Eat your greens!

I do think it's partially a British problem. I grew up in continental Europe loving veggies, never gave it a second thought. As a child, it wasn't "eat your greens" or "a portion of veg" or "five a day," it was just integrated into the everyday diet. I'm not saying fussy eaters don't exist in other cultures - my sister was one - but I wasn't aware there is such a "battleground" around vegetables until I lived in the US and here.

I'm not a fussy eater at all and will eat literally anything - canned soup, boiled cabbage, offal, raw fish, I'll have it all. I'm also quite militant about clearing my plate. But OMG, when I tried boiled peas and carrots in a British restaurant... it was honestly the first time in my life that I ever wanted to spit my food out. I still shudder thinking about it. Some restaurants are better than others of course, but the standard in your typical pub is pretty bad tbh. So I really can't imagine kids having much fun with it either if they get similar at home.

I have several British friends who are much, much better chefs than I ever will be - I don't think culinary skills are the problem. My theory is that the quality of veg in the UK is generally not that great. The vegetables in the supermarket all look freakishly perfect but ultimately taste like cardboard. Not sure if this is due to the climate, commercialization of farms, or maybe due to strict standards in supermarkets!?

I find I eat a lot less veg in the UK myself as it's just not enjoyable, but I load up when I go back home. I always take an extra suitcase and come back to the UK with bell peppers, potatoes, arugula, tomatoes, you name it... I get some weird looks at security but it's worth it!

The best food is green.
So many peeps and their kids missing out on good food.

Can only judge you as awesome! To hear you fed your child and didn't force feed but still raised a healthy child who then chose to eat things is really good xxx

My daughter went through a phase for about 2 years where she wouldn't eat veg, at all. I grew up in a "clear your plate or you don't leave the table" household and ended up with an eating disorder. I wasn't about forcing my child to eat anything. Fed is good enough.

She's 16 now, healthy, happy and an aspiring chef who loves her greens. A few years of pickiness did her no harm long term, and she doesn't have a weird relationship with food because I've never "insisted" she eat anything. Win win as far as I'm concerned. Judge away.

Just read the "what have you eaten today" threads, adults don't eat them either.

Food now has to be fun and a treat rather than something partly functional which contributes. Careful you don't fall into the orthorexia trap though.

I was very lucky that mine were absolute gannets and ate everything, as we were so skint when they were young that there was no alternative.

I was just thinking about that a moment ago, when I finished off my dark green cabbage, boiled onions, carrots and sweet potatoes that accompanied the pie.

Strange combination I know, but it was all we had in, as we've been too busy to shop this week.

When I was a child ( 60's/70's ) "greens" were an unspecified green leafy veg. You went to the stall and said 2lb of greens please, and it was whatever green leaf available - what we still see in supermarkets as "spring greens", Kale, or brussel tops.

All as revolting as the last :)

Cabbage was cabbage, broccoli wasnt this calabrese which is sold now, it was sprouting broccoli and only available for short periods of the year . Same as runner beans, asparagus and peas ( mangetout we laughed at them trying to sell us empty pea pods ) Marrow was also around a lot, now they are picked tiny and called courgettes

So yep I grew up with a hatred of "green vegetables" and we were forced to eat them - we were sat at the table, not allowed to move until the plate was clean.

So yes, I have a hatred of veg

But I know now I have to eat it. I always did my best when the Step Kids were with us, Id cook it and eat it to encourage them, same as the grandkids

But there are veggies I do like, just not greens

Green beans and broccoli are DS' favourite veg, he likes most root veg, peppers, courgette, aubergine, corn cobs/baby etc, peas, even sprouts. He loves what he calls the tasty beans; chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, black beans, haricot, pearl barley anything of that kind but can't abide mushrooms, kale or cooked cabbage, so I don't make an issue of it. He eats a wide range of foods, loves mussels, prawns, squid, crab and all kinds of fish, plenty of veg and has never met a fruit he doesn't like. I can't get het up about lack of traditional greens, usually boiled to death and sludgy IME.

My whole family likes cabbage, kale, broccoli, spinach etc etc.
Me and dh always tucked into our veg in front of dc's and so did their grandparents so I just wonder if they didn't even think to refuse to eat them.
Or maybe a person's taste is somehow genetic? Who knows.
I'm very grateful not to have had veg wars.

