Boost Your Child’s Veggie Intake by 40%

One simple change for healthier eating

Feeding kids a healthy diet packed with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can feel like an uphill battle, requiring a lot of patience and persistence. If you’ve been there, you know exactly what we mean! One day, your little one can’t get enough of bananas, asking for one every time they see the fruit bowl. The next day, they’re pushing them away like it’s the worst thing ever. And while fruit is usually a hit with most kids, veggies are a whole different story.

As kids grow, so do their veggie needs. Infants only need about 2/3 cup of vegetables a day, but by the time they’re 18, they should be eating 3-4 cups daily. That sounds like a lot, but what does 1 cup of veggies really look like? Think one large sweet potato, an ear of corn, 12 raw baby carrots, or 2 cups of raw spinach. Even a half-cup serving is pretty manageable—5 broccoli florets, 5 stalks of asparagus, or ½ cup of mashed potatoes. Dole’s Registered Dietitian, Melanie Marcus, says, “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by veggie servings if you’re not familiar with portion sizes. But once you start using a measuring cup, you’ll realize it’s not as much as you think. And remember, don’t expect kids to eat adult-sized portions!”

So how can we actually get kids to eat more vegetables? Research from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition gives us a helpful tip: increase portion sizes. In a study involving 53 kids aged 3-5, researchers divided them into three groups. The control group got standard portions of food, while the "addition" group received 50% more fruits and veggies. The "substitution" group also received 50% more fruits and veggies, but other parts of their meals were reduced. The results? The addition group ate 24% more fruits and veggies than the control group, while the substitution group upped their intake by a whopping 41%!

That said, even with these increases, the kids still didn’t hit their recommended daily veggie intake. But there was good news when it came to fruit—the addition and substitution groups met their fruit recommendations 45% and 57% of the time. 

Ready to give these strategies a try? When serving meals like macaroni and cheese with chicken and broccoli, use the substitution method: add a few extra broccoli florets and slightly reduce the macaroni. Or use the addition method when making frozen pizza—load it up with sliced mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions, and serve it alongside a Caesar salad. Simple tweaks like these can make a big difference in your child’s diet and help them develop healthier eating habits over time!

Published November 1, 2024