Into the mouths of babes

Vegetarian Times, Sept, 1998 by Norine Dworkin

2. Play games. Who can crunch carrots the loudest, nibble lettuce like a bunny, throw artichoke leaves in a bowl or snack on broccoli trees like a giant? "All the negative feelings anyone would have about vegetables disappear when you have fun with them," says Ferman-Slakman.

3. Use your fingers. "Kids like things they can eat with their hands," says Anna Thomas, author of The New Vegetarian Epicure (Knopf, 1996). She suggests hummus with pita bread, stuffed grape leaves or veggie wraps. Dipping foods, like cut-up fruits and vegetables, are another kid pleaser. Wendy Muldawer, co-author of Better Than Peanut Butter & Jelly (McBooks Press, 1998), found that if her son could dip sliced carrots in salad dressing, he'd eat four at a time.

4. Offer choices. "If you offer a sufficient variety of foods, they will eat something," promises Thomas.

5. Camouflage vegetables. You can slip a lot of vegetables into sauces, soups or lasagna. Kathy Farrell-Kingsley, food editor of Vegetarian Times, says she sneaks vegetables into foods she knows her two girls like: Grated zucchini and carrots are added to muffins and breads; carrots and broccoli are pursed for pasta sauces.

6. Experiment. If a child won't eat a vegetable raw, try it steamed, braised, grilled, roasted, even juiced. Play with seasonings. If all else fails, accept that your child doesn't have a taste for a particular food.

7. Forget "clean plates." The fastest way to turn a kid off to eating is to force-feed them. "Food should not be a reward or punishment," says Thomas. "It should be delicious and fun and pleasant, but it should not be war. They have a lot more time for waging it than you do, and they can hang in there and be stubborn."

8. Rethink portion size. American restaurants have blown our sense of portion size out of proportion and that may carry over to at-home dining. "You want kids asking for more," says Joanne Polner, a New Jersey mother of three.

9. Keep at it. Kids' tastes change. What they refuse in July may be their favorite food in September. "Their taste buds may have matured or maybe they're in a different mood and are willing to try it again," says Muldawer.

10. Chill out. Kids know what their bodies want, even if they can't articulate it. Some days they'll eat like horses, other days they'll barely nibble. And they've been known to fixate on a single food. It's all normal. "Just sweat it out," counsels Muldawer. "They'll eventually move on to something else. You never hear stories of people growing up and only eating carrots for 12 years of their life. As long as your child isn't withering away or constantly sick, he's going to end up okay."