Why Your Kid Won't Eat Vegetables (and what you can do!)

You put broccoli on their plate and they won't touch it.

You try again. And again. And still nothing.

But what if you just don't have the right strategy yet?

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why more exposure alone isn't always the answer - and what else you need
• Tons of ideas for preparing, serving, and encouraging your child to try veggies without pressure
• Taste tests as a low-pressure, even fun way to build curiosity without expectations
• What to do when you feel like you're already standing on your head serving it 22 different ways
• Why it's normal to be frustrated - and how to make sure that's not accidentally turning into pressure at the table

If you've ever felt like you've tried everything and your kid still won't touch a vegetable, this episode will give you a few new things to try - and permission to keep going without needing to control the outcome.

Resources Mentioned:

✅ Give Your Kid a Knife with Heather Staller

CONNECT with Nicole:

- Instagram: @nicolecruzRD
- Book a FREE Eating Alignment Call with Nicole to learn more about our approach and how we can work together: Eating Alignment Call

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:

If you loved this episode, it would mean so much for you to follow, subscribe, share, or leave a review.

Your support helps us reach more conscious and loving parents who need these insight!

Thank you for tuning in and see you next week!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Intentional Table Podcast. This is where we go beyond nutrition to not only talk about how to help your child eat well and get the nutrients they need, but how to also support them in having a healthy relationship with food. If you want your child to eat a variety, listen to their body cues, eat the amount they need, and not be obsessed with sweets, or you just don't want to fight about food, you're in the right place. Here you'll find practical tips and compassionate guidance to support your family in navigating food with more joy and less stress. I'm Nicole Cruz, registered dietitian and mom of three, and I can't wait to dive into today's episode with you. Welcome back to the Intentional Table. So last week I was in the kitchen cooking, and I was making this broccoli as a side dish for dinner. And I had taken broccoli and sauteed it in some oil and some garlic powder and some salt, and then I added some soy sauce and a little bit of this bottled orange chicken sauce that I had and kind of like stir-fried it essentially. And I had it sitting out on the counter on the side. And one of my kids walked through and he just grabbed a piece as he was waiting for dinner. And he was like, oh my gosh, this broccoli is so good. Now, if you know this child, you will know that he has never uttered the words together. Broccoli is so good. Hamburgers are good, enchiladas are good, pancakes are good, but not broccoli. And so he proceeded to eat some of it and really enjoy it. And again, this was no pressure, just sitting out, hungry kid, doesn't usually touch broccoli in any form, but tried it. Now, fast forward to last night, and we're having dinner, and I again put a bowl of broccoli out that I had cooked. And this time I just sauteed it in olive oil and I put some um salt on it. I'm trying to think if I even put any other seasoning, but that was kind of it. It was a really fast dinner after a baseball game, and I did broccoli as a side dish again. And he was sitting there and he just took a piece and he put it in his mouth and he was like, oh, that's plain. It has no flavor. And I was like, Oh, you're right. Yeah, I didn't cook it with sauce like I did last time. Do you want me to go put something more on it? And he was like, Yes. So I did, and I made a slightly different sauce this time. I actually used a little bit of barbecue sauce and some soy sauce, and I mixed it together and tossed it and reheated it a little bit. And he pretty much ate the whole bowl. Now, again, this kiddo never really has eaten broccoli or enjoyed it at all. And now within the past two weeks, he has had two large servings because I cooked it a different way. Now, this isn't just about broccoli and this isn't just about my kid, but what I really want to share is the importance of preparation and creativity, a presentation of different foods, and just having patience and continuing to provide exposure. So a lot of parents serve food in ways that they're just familiar with. And we serve it to our kids, and then they don't eat it, and then we think they don't like it, or they're not willing to try it, or maybe they do try it, but they say they don't like it. And we do that a few times, or we do it in a couple of different ways, and then we just think they don't like broccoli or whatever the food is. And this is totally normal. We do what we're used to. Maybe there were a couple ways that you grew up with broccoli being served, or, you know, you learn to cook a certain recipe that you really enjoy, and so you tend to always make it that way. Or