Your Question: "My child refuses green vegetables. What do I do?"
- Karlien
- Jan 12, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Question: "My 1-year-old refuses to eat green vegetables. Do I make some snacks with only vegetables and then be okay if he doesn't eat anything? Or do I keep serving it as an option on the side? I want him to love eating healthy like I do, but he only wants to eat fruit."
As a mother of two, I understand the challenges and pressures of feeding a 1-year-old. It can be an enjoyable experience, but for the most part, it requires lots of planning and patience. Many parents are concerned about what to do if their child refuses to eat green vegetables. To answer, I will explore the key aspects to consider, along with practical, research-based strategies and tips that honour your child's preferences and offer the best chance to instil a lifelong appreciation of a variety of nutritious foods.
1. Get Curious About Your Triggers.
It's common for parents to be triggered when their child resists certain foods, especially those they believe are important for growth and nourishment, such as protein-rich foods or green vegetables. Before jumping into strategies or solutions, it can be helpful to pause and get curious about why this feels so stressful for you. Is there an extra layer of pressure under the surface we aren't aware of. When we understand our own reactions, everything that follows becomes much easier to implement.
As parents, we often slip into catastrophising - imagining the worst-case scenario for the future. Don't worry, I do this too! For example, when an infant or toddler refuses eating their broccoli, we may feel like it means they will never like "healthy" food. In reality, this kind of food resistance is common and does not predict a child’s long-term relationship with food.
Many parents, particularly mothers, also carry the heavy weight of societal expectations around feeding. There’s an unspoken message that “good parenting” looks like a child who happily eats broccoli and kale. When a child resists those foods, it can feel like a personal failure, adding another layer of pressure and self-doubt.
I want to be very clear: your worth as a parent is not measured by what your child eats — or doesn’t eat. Feeding is one small part of parenting, and perfection was never the goal.
Green vegetables can be a valuable part of a child’s diet, as they do provide important nutrients. But it’s easy to slip into over-focusing on one particular type of food and using it as a marker of “good eating.” A diet that supports growth and health is built over time and includes a wide range of nutrients from many different foods.
Different colours, textures, and food groups contribute different nutrients. All vegetables and fruits offer something unique, not just the green ones. Many green vegetables fall into the cruciferous vegetable family, but so do vegetables that aren’t green at all, such as cauliflower and cabbage. They provide similar nutrients, just packaged differently.
It’s also worth remembering that some nutrients often get less attention but are just as important. Iron, for example, plays a key role in growth, energy levels, brain development, and concentration. Iron-rich foods can come from many places, including:
Red meat, chicken, and fish
Eggs
Lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes
Tofu and tempeh
Fortified cereals and breads
Nuts and seeds (served as spreads at this age)
When we zoom out and look at the bigger picture, it becomes clear that no single food makes or breaks a child’s diet. Variety, exposure, and consistency over time matter far more than whether one particular vegetable is eaten today.
NOTE: Don't be pressured into choosing specific types of green vegetables that might be imported and expensive just because you saw them in a recipe book or on social media. There is nothing wrong with trying new foods. Still, most places have local green vegetables that are delicious, affordable, nutritious and culturally acceptable, such as cai xin (choy sum) in Singapore and marog spinach in South Africa.
3. The Less Pressure, The Better
It's natural to want your child to eat healthy foods, but using forceful or manipulative methods can backfire. If you pressure or bribe your child into eating certain foods, they may develop negative associations with those foods and become even less willing to try them. Avoid offering treats as a reward for eating vegetables, as this can send the message that some foods are more desirable than others and can lead to the opposite of the behaviour you want to encourage. I would also discourage more subtle forms of pressure, such as overhyping the food ("Oooh, this is so yummy") or making aeroplane sounds to "get your child to eat".
Instead, try to create a positive and relaxed mealtime atmosphere. Many children naturally dislike the taste of dark green vegetables, influenced by factors like genetics. Some people are supertasters and may detect bitter tastes more intensely, contributing to this aversion. Evolutionary psychology theories suggest that toddlers' wariness of unfamiliar, brightly coloured foods and an aversion to bitterness may have evolved as protective behaviours.
Children's tastes evolve, and their way of learning to eat is unique. Approaching each meal with patience, positivity, and an understanding that everyone is different helps reduce stress and anxiety and creates a low-stress environment for your child to feel confident and secure around mealtimes.
4. Model the Behaviour
Modelling behaviour is a powerful tool in shaping many children's habits, and this principle holds when it comes to encouraging healthy eating, particularly with vegetables.
Most children are keen observers, often imitating the actions of those around them, especially their parents or caregivers. When they witness adults consistently choosing and enjoying a variety of vegetables, it sends a clear message that these foods are acceptable and enjoyable. However, there is no need for dramatics or exaggeration in promoting food.
