Five Foods Kids Hate But Really Should Have

By the time most kids turn two years old they have decided that certain foods are their sworn enemy.   It seems as if they are genetically programmed, along with other predeterminations... like eye colour or left-handedness. 

Whatever the reason, by the time most children have a mouth full of teeth they have already declared war on nutrition.   Ironically, the foods they love to hate provide important building blocks in their rapidly developing bodies.

Some of the main offenders are as follows:

Vegetables
With the exception of potatoes, vegetables are potentially the most hated food category in the eyes of a child.  Most children will eat a carrot stick if it is saturated in a favourite dip, but for the most part, kids avoid most vegetables like the plague.  Along with ample amounts of vitamins and minerals, veggies are necessary complex carbohydrates that also provide the body with beneficial roughage.

Legumes
Otherwise known as beans, most kids will actually cry if a bean is place near their plate.  This reaction is unfortunate since beans provide necessary minerals and are an alternative option to rudimentary protein like chicken. 

Seeds
While common allergies may prevent some children from enjoy a variety of nuts, seeds make a great substitute.  Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds provide the body with necessary dietary fat.  Although most kids won’t entertain eating a pumpkin seed, some may eat sesame seeds that have been set in boiled sugar and then cut into squares otherwise known as sesame snacks.  This “treat” is a good start if you can convince your child to try it.

Dried Fruit
A wonderful source of fiber, dried fruit in the form of figs, prunes and cherries, to name a few, can provide your child with dietary fiber.  Nevertheless, with the exception of raisons, that are sometimes too sweet, most kids will not eat dried fruit.

Whole Grains
Whole grains provide a variety of vitamins and minerals.  Some children will eat oatmeal, but most will not eat other important grains like brown rice or whole-wheat.

Sometimes it may seem impossible to get your children to eat the foods that you know they need to develop strong and healthy.  However, trying to force feed a child may have adverse effects.  In order to get desired items into the growing bodies of your children, try to be creative.  For example, every kid loves pancakes, right?  So go ahead and make them.  Just don’t mention that they are made from buckwheat.

Image from MorgueFile

Alison Taylor
		About the author:
		Alison Taylor studies English literature at the University of Toronto. Dissecting language and absorbing literary theory provides her with intellectual stimulation, but Alison’s passion for overall wellness and contemporary culture compels her to write for the mainstream reader as well as her professors.  When Alison isn’t at her computer, she is hanging out with her very own “mini me”, personally training clients in her home studio, or baking cookies in an attempt to pacify an insatiable sweet tooth.
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