Kids and Vegetables

I don’t know what life in your family was like when you were growing up, but in my house our parents did not allow us to leave the dinner table until our plates were cleaned. I quickly developed an eating strategy that began with a quick survey of what was sitting on my plate. There was always a mix of proteins, starches, and vegetables. If there was something on my plate that I did not like, it was usually a vegetable. My strategy was to eat what I didn’t like first, and then chase that down with the foods that I did enjoy. I was rarely made to stay at the table for the tortuous job of having to finish my meal with vegetables staring at me from my plate. In today’s world, it seems that fewer and fewer kids are even eating vegetables, and those that are are not eating enough. The CDC reports that just 2% of high school students eat the recommended daily amount of vegetables, and only 7% are eating the recommended amount of fruit. Parents, you can change that, as you teach your kids to steward their God-given bodies.