Eat your greens!

I don't get the obsession to be honest. My kids won't eat most cooked vegetables. They will eat cucumber, tomatoes and raw carrots and not much beyond that. The occasional cob of corn.

Rather than cook vegetables to waste it, I add something (above) that they like and call it a day. They have lots of fruit throughout the day too.

Whilst of course, lots of vegetables would be ideal, most kids struggle with vegetables in their early years and gradually enjoy them more as they age.

More important, I think, is limiting sweet treats, too much salt, and processed food.

I was made to sit at the table until I'd eaten everything, no matter how cold or slimy, and had my jaw held shut to make me swallow if I really didn't want to eat it.
That was my "no option."
My sister used to swallow things whole to get through meal times and she's still got issues with food over 40 years later.

My daughter eats carrots, apples, broccoli, beans, green beans. I'm not forcing her to eat anything she doesn't like. She has something fresh at every meal so I'm not worried really.

I eat anything from 5-10 fruits and/or veg a day.

Agree but children have junk food taste buds, I only started enjoying greens when in my mind 20s

Not the best article as the life expectancy of the tribe mentioned is 45 so long term effects of poor diet not understood.

No physical force. Asian vegetarian diet. We ate veggies and lentils and rice at every meal at home. There was nothing else offered. Very occasionally we might have some pasta or noodles.

That's what I still eat, mostly. I like it.

What would you like parents of kids with SEN, ARFID, sensory difficulties to do? Force it down their throats? If you knew even the bare minimum about parenting children with serious food issues, you'd know that dietitians commonly tell parents to feed children what they will eat, and not make the dining table a battleground.

Your post is tin-eared and patronising, and your attitude does nothing to combat the "obesity crisis". The only thing you will be achieving here is to make already stressed parents feel shit.

Who says they’re not? Of course every one knows what they should be eating. My chn regularly ate green vegetables. I teach young chn at primary about healthy lifestyles and it’s interesting hearing what they eat. A popular dish is plain pasta with ketchup and nothing else!

Oops I got it the wrong way round. He's under a paediatric dietician, not a dietary paediatrician. I'm very tired today and mis-typed. (And mis-thought).

Mine like dark green lettuce. In a salad, on a sandwich or bagel. However if you were to ask them if they like spinach they’d say no.

Both like broccoli, peas, cabbage, green beans, Mangetout, sugar snap. we do ok on the green veg front tbh!

My kids eat most veg. There are things they don't like but I don't insist they eat them because taste buds develop as they get older and I just don't believe in forcing kids to eat (I do encourage trying one mouthful though).
I also think it's very important to see parents eating vegetables too so most days we eat dinner together.

Ffs

What do people mean when they say they had no option? I didn't have the option not to eat veg because mouth was prised open, the food forced in, and then my mouth was held shut until I swallowed it.

Funnily enough, it did not instil in me a love of vegetables. Carrot still makes me gag at the memory of retching into my mouth while being forced to eat it.

I had resisted any other punishments or rewards, and when it comes down to it, physical force is the only real way to not give an option to not eat veg.

The vomiting is true. I think you'll find alot of SEN parents will have similar issues.

My mother once gave DS1 aged about 7 (and then non-verbal) a slice of banana and crowed to me 'see! I can get him to eat it'. At which point he projectile-vomited it back up all over the breakfast table. I had to hide my snigger.

He's under a dietary paediatrician and I am actually someone who used to have a job working with vulnerable families which included healthy cooking classes and he flipping baffles me.

There was no option not to eat greens when I was growing up, so I ate them. There wasn't anything else to eat.
Same! Weirdly I knew no one with sensory issues or who would vomit instantly on eating vegetables. In a lot of cultures food is mostly vegetables.🤷🏼‍♀️
Cancer is massively on the rise and in younger people and I do think that it’s partly related to bad diets from childhood.

Bioavailability of omega 3 from veggies is lower than from animal sources (much like iron). You're better off taking a fish oil supplement than relying on plants for omega 3.

I hope you’re talking about type 2, as a mum of a type 1 diabetic child, this immediately gets my back up.

I don't think you should insist children eat things tbh. It can lead to all sorts of food issues. I think you can work with them and figure what they like and then include as much as possible even if it is repetitive. My kids eat loads of veg/ fruit but it's very much a choice. I always talk positively about veg and home made food and I do hear them extolling the same values so a bit of gentle persuasion helps.

It does cost a fair whack though, I think good food is an investment into your health. I'd rather eat well 52 weeks of the year than go on holiday for a week somewhere / get a takeout/ restaurants. With an increase in col not everyone can afford endless veg.

Yes it's quite a relief that he loves romaine lettuce. Every single meal. My trick is to chop up a large bowlful and then say 'eat this for now because I'm a bit behind with dinner'.

Not sure how long this will fool him for tbh but it's good for now.

People can eat what they want- it's their life-but I don't agree that greens don't taste good. It depends how they are cooked, sometimes.

I don't serve boiled cabbage, because no one would eat it, but I do a cabbage stir fry with various spices, dry red chillies, and coconut Asian style.

There was no option not to eat greens when I was growing up, so I ate them. There wasn't anything else to eat.

Why the obsession over "greens"?

A healthy diet should include a variety of vegetables.

I do this as well. I particularly like hidden veg in bolognese sauce. I usually peel a courgette (to get the green skin off it) and grate it in. I have tried chopping it up very fine, but DS will literally vomit if he thinks there is cooked veg (other than passata sauce) in something so I have learned. He's 14.

You might want to read this OP, greens aren’t essential, there are nations who don’t eat greens and are very healthy. My FIL doesn’t eat greens and he’s as fit as a fiddle, low cholesterol, minimal body fat - and he’s a medical professional!

My son also hates peas, I’ve tried everything. I can’t stand runner beans, my parents tried everything there too!!

https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/sep/22/dont-make-children-eat-greens

We eat greens everyday, but we are Asian and follow mostly an Asian diet. Not any of the well known ones though. We rarely eat broccoli; it's mostly Asian veggies.