to work through. When our children are fed quick meals for long amounts of time, their tastebuds (much like ours,) change. They begin to crave the sugars and fats that hid within almost all of the processed foods we put into our diet when we're short on time and money. Their favourite foods, the things they crave and WANT to eat, often become things like chicken nuggets, pizza, spaghetti, and other high-carb, low vegetable options.

They become accustomed to the typical "healthy" American diet, (which NEWSFLASH: isn't healthy for you at all.) So how in the world can you get Timmy to start eating his damn vegetables? Let me tell you how I got my children's tastebuds to change and their food selection to grow. First, you're going to have to find a vegetable and fruit that they like.

Experiment in the produce isle, buy things you wouldn't normally eat, have the family try things all together. I guarantee there is something out there, even if it's not something you like, that they will find a bit of enjoyment in. Fun Fact: My youngest LOVES mushrooms and everyone else in the house despises them, something I would never have found out without these fun "try something new nights." Next, once you have a small selection of fruits and vegetables that your child isn't going to gag on. Start incorporating them into every meal. Make alterations to the things you're eating but also allow them a chance to try whats on your plate, (one day they will surprise you, even if you've offered them a bite of your curry a million times over.) You and your chosen life companion are having Mango Jerk Chicken Tacos? Well, get the Timster to eat a plain-ass chicken and cheese quesadilla BUT make sure there's some apples and cucumber for him to munch on as well. If you're including fruits and veggies at every meal, you will find that with time they will start to eat those fruits and veggies first. They will start asking for more, trying more... until they start trying your healthy, non-bland meals. Their tastebuds will change, you will start experimenting with fruits and vegetables that they've rejected up until now and eventually (after what seems like an eternity,) they will start to eat healthier.

Don't give up. You will have many fights, you will see many tears (from all parties involved - I'm looking at you dad!) and you will see your picky eater slowly becoming more and more adventurous. It's definitely not an easy road, but if you keep pushing your kiddo's to take just one bite of everything you will see changes appear in front of your eyes. Once you have a child who is eating fruits and vegetables at every meal, you can start to give them the same thing that your eating. Now don't get discouraged, because at this point it's going to seem like you've gone backwards. Your child is going to push back and request foods that you're trying to avoid. They're going to go to bed with a belly that rumbles here and there, but eventually they will see that the food you're giving them isn't poison. We often would say, "you need to try a bite of everything on your plate EVEN IF you've tried it before."

If they tried a bite of every part of the meal and decided they hated every part of it, we would offer them a fruit of vegetable of their choice and leave their plate, (making it their decision if they'd like more because they will come up to you stating their hungry after you've cleaned up from dinner.) You will waste food, you will have fights, you will feel so ready to give up... but slowly, very slowly, you will see them decide more and more foods aren't complete garbage. Your kids don't want to starve.

They will find multiple foods they like, they will begin to try more and more, they will seek nourishment. They may not get to your point of healthy bliss until they are their own grown frustrated parent, but they will be a healthier version of themselves and they will start to surprise you. Just keep going!