maybe you think your kid doesn't like sauces or seasonings or flavors, and so you always make it plain, thinking that that's going to be the most likely, you know, option for them to even try it. So sometimes the key isn't just more exposure. Like that's absolutely important, right? If we just say, oh, they didn't like broccoli the couple times they've served it, now I don't put it on their plate or I don't even put it out for them, then they're never really getting the opportunity to try it. So yes, exposure is important, but sometimes we actually need some more variety in the way that we're doing it. We need to get a little bit creative. And I want to remind you about that walk by bite the week before, that it was also very casual and pressure free. Just being in the kitchen when food was happening with zero expectations. So, what I want to do is I want to share actually a bunch of different ways to give you examples for how you might actually try broccoli. And this isn't just about broccoli because you could try this with lots of other vegetables, with different types of meats, with different fruits. You can try lots of things, but I want to show you a lot of different ways that we can do a food so that maybe you can get some ideas and even try something different at dinner tonight. So, for instance, when it comes to broccoli, one of the things that my kids love is big broccoli trees. So I will get a big head of broccoli because a lot of times I buy it pre-cut or even frozen and cut just because it's quick and easy that way. But when I buy it fresh, raw, and in the whole head, then I just trim it and I cut it into huge pieces and take a big pot of boiling water and just blanch it for a bit so it gets bright green, it gets a little bit more tender, and then pull it out and serve it as big broccoli trees. And they love just picking it up by the stem and eating it. And sometimes they do only eat that leafy part. And that's okay. It's okay if they don't want to eat the whole stock. We're just providing that exposure and serving something that they enjoy. So you could do big broccoli trees, you could do that raw, you could do that cooked, you could do it, you know, roasted or sauteed, you could do it parboiled, blanched, like I do. Now, again, all the different ways you can cook broccoli. You could buy it frozen, you could buy it fresh or raw because they're going to have different textures. So try different forms to buy to begin with, and then different preparation methods. So think roasted, sauteed, boiled. All of those are different ways that the broccoli is going to come out. Now you can also cook it in sauce, like I've been doing. And I found this a couple weeks ago with my daughter with green beans as well. I actually shared this on the episode. Um, and you should go check this out with Heather Staller, give your kid a knife. It's from a couple weeks ago. And I think you'll really enjoy it because we talk a lot more about getting kids in the kitchen and trying different ways to serve different foods. So I was sharing on that episode too that the same thing happened with my daughter. I was cooking green beans and she wasn't eating them and wasn't eating them, and I knew she liked them. And I think we'd just been in such a rut, in a hurry, that I wasn't cooking them in any sauce. And when I made them more, again, like a teriyaki style, she was loving them again. So it could be different types of sauces. And there's all sorts that you could do. You could do a barbecue version, you could do like an Asian-inspired sauce with soy sauce or teriyaki. You could do something like sweet and sour. You know, maybe it even has a little bit of a ketchup base to it. You could try all different things. And just because it's something you're not sure if you would like, it doesn't mean that your kid wouldn't like it. Okay, back to the broccoli. Um, you could also do it with just butter, right? Or just salt, or butter and salt, totally plain, cheese, lots of things. Now, another cooking method, though, that I learned from a good friend of mine, she used to bring a vegetable tray. You know, the store-bought vegetable platters that you can get, where they're gonna have like carrot sticks and tomatoes and broccoli and, you know, celery or cauliflower on it with the dip in the middle. Well, she would take it home and take the broccoli and blanch it, and then put that broccoli that was just lightly cooked back on the tray and in the fridge and serve it cold. When we do that, it removes a little bit of that pungent or bitter flavor, that peppery flavor that might be a little bit strong for kids. And it also makes it more tender, but also still crunchy. So that's another method you could try, just very lightly cooking it, but then putting it back in the fridge almost as if it was raw and serving it cold. You can try with different dipping sauces, even something like ketchup, or I don't know if you're familiar with an in-and-out sauce, because in California we have in and out all over the place, but it's mayo, ketchup, relish. And I put a little bit of