Minnesota Mom Shares 7 Proven Tricks to Get Your Picky Eater to Love Vegetables!

Elizabeth Olson’s clever strategies promise to transform mealtime battles into veggie-loving victories for even the pickiest eaters. 🌐 #News #MaplewoodMN #Minnesota #Parenting

MAPLEWOOD, MN —Elizabeth Olson, a Maplewood, Minnesota, mom of a three-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, knows the struggle of getting picky eaters to embrace vegetables. Like many parents, she’s faced the stubborn refusals, pursed lips, and outright tantrums at the dinner table. But through trial, error, and a lot of creativity, Elizabeth has cracked the code. Her seven proven tricks have turned her kids into veggie enthusiasts, and she’s sharing them to help other parents win the same battle.

Trick 1: Make Vegetables the Star of the Story

Elizabeth discovered that storytelling can work wonders. She creates fun narratives where vegetables are the heroes—like “Broccoli the Brave” saving the day or “Carrot the Clever” outsmarting a villain. During meals, she weaves these tales, encouraging her kids to “help” the veggie characters by eating them. This imaginative approach makes vegetables exciting, not just food to push around the plate.

Trick 2: Sneak Veggies into Favorites

For days when storytelling isn’t enough, Elizabeth gets sneaky. She blends vegetables into kid-approved dishes, like pureeing spinach into mac-and-cheese sauce or mixing grated zucchini into pancake batter. Her kids devour these meals without suspecting the hidden greens, and she loves knowing they’re getting nutrients without a fight.

Trick 3: Let Them Play with