Gardening With Your Kids

As a mom, one of my biggest challenges is getting my kids to eat what's good for them instead of what they want. With my son that challenge is nearly impossible. He even told my mom recently he doesn't like vegetables, fruit or to try new things. I was sure this meant my son was going to grow up on a steady diet of chicken nuggets and fries! I've tried every trick in the book from letting him help me prepare the meals, to sneaking in fruits and veggies where he least suspects it but ultimately I want him to know that good for you doesn't mean yucky to taste.

My husband grew up helping his grandpa in the garden and couldn't wait until we had a yard big enough to have his own vegetable garden. Little did I know that this would be just the trick to get our son to eat healthy-or at least healthier!

Being a little boy, digging in the dirt is a natural for him, and he couldn't wait until he was big enough to dig in--pun intended--in the garden with Daddy. We encouraged both of our children (ironically our daughter loves veggies!) to choose some of their favorites at the garden center and help plant them in the garden. My husband and I also choose some of our favorites and we all enjoy working together in the garden all summer long. The kids especially love when the vegetables are ripe and they can help pick them.

You really can't imagine how surprised I was the first time we had ripe zucchini & squash to pick and my husband sliced it up and put it on the grill with nothing more than a little olive oil and salt & pepper and our son ate half the batch by himself!

Now, he won't be begging for a salad anytime soon, but at least it helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel. Over the last few years there have been many times he's tried some fruit or vegetable just because he helped Daddy grow it, or because he was the one who got to pick it. There have been some new favorites discovered and quite a few wrinkled noses and "yucks" but at least he's willing to try something that doesn't come from a drive-thru window!