salt and pepper in it. My kids love that on burgers, and they love even dipping just like plain bread in it. You could do that with vegetables as well. So many different things that they could try. And again, you might not be thinking of it because it wouldn't be your go-to, but we want to get creative for them. Use the foods that they already like. If your kiddo loves barbecue sauce, serve it with barbecue sauce. Try it. And then some other things to think about. Kind of how my kiddo walked by in that pressure-free casual way. A great way to serve fruits and vegetables. And this would be another example of like potentially taking that cold broccoli that's pre-cooked and put it out on the table right before dinner, as you're getting ready for dinner. So when your kid comes in and says, I'm hungry, you can say, There's some, you know, fruits and veggies out on the table already. Or they might not even say anything. They might just walk by and take a piece because it's sitting there and it's casual and they just want to try it, or they're hungry right before dinner. There's zero pressure expectation, like somebody's not sitting there watching them at the dinner table. So putting that fruit and veggie platter out before dinner, and again, especially with foods that maybe they don't want to eat a lot of or they haven't tried before, that can be a great way to introduce them. Now, you also might want to serve food deconstructed. So maybe they don't like foods in mixed dishes. Make sure then you're serving it separate and try it with different cooking methods and sauces or flavors. With that said, you might think that your kid only likes plain food or doesn't like it mixed together, but maybe they would actually be much more likely to eat it if you chopped up broccoli really small and mixed it into their rice or into a pasta sauce. Sometimes we just don't know, and we have to try different things and see what grabs their attention or what they're willing to try. And sometimes cutting things really small is much less intimidating. So even if you're not mixing it into a food, you might still serve it chopped small. And that can be fun, especially for little kids, to see different sizes out, like a big whole carrot that you've just peeled versus, you know, a carrot cut into small pieces. So get creative, think outside of the box, and let them experiment. Now, taste tests can also be a really fun thing to do. And you can do this a bit more formally, like, hey, we're gonna have a taste test, or you can just let it naturally happen. But some kids want to do it almost like it's more of a science experiment. So you could give them a piece of paper and they could, you know, rate the different food or the different foods dipped in different things. Um, they could say whether or not they like it, they could rate it on a scale of one to five or one to ten, they could write characteristics of it, they could just give it a yes or a no, all different things, right? Depending on how in-depth your particular child is. And so we can do this in lots of different ways. So if we go with the broccoli example, you could go with just broccoli as a taste test and cook it sauteed, roasted, and blanched and do that as a taste test. You also could do, let's say, one type, like you do what I said where you do it blanched, then serve it cold, you put that out, and then you put out five different dips to try it in. Maybe it's ranch, it's hummus, it's ketchup, barbecue sauce, maybe even chocolate sauce. While it's not necessarily my thing, my kids have definitely been known to get crazy and they think they're it's so fun to try fruits or vegetables mixed in all different things, including chocolate. They've even taken chocolate and like mixed it onto some sort of main dish like a taco because we have it out just for fun. When we make food more fun, they actually are going to want to engage in it more. And if your child is overwhelmed by all of those different types of foods, you could do all foods they already like, crackers, pretzels, an apple, and then put out the carrot or the broccoli or whatever they're not willing to eat to. And they might not take to it. They might just want to do their familiar foods, and that's okay. But we want to make food fun and we want to get creative and more exposure in this pressure-free, fun way is what will eventually lead to them being more likely to try it. Now, like I mentioned, this isn't just about broccoli. It's taking this principle or this idea and applying it with lots of different foods. So if we go with other vegetables, I already mentioned carrots, right? You could do them whole and peeled. You can buy carrots in so many different shapes, like crinkle cut, like carrot chips, just sticks, like carrot sticks pre-bought like that. You could do baby carrots, you could do shredded carrots, try them in lots of different forms. And again, you could just put that out at the table, or you could mix it into something. You could try something like peas and even offer them frozen or just thawed at room temperature or cooked. A lot of