It's time to put this ridiculous myth to rest: Kids don't like eating vegetables. That's a bunch of baloney! Plenty of kids actually do like eating veggies, and now there's a survey to prove it. Researchers talked with 500 families and found that 83 percent of the kids actually had a "favorite" vegetable. Not just a veg they can stand eating, but one they actually like.
Now here's the really interesting part: About half of the kids surveyed named the same vegetable as their favorite as their moms did. So moms, we may have some influence on which veggies our kids like. Do kids inherit our taste or are they just swayed by what they see us enjoying? Or as my mom would say, "Monkey see, monkey do." And which veggies come out on top?
Who knows how much veggie preference is inherited and how much is taught. It's probably a little bit of both. It does seem like super-picky kids tend to have at least one super-picky parent (even if the other parent is a total omnivore), so it doesn't surprise me that many kids have the same favorite veggie as their moms do. As for the top veggies, corn and broccoli top the list.
- Corn (32.2%)
- Broccoli (29.4%)
- Carrots (23.2%)
- Green beans (17.2%)
- Potatoes (11.8%)
- Tomatoes (11.4)
I know my son loves broccoli, too. But we've kind of burned out on it a few times so it's good to have a few in rotation. He also loves green beans, cucumbers, and kale -- but only the way I cook it (why?). And he loves tomatoes, which is great because we've got about 20 tomato plants all ripening right now.
I bet a lot of you could name a few vegetables your kid likes to eat, too. Where did we even get this idea that kids hate veggies? I just told my son the story about Popeye and how he used to eat spinach from a can and I thought, Wow, if that's how people used to get their vegetables, no wonder they were so unpopular. I say, get 'em while they're young. If we just feed kids veggies like they're delicious, it may not even occur to them that they're "supposed to" hate veggies.
More from The Stir: 7 Delicious Desserts Made From Vegetables (Yes, It's True)
Anyway, full disclosure: this study was funded by the frozen veggies company Birdseye, so, you know ... big surprise that they found out kids like vegetables. Still, there are worse things that doing research to promote veggie-eating. And since it's the middle of summer there's no reason to buy frozen veggies because we're surrounded by super-fresh ones.
What are your kids' favorite vegetables?
Image via La Grande Farmer's Market/Flickr
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Comments 15
Mine likes carrot, raw, and brocoli, steamed. Also eats potatoes, letuce.
Well I have 2 kids, one who LOVES veggies. She would pick broccoli over anything else. The other pretty much hates all veggies. She will sometimes eat sweet potato and carrots, but thats just about it. I think some is learned and some is inherited and some just is. I hate tomato, I always have. Both of my parents LOVE them. I think the best we can do is set a good example and continually introduce veggies to our kids and then hope for the best.
Squash and sweet potato :D
Lima beans and broccoli also edamame but I don't know if that's considered a veggie.
My DD loves her vegetables Broccoli, Corn, Lettuce, Beans .So we proudly make them and eat them with her
Spinach baked into spinach chips, zucchini, any veggie in made in a stir fry, and cauliflower are some of DS's favorites.
DS loves broccoli more than anything. I can't count how many times I've had to say "you have to eat something other than broccoli" at the dinner table when I make broccoli. I never thought I'd have to say that... He also likes spinach, sweet potatoes carrots, asparagus and green peppers (he hates red peppers though). He's not very picky for a 3 year old. There are only 2 things he outright refuses to eat, rice and apples. Both of those he's hated since he was a baby.