Because Vegetables Just Taste Horrible When You’re a Kid

If you think all the way back to when you were your children’s age, it wouldn’t take all that much for you to admit that the relationship between your taste buds and vegetables wasn’t a very savoury one. For some reason vegetables really taste horrible to the developing taste buds of a child, but that still takes nothing away from the fact that they make for a crucial part of their diet.

So your task as a parent is perhaps to try and find some ways to prepare vegetables so that they at least taste a little better, but ultimately there’s just no getting around the fact that the kids will simply have to eat their veggies, no matter how horrible they may taste.

So there are indeed a few ways you can make the veggies tastier, but bear in mind still that just because they taste better to your taste buds that doesn’t mean the same applies to the kids as well. So you could perhaps enlist their help and have them assist you in preparing them during the experimental phase and then have them taste and rate those which are lot more bearable. They may try to pull a fast one on you and list more of these as being unbearable than there actually are, but either way they’ll still have to eat some of those veggies which they find utterly revolting.

Veggie-Cheese Pairing – I remember not liking cheese or any dairy products when I was really young, so this will only serve to make matters worse if that’s the case with your kids. Otherwise pairing veggies with cheese is a great way to make them taste that much better. Low-fat mozzarella cheese often does the trick with some basil as well and if you must you can add a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Grilled Veggies – Spice them up real good and pop them on the grill and you’re just about guaranteed to have the otherwise dreaded veggies going down all the way to the tender guts of the kids.

In Good Taste

Herb Infused Veggies – Thyme, basil, oregano, etc. — these herbs and a range of spices make for a great way to add some life to your veggies. Simply sauté in the herbs and spices of your choice — in olive oil to maintain their health benefits and the little ones may just discover a brand new love for veggies.

Lemon Juice Zing – Just like with the cheese pairing this is somewhat of a hit and miss because veggies which are steamed or boiled in lemon juice often taste really good for adults, but may not really taste that good for kids. It’s definitely worth a shot though and adds a nice tangy kick.

Serve Raw – Again, this goes all the back to my own childhood. I still despise the taste of cabbage to this day, but for some reason I love it raw, like in a coleslaw salad that’s even dressed up in a healthy salad dressing. Most veggies can indeed be served raw and that’s in fact when they’re at their most nutritious.

Kelly Tate