little kids like frozen peas, so try them in different forms like that. The same is true with something like mango. You could buy frozen mango chunks that most people would put into a smoothie, but you could just serve them frozen and see if your kiddo's interested in that type of texture and temperature. You could do something like zucchini and you could try zoodles. You can buy them, you know, where they're already cut like noodles, or you can use one of those zoodle makers, you know, you can buy those, and your kid could even help you put the zucchini on and wind the handle to see how the zucchini turns into the zoodles. Then you could serve them raw, or you could cook them and saute them. So try them in different ways. Try raw zucchini that you cut really thin and they could have it plain or with dip. You could take zucchini and grate it and make zucchini bread. All of this still counts. Now, I also recognize that you may be saying, Nicole, I'm already doing it. Maybe you feel like you are standing on your head with a rainbow tutu on, serving food 22 different ways, and your child is still not interested in trying it. I totally get that. And that can be frustrating. But there's two things here. One is, are there still other ways that you could try it? Because sometimes we still, like I said before, haven't thought of all the different ways we could get creative or the different dips or sauces or different cooking methods. So, one, are there still other ways? And two, we just can't guarantee if or when they're going to eat it. We are not here to control the outcome, to actually like get them to eat the thing. We are here to create that environment, the empowered eating environment, to give them the support and the conditions to want to try it. And that comes with no pressure, making food fun and enjoyable, continued exposure, keeping it feeling light, light and fun. And so we have to keep going. And I'm not talking about every single meal, you have to be trying something new, but we don't want to give up on it. We want to keep it in the rotation. We want to keep experimenting and trying different things. We don't want to essentially say to them, whether it's verbally with our words or with our actions, that, you know, you don't like vegetables, that we just kind of retire the food because we don't think that they're ever going to eat broccoli because they say they don't like it. It's kind of like my kid, who's now a teenager, who's the one that walked in and ate the broccoli the other day. He's not been interested in broccoli. And now he's finally showing some interest and trying it in some different ways. We just have to keep going. Now, at the same time, when we feel like we are putting in the effort, it can be really, really frustrating when they're not eating it, when they're not willing to try it. And I don't blame you for a second if you are feeling that way. And I feel that way too. Sometimes I serve something and they immediately say, I don't like it. And inside I am screaming, how do you know you don't like it? You haven't even tried it. And even more, if you tried it, I really think you actually would like it. Like this is up your alley. You would like it. It is so frustrating. And we really have to check in with ourselves because when pressure starts sneaking in even subtly, the easier it is for our kids to feel that energy and react to it and not want to do it even more because they think there's pressure on them to do it. They're feeling that it might not even be logical. They're just feeling like we want them to eat the thing. And that's where it comes from us role modeling, us just having fun with it ourselves and trying to remove the expectations. And with that said, I want you to remove the expectations for yourself on having to get it perfect or having to do it all the time. And maybe just take a minute right now and jot down a couple of ideas that have come up for you while you've been listening, right? And maybe put it on your list. Can you buy something different at the store the next time that you go? One or two things to try over the next couple of weeks. It doesn't have to be, you know, a perfect science or a schedule. Just trying to incorporate different ways and letting it be fun. All right. I hope that gives you a little bit of inspiration. If you go ahead and try something new, I would love for you to share it. So you can post it on Instagram, tag me in your story, or shoot me a DM and let me know how it went. And it's okay if they don't eat it, right? There's no pressure on you either. Share the they didn't want to try it stories too, because that's what's so important. We all need to see that we have to detach from the outcome and just keep doing our job. Because staying in our role and taking an intentional approach to feeding is what's actually most important. So let's take a moment and remind ourselves, as we always do, that nourishing a healthy relationship with food is just as important, if not more, than the food itself. Thank you for joining me at the Intentional Table, and I'll see you next time.