Over the years I’ve noticed a phenomenon that I have to share because I hear some parents talk of their kids not wanting to eat vegetables. One thing that I guarantee will increase their consumption is allowing them to graze.
Grow what you want them to eat, and then give them access. They will take it from there.
My kids reluctantly eat broccoli if we put it on their plate at dinner time, but they’ll be out in our yard on their own and kneel down and munch on a head of broccoli still growing on the plant.
This isn’t just my kids. Their friends come over and graze in the garden similarly.
Why?
Is it that they see my kids doing it and want to join? Maybe at first, but then they continue as if they genuinely enjoy it.
Is it being out in nature that encourages them to eat vegetables in the garden? The fresh air and breeze, the sound of birds, the smell of flowers — it somehow calms and pleases them, such that they’re open to exploring what things taste like?
There is certainly an element of discovery when snacking in the yard. “What?! Peanuts grow under the dirt?!”
Is it that there is no junk food alternative while they’re out in the garden? They’re hungry, there are no potato chips around, so they eat the peas? That’s probably part of it, but it doesn’t explain why one day a girl who was visiting was so enamored with eating fresh peas that she became disobedient to her mother, who was asking to leave. “Just a few more,” she kept saying.
Is it the freshness and the flavor? For some crops, I would guess yes. Sungold tomatoes right off the vine in summer are astonishingly rich and sweet. You could never buy a tomato that tastes like that in a store. So no wonder kids are so willing to snack on them in the yard.
Do the kids like the independence? They get to select the tomato that is their preferred level of ripeness. They get to pull up a carrot that is big or small, whichever they like better. They may even be able to choose the color of their carrot.
Are kids still in touch with an intuition that we adults have dulled, which is that eating straight off the plant is most nutritious? (Live food, is what I like to call it.)
Whatever the reasons, I know that it works. If you want kids to eat more vegetables, then growing some helps.
Are we adults different?
I don’t think so. My grandmother doesn’t like to cook meals for herself much anymore. She doesn’t even eat much anymore in general. But she still grows a small vegetable garden, and every morning in the summer she starts her day with a walk down to her Sweet 100 cherry tomato plant for a breakfast snack. Probably why she’s still so healthy.
Do you already grow vegetables? Keep it up. You and your kids, or grandkids, are worth the effort.
Do you want to get started? Here is a post that might help:
“Starting a vegetable garden in Southern California.”
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