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Healthy
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Pass the Peas, Please--the Vegetables
The "five a day for better health" message includes "eat your vegetables"--three servings each day. However, with many families eating at fast food restaurants, and fewer families sitting together at mealtime, it may seem difficult to meet this recommendation. The first vegetable that comes to mind for many American children is the potato and French fries! This is a great start and with some effort, you can use the potato to encourage young children to eat more of other vegetables.
Besides tasting good, vegetables contain the same "good stuff" (vitamins, minerals, and fiber) as fruits. Vegetables are power packed with the vitamins and minerals that young children need to grow. Vegetables also have fiber, which helps regulate children's bowel habits.
Dark-green vegetables like broccoli, collards, turnip greens, and spinach contain vitamins A, B, and C, iron, and calcium. Carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, and other deep yellow or orange vegetables are high in vitamin A. Other vegetables, such as beets, cabbage, green beans, and green peppers contain vitamins A and C. Potatoes, corn, and lima beans are some of the vegetables that contain the complex carbohydrate starch, as well as vitamin B. Starch is the body's preferred fuel for going and growing. B vitamins help the body make and release energy.
Some children love all kinds of foods, and others are "picky" eaters. It may be easier to get young children to eat vegetables if the vegetables are presented in an appealing manner. Vegetables that are full of color and flavor, such as fresh, raw vegetables, or cooked vegetables that still have bright color and slightly crunchy texture, are appetizing. Children may turn down vegetables with strong odors, or soft textures, such as "slimy" okra, "smashed" peas, or greens with juice that mixes with other foods on the plate. Try these ideas to make eating vegetables more interesting:
- Cook vegetables in different ways such as boiled, steamed, baked, stir-fried, grilled, or microwaved.
- Serve raw vegetables in place of cooked vegetables at some meals. Remember that some raw vegetables, such as carrots and celery, are harder for children to chew and can cause choking. Grate these for a safer crunchy snack.
- Offer dip, dressing, or sauce for dipping or spooning onto vegetables.
- Use snack time to introduce new vegetables or to serve 100 percent vegetable juices.
- Serve cooked vegetables as soon as they have cooled enough to eat.
- Add spices to vegetables, such as ground cinnamon or nutmeg on baked sweet potatoes and acorn squash, or oregano with cooked cabbage.
Here are some ways to get the most nutrients from vegetables:
- Leave skins on vegetables and cut them in large pieces so that vitamins are not lost in the cooking water.
- Cook vegetables in only about 1/2 to one inch of water (about 1 cup of water for four servings). However, when introducing strong flavored vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts, you may want to use more water (some of the flavor is lost in the water).
- Save (freeze) the vitamin-rich cooking liquid to use in sauces or to thin canned soup.
- Put vegetables in rapidly boiling water and let the water come back to a full boil. Then cover them and reduce heat to medium. Leave the lid off when cooking green vegetables to keep them bright green.
- Steam vegetables by placing them in a basket over boiling water.
- Stir fry, saute, or oven roast vegetables using just a little bit of oil.
- Cook vegetables only until tender.
- Offer cooked vegetables high in fiber like beans, peas, corn, and baked potato with skin.
- Add fresh, frozen or canned vegetables to pasta, soups, or entrees.
Vegetable Variety Show
Show a variety of fresh vegetables and encourage children to explore. Discuss how some vegetables and fruits are alike (both contain seeds). Compare the taste of raw vegetables and fruits. Sort vegetables (or food models) by size, shape, color, and texture. Discuss that different parts of plants are eaten such as cabbage, (leaf), celery (stem), carrots/radishes (roots), peas (seeds), broccoli (flower), and zucchini, tomato or bell pepper (fruit/vegetables containing seeds). Encourage children to:
- Examine each vegetable.
- Discuss the various colors, textures, sizes.
- Identify each vegetable by name.
- Decide which part of the plant the different vegetables come from.
- Cut several vegetables open and talk about internal differences and similarities.
- Wash vegetables and cut into pieces for snacking.
Potatoes
Talk about potatoes, potatoes, and more potatoes!
- Read the story Jamie O'Rourke And The Big Potato by Tomie DePaola.
- Use a 10-pound bag of potatoes for math experiences. Help children guess the number of potatoes in the bag, count the potatoes, compare sizes of potatoes, or count potato eyes.
Name that vegetable
- Fill a large stockpot with vegetables (either fresh or food models). Include some less common ones such as artichokes or rutabagas. Give children tongs to remove vegetables one at a time and let the child (or the group of children) describe it.
- Serve vegetable soup for a meal and encourage children to name the vegetables, or look for various colors, sizes, or shapes of vegetables.
Burgin Fowlkes, RD, ID, Senior Nutrition Educator, Health Program & Communications, Jefferson County Dept. of Health, Birmingham, AL.
Resources
5 a Day for Better Health, National Cancer Institute, 6130 Executive Blvd., EPN 232, Bethesda, MD 20892-7332; www.5aday.gov
Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 1120 20th Street NW, Suite 200, North Lobby, Washington, DC 20036; 202-606-8000; www.usda.gov/cnpp
Dole 5 A Day Program, One Dole Dr., Westlake Village, CA 91362; 818-879-6772; www.dole5aday.com
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