What do you do when a kid won’t eat vegetables?

A neighbor’s child, Stacy (not her real name), was over to play the other day. I knew Stacy refused to eat most vegetables as her mother had just asked me for some ideas about how to resolve this. When snack time came around, the little girls came wandering into the kitchen looking for food. I decided to see what would happen if I served her a snack I knew she wouldn’t like: baby carrots and cucumber spears. This time, I served it with a special dip that is way better than ranch dressing: Annie’s Naturals Goddess Dressing.

At first she complained that she didn’t like vegetables, and especially not carrots, but after my daughter assured her that this dip was indeed yummy, the 4- and 5-year olds polished off all the veggies (and dip!) and asked for more.

Sometimes a simple thing like an exciting dip can make vegetables more appealing.

I had the same advice for my sister when she was looking for ways to encourage her 18-month old to eat more vegetables. I suggested cauliflower cut into little tiny-bite-sized florettes and a small dish of salad dressing or soy sauce for dipping. My sister called back wondering how I remembered that the small motor skills movement combined with the pincer grip and the dipping goal would be a winning combination to make eating vegetables fun at this stage of development.

Truth is, I think dipping is fun at every stage of development! But it’s very “Montessori”, too, and I’m a big fan of the Montessori early education philosophy and curriculum.

Here’s a fun list of healthy easy snacks to help keep you on track and feeling strong. Besides the raw veggies, another of my favorites on the list is the hard-boiled egg – it’s another winner for toddlers, too! My kids like to dip their hard boiled eggs in a small dish of sea salt as they eat it. Not only is it delicious this way, but they get 80+ trace nutrients and minerals their bodies can use as well.