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Why Should You Lie About A Vegetable?

Disclaimer: Elise Ho, aka “Dr. Ho” is a Holistic Health & Life Coach. Dr. Ho is NOT a medical doctor, licensed therapist, lawyer, or a bevy of other things. Products or services that Dr. Ho believes in are the only ones that she recommends. Dr. Ho may receive compensation, product, or an affiliate commission on anything you see on this site. This is a personal Website solely reflecting Dr. Ho’s personal opinions. Statements on this site do not represent the views or policies of any organization with which I may be affiliated.

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When we think of the great vegetable debate we must ask some questions.

When should you lie about vegetables? Is a lie ever good? When is lying bad? What exactly is a white lie? How does this all tie into food and what we feed our kids?

I am all for adding vegetables in wherever we can. I am all for getting creative in preparing food so that everyone is getting as many vegetables as they possibly can.

What I am not a fan of is lying to the kids and telling them that there are no vegetables in a dish that does include vegetable.

Nor am I a fan of NEVER showing the kids what the vegetables look like when they are prepared beautifully, or what they taste like when they are prepared wonderfully.

There has to be a middle ground.  


For our meat eaters I love, love, love the 
idea of rolling chicken legs in pureed butternut squash before coating it in bread crumbs for an oven fried treat with a considerable boost to its nutritional content. I would love this even more if the meal also included some delicious roasted butternut squash or raw curried squash soup or garlicky sauteed squash. Round out this meal with some greens and it is wonderful.

I am sure that you understand where I am going with this idea.

I want the kids to get their vegetables, and I totally understand that some are super picky and it needs to be hidden in their food, but let’s also let the vegetables out of the proverbial closet and allow them to sit front and center on our tables. One thing is for certain, if the kids are not ever exposed to vegetables in their natural form than they will never learn to love and appreciate nature’s bounty.

Many different authorities  (USDA, Center for Disease Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, your allopathic doctor, kids sports coaches, etc) will all have opinions on how many servings of vegetables per day is appropriate.

I am here to tell you that, unless there is a medical reason, neither the kids, nor the adults, can have too many vegetable servings.

However, starting with a very modest 3-5 servings per day would be awesome. Examples of these are 10 baby carrots, 1/2 cup cooked kale, or 1 cup raw spinach. By the way a bit of  spinach swirled into a fruit smoothie is absolutely delicious and does not change the taste of the smoothie but be forewarned it can make for a smoothie color that is less than pleasing to a picky eater’s sense of sight. When I first offered these to my children it was always in a cup that was not see through. This was so that they did not reject it based purely on color.

This brings us back to the lie, white or otherwise. I don’t list every vegetable that is in a dish same as I don’t list the spices that I have used.

If they ask, I tell.

If they do not ask, I do not tell and it is just a simple part of our lives.

New foods must show up on the table many times before a truly picky, or stubborn, eater will taste it. Some people feel that the best thing is to make a child try all new foods at least three times. Others feel that the clean plate rule is the only way to go. Still others believe that the best practice is to lead by example. Express your enjoyment in the taste, and texture, of your food and the child will follow. I recommend the third option.

If a child is forced than their lack of desire to eat may have nothing to do with the food. The child may be fighting for control.

Find what works best for your family. Keep on trying. Eating a good array of vegetables is a tremendous part of your child’s journey to good health.

 

Please use the comment section below to share your tips, questions, and/or thoughts about this post.

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Naturally Yours,
Elise Ho
Ph.D., D.N. Psych.
Behavioral & Mental Health Specialist

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6 thoughts on “Why Should You Lie About A Vegetable?”

  1. I love the concept and the ideas you have mentioned. Fortunately, my children all love their vegetables as I do. Adding more nutrition to any dish or meal is always a good thing. I am definitely going to try the butternut squash idea the next time I prepare chicken for the meat lovers in my family! Great idea! Thank you, Elise.

  2. Mary, I love the idea of shopping with the kids. I also strongly believe that involving the kids in the meal planning is a tremendous help to the whole process. Thank you for sharing your experience.

  3. Elise, many years ago I used to hide vegetables in food for those who wouldn’t eat them willingly. You make a very good point about being real and honest with your kids about the vegetables, and it is better to extol the virtues of vegetables to them. Over time I was able to do this and found some that they enjoyed. Letting them shop with you and choose new fruits or vegetables to try is a better strategy, which I did learn to do over time with my stepchildren.

  4. Elise Cohen Ho

    HI Melissa,

    Thank you, I am glad that you enjoyed the article. I think hiding veggies is a great way to push up the vegetable consumption for the kids. I am just not super fond of lying to them IF they ask if the vegetable is there. I also definitely think that it is important for them to see the vegetable on the table in some type of non hidden format like salads, roasts, etc.

    Thank you for sharing your tip. That sounds like a really fun way to encourage kids to try new things.

  5. melissarobinson73

    I have never really thought about it that way. I will have to confess, I have “hidden” veggies in my kids food before. But you bring up a good point about not hiding them. One thing I did, with my kids to encourage eating fruits and veggies, was to get a big white erase board, and put all their names on it. Everytime they ate a fruit or a veggie, they got a “point”…… at the end of the week, it was a contest to see who could get the most points. I know this would work mostly on younger kids. But it worked great for me for a time! Great article, thanks for sharing!

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About The Author

Dr. Elise Ho

Dr. Elise Ho

Dr. Elise Ho is a Holistic Health & Life Coach with a special interest in emotional health, life alignment, and energy flow.

Elise will partner with you to align your mindset, your energy, your home and your career so that you can live your life's desire with freedom and love.

Elise offers 30 years of experience and multiple certifications and degrees including a Ph.D. in Natural Health and a doctoral degree in Naturopathic Psychology.