Everyone Around the Table

This month we are talking about kids and vegetables in a series called Veggie-Eating Kids. Look for tips to help kids get over their veggie fears.

It’s a rare child who will willingly and happily gobble up vegetables.

One way to spark some enthusiasm though is to get kids involved in planting veggies, even if the only space you have is in a pot or window box. Let the child pick out at least one of the items to be grown and have them nurture the seedlings until they are ready to eat.

Another way to get kids interested in veggies is to take them to the farmer’s market. They will be able to meet the people who, just that morning, got up very early and picked the very vegetables that they can enjoy that day. It’s a cool concept (and a strong work-ethic to inspire). Veggies that come from the ground instead of the freezer section. It gives the food an interesting story. And it’s far different from vegetables being just another item on the grocery list, like crackers and toilet paper.

Since kids respond to things that are different and even a little odd, they will probably be excited to find a rainbow of odd veggies at the farmer’s market. At different times throughout the year you might find purple carrots, yellow beans, and red potatoes, oh my! It seems like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. I asked Jennifer Thomas of the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield what differently colored vegetables they grow at their Community Supporting Agriculture (CSA) program (http://www.botanicgardens.org/content/community-supporting-agriculture) . Look for similar veggies at your farmer’s market, in your local CSA, at some grocery stores, or in seed form to grow in your own garden next year:

• Snap Beans in royal burgundy (Purple), Carson (Yellow)

• Carrots Rainbow mix (yellow, purple, red), purple haze (purple)

• Cucumbers Lemon (yellow), Suyo long (long funky shaped)

• Eggplant Snowy (White)

• Lettuce butterhead Nancy (very tender)

• Watermelon moon and stars (yellow specks on the outside)

• Opal basil (purple, not as tender but fun in color)

• Turnips purple top white globe (as in the name)

• Potatoes purple Peruvian (purple fingerling), red cloud (red), purple majestic (purple)

Use the color variety to create a rainbow of summer dishes like salads, pasta salads and grilled veggie mixes that look fun to eat.

Stay tuned for the next post in the Veggie-Eating Kids series for creative ways to let your kids “play” with their vegetables.

Also, read “Kids Can Love Veggies” on page 44 of the July issue of Colorado Parent at www.ColoradoParent.com.