When they are older, involving your child in the process, such as shopping for veggies or letting them assist in meal preparation, further reinforces the idea that vegetables are an integral and enjoyable part of daily life. One of the first activities your little one can help you with when he is older is rinsing and tearing leafy greens.
5. Continue to Offer Vegetables Regularly in a Low-Pressure Way
When parents are overly concerned about the quantity children eat, they may stop offering previously rejected food. Unfortunately, this practice is known as "catering" and limits a child's exposure to different foods. Regular exposure and consistency are crucial when introducing new foods to young children. (Please note that "catering" is different to accommodating, for example, an autistic child's specific sensory needs, which are advised.)
Even if your 1-year-old does not touch their green vegetables, it doesn't mean they never will. Keep serving them vegetables as part of meals, starting with a small portion to avoid waste. Research shows that some children begin to eat new foods only after being exposed to them multiple times in a low-pressure environment. Be patient, and with time, your child may become more open to the idea of including green vegetables in their diet. Remember, there is always a chance they will never learn to like green vegetables, and you know what - that's also okay. But forcing them to eat will only worsen the situation.
Eating together regularly and serving meals family-style brings together modelling the behaviour and offering the vegetables in a low-pressure way.
Remember that as the parent, you decide mostly what goes on the plate, and your child can choose if and how much they want to eat. When mealtimes are enjoyable, and your child feels safe, they will be more open to trying new things.
6. Try to See Things From Your Child's Point of View
If you dislike fish, it's unlikely that you'll be interested in trying dishes like sashimi or a whole sardine, even if they are served frequently. However, you may be more willing to give it a chance if it is prepared differently, such as a crispy fish goujon or fish cake, and served with your favourite dipping sauce.
What about a type of food you have never tried before, like a Jicama (a Mexican starchy root vegetable) or something you don't even know what it is? What would make you feel safe or more confident about trying it? For example:
Exploring the food before feeling pressured to eat it might be helpful.
You could observe others eating it and maybe even investigate it with utensils or your hands.
If you try it and don't like it, you should feel free to spit it out.
If someone forced you to eat it, and you gagged while eating it. How would you think the next time it is served?
Like you, children need to be free to make their own choices and not feel obligated to put something in their bodies, no matter "how good it is for you" (often called body autonomy).
7. Get Creative and Mix it Up
Sometimes, it's not the vegetable but the cooking method, the preparation or the texture of food that puts children off. Experiment with different cooking techniques to explore your child's preferences. The variety in textures and flavours might make the veggies more appealing to your little one.
Here are some additional ideas to try with your 1-year-old:
Pesto or pistou.
For a quick, more affordable and plant-based option, blitz together 2 cups fresh spinach, ½ cup soaked cashews, garlic, lemon juice and a little nutritional yeast.
This can be used as a sauce for lentil/chickpea pasta, noodles, rice or protein such as chicken or as a dipping sauce.
Green scrambled eggs or omelette (blitz spinach with an egg before cooking).
Creamy broccoli sauce (recipe below).
Green vegetable fritters or pancakes (recipe below).
Veggie Sprinkles (finely chop spinach or broccoli and use as sprinkles for rice, pizza or noodles).
Roasted kale chips (rub with olive oil and a little salt and make them in the air fryer or oven so they're crispy and easier to eat).
Broccomole (blitz avocado and broccoli, serving as a dip or spread onto toast).
Green smoothie (serve in a straw cup or freeze as teething popsicles)
Palak sauce (keep it mild if your child is not used to spice; serve with paneer or tofu).
NOTE: Serving vegetables differently or adding them to meals is not the same as "hiding vegetables" or tricking children into eating a part. Ifood, as I have found, this strategy generally backfires. I recommend you stay open and honest about what you are serving, for example, "I have made some spinach pancakes today. Look how green they are."
Creamy broccoli sauce
½ head broccoli, roughly chopped
2 courgettes, roughly chopped
1-2 tbsp full-fat cream cheese or feta or ricotta
Boil or steam the broccoli and courgettes. Leave it to cool a little and blitz it with cheese, a dash of olive oil, or drained pasta water if needed. Toss through pasta and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. OR serve as a dipping sauce.
Green Veggie-based pancakes
100ml milk of your choice
1 egg
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup oats
100g chopped apple & large handful baby spinach
Blitz together and cook pancakes in a hot pan as usual.
8. Serve Green Vegetables with a Preferred Food
Although it might feel smart to serve only the disliked food to "get a child to eat something", it seldom works and often causes more problems. A more effective strategy is to pair the disliked food with a food your child already likes or accepts. This can make the overall meal more enticing. For example, serve a green veggie pasta sauce with pasta.
Serving the non-preferred food with a preferred food helps to keep mealtimes calm. Your child has something to eat and fill up on, and you are not stuck with hard choices if he doesn't want to eat.
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