As a healthy eating Type 2 Diabetic it gets my back up too!

School lunches have plenty of veg in them. Always amazes me that sweetcorn is the one universally disliked at our school.

I haven't heard the term "greens" for ages!

My children eat plenty of fruit and vegetables - about 10 servings most days, more vegetables than fruit.

I'm not sure what proportion of that would be greens...but then I'm not sure that matters all that much.

What do YOU count as greens though?

I personally count greens as broccoli, cabbage, kale and spinach.

I do not count peas or cucumber as greens.

I all know leafy green vegetables are an important part of the diet, but research has shown that its more about eating a wide range (30 different plants) every week.

Sometimes my children have sweetcorn or carrots with their meals. Neither will eat kale or cabbage. Its not very nutritional to have broccoli every single day (although better than oven food and no veg! 😅)

I'm slightly alarmed by parents who 'insist' a child eats something they dislike.

Mine got over her dislike of green veg, but retains a strong dislike for butter and a real aversion to fish and seafood. She'd probably be sick if she accidentally ate some.

Food not good.

slightly alarming that there are some on here prepared to admit they don't insist

Only ever said by those who've no experience of a child with good issues.

DS will only eat peas and would act like I was trying to poison him I I gave him any other kind of veg of any colour. Wont touch them.

DD's favourite foods are broccoli and Brussels sprouts and she will eat any kind of green with pleasure

My kids eat lots of vegetables including ones grown in our garden so yanbu because I can kind of see your point of course it's impossible...

But yabu for being 'alarmed that some parents don't insist'. That attitude seriously lacks empathy. My friend is a great mum but her 4 year old doesn't eat vegetables. He is awaiting an autism diagnosis and all the insisting in the world would not make him eat them. I imagine if she read this thread she could feel quite judged and crappy. Sometimes there really is nothing u can do.

Veg come in lots of different colours. Variety is key. I personally love lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, kale etc but you can easily have a balanced diet with other fruit and veg. A lot of kids eat peas, but they're not that fantastic nutritionally.
I always thought the old school matra of 'eat your greens' made it sound like a punishment. Like you were doing it under duress in order to be allowed pudding!

Do you actually mean the vegetable, greens, or do you mean green vegetables in general? Surely as there is such a variety of vegetables, green or otherwise, eating greens, and cabbage for that matter, is not much of a thing any more.

I insist on some fruit & veg being eaten, but it doesn't necessarily need to be green. DD isn't keen on any green salad vegetable, but will happily eat either carrot sticks or tomatoes, I'm fine with that (other DC would live off lettuce & cucumber, but won't go near a tomato)

With cooked veg, generally there'll be something green, but if they choose carrot, colliflower & sweetcorn, that wouldn't bother me. Some days the veg might be tomatoes & pepper (eg. In pasta sauce), and that's fine to. They will also usually have fruit, which is hardly ever green, but still a good source of vitamins (as long as you don't over do sugger).

Maybe it's because there's more variety of fresh fruits & veg available now, whereas in the past most fresh food would be locally grown, so in our climate it was mostly greens or nothing.

I never made a big deal about eating their veg, it was just served up as part of the meal and the kids mostly ate it. One of mine hates mushrooms and another not keen on aubergine but they all like cabbage stir fried with garlic and spices or kale or spinach. Roasted broccoli and cauliflower also a favourite!

That was one of my hateful father’s many rules. I even had to eat anything I gagged and spat back up.
I still don’t eat any of the traditional 70’s veg I was force fed. Can’t even look at them.
It makes being vegetarian tricky at times.
The only veg I eat are things I was never fed in childhood.

@Abitorangelooking @ginasevern Agree with this, I'm not the world's best cook by any means but DC much prefer my veg at home and will try anything, including things like kale and cabbage, because I've not boiled them to death first.

My dd insists on broccoli with every meal- spaghetti, chilli, fajitas etc, even if it doesn't go. But most of my nieces and nephews never eat veg, apart from the occasional portion of peas.

I do wonder if school dinners have something to do with it. Overcooked veg and so many cheap carbs. We tend to have veg with a bit of crunch. I’d struggle to politely eat soggy broccoli if someone else cooked it. Quite often the Dc will say they like my version of Mac cheese, bolognaise, home made burgers, mince type meals but not schools.