Vegetables for Kids – Eating should be fun

• Vegetable sticks: Not only children, adults are also more likely to choose vegetables when they're cut into bite-sized pieces. Prepare a few red and yellow bell peppers as small snacks for in-between and, if needed, serve a delicious dip with them.

• Smoothies: In a blended vegetable drink you can easily include many different fruits and vegetables. Spinach leaves are masked in flavor by banana or apple. Your child will probably just have to get used to the green color at first.

• Offer favorite vegetables: Does your child not eat spinach because they don't like it or because they're not hungry right now? It's best to simply offer as many different vegetables as possible and note what they like. You can then serve that vegetable more often.

• Creative dishes: Put a funny face made of tomatoes and peppers on the pizza or turn a tomato into a toadstool. Be inventive. If the food looks funny and friendly, your child will also enjoy eating it more. You can find more ideas further down in this article.

• Prefer sweet over bitter: Foods like broccoli or Brussels sprouts naturally contain a lot of bitter compounds. Children's tongues first have to get used to this taste. You're likely to have more success with sweeter vegetables like carrots, potatoes or pumpkin.

How do I turn my child into a vegetable lover? – Our tips

• Hiding: You shouldn't serve your child vegetables disguised too often with melted cheese or purée. That way your child will have eaten the vitamins but won't have had the chance to know what they're eating and whether they might actually like kohlrabi.

• Eat vegetables yourself: If the father or mother themselves constantly complain about "the green stuff", you can't expect your child to eat more vegetables either. Children copy their parents' eating habits.

• No vegetable circus: Don't make a big deal about the fact that there are vegetables for dinner, just serve them. Even if your child doesn't finish their plate, you shouldn't comment negatively or scold. Just try again next time.

• Little bargains: Don't make a deal with your child that for two bites of broccoli they can have a chocolate bar. You thus convey to your child that the unhealthy food is something bad that must be compensated for.

• Choice: When possible, always offer your child at least two types of vegetables to choose from at meals and let them serve their own portion. If they're not just presented with something, they're more curious to try it.

• Include them: Decide together with your child which vegetable dish will be served. Your child can also help with the preparation. That makes them much more eager to eat.

Fun ideas for vegetables

Bell pepper octopus

You need:

• 2 bell peppers (red or yellow)

• Quark (fresh cheese)

• Herbs

• Cream cheese

• 2 small chocolate chips

How to:

Wash both bell peppers. For one, cut off only the top and remove the seeds. The other is cut into thin strips and the seeds are also removed. Now mix a dip from the quark and the herbs. Spread this on a plate and place the first bell pepper in it with the opening facing down. Use the cream cheese and the chocolate chips to make a pair of eyes. Finally, arrange the bell pepper strips around the face as octopus arms.

Cucumber crocodile You need:

You need:

• 1 cucumber

• Lots of toothpicks

• 2 mini mozzarella balls

• Some chocolate sauce

• Cherry tomatoes, grapes or similar

How to:

Wash the vegetables. Then cut a zig-zag pattern about four centimeters long into one end of the cucumber; this will become the crocodile's mouth. Just behind the mouth, attach two mozzarella balls with a toothpick each. The chocolate sauce makes the crocodile's pupils. The remaining part of the cucumber is then decorated with the tomatoes and grapes, which are stuck onto the cucumber with the help of the toothpicks.

Vegetable cookies

You need:

• Vegetables that can be easily sliced, for example kohlrabi, cucumber or zucchini

• Cookie cutters of an appropriate size

How to:

Wash the vegetables and cut them into slices. Then you can use the cutters to cut out fun shapes from them.