01/10/2025
⭐ Struggling to Get Veg into the Kids? ⭐
Dinner time doesn’t have to be a battle. Here’s a simple trick I use at home that works every single time 👇
🍽️ Put 5 foods on a tray — 2 “safe foods” (like pasta + Bolognese) and 3 vegetables.
👩👧 Parent picks first (the 2 safe foods).
👧 Child then picks 2 of the remaining 3 — so they have to include veg, but they still get to choose.
❌ 1 food is always left behind, so they don’t feel forced — they feel in control.
✅ Result: They eat their pasta and their veg — without the arguments.
✅ Kids feel proud because it was their choice.
✅ You get more veg into them, stress-free.
📸 These photos are straight from my own dinner table – colourful, everyday food that my kids actually ate and enjoyed.
👏 I first tried this during the summer, and it worked straight away. At first, I thought it was just the novelty — but I kept it up through the summer and now into the winter, and it still works every single time. In fact, it’s gone even further: these days I don’t even pick the first two “safe foods.” The kids often choose all four themselves — and sometimes even end up tasting a bit of everything, including the food that was meant to be left behind!
🙌 Another tip: it also helps to involve the kids in the whole routine. Let them prepare the food with you, help dish out the food, set the table. When they feel part of the preparation, they’re even more excited to sit down and choose from the dish in front of them.
🌱 The real win? By letting them choose from a young age, you’re helping them build a healthy habit for life. Eating veg becomes something they decided to do, not something they were forced into.
Getting kids to eat veg doesn’t have to be a fight… 👉 Why not give it a go in your house?
📌 Small changes over time add up to one big change forever. — Pat Sheehan
🌐 patsheehanweightloss.com
📞 Contact Pat: 087 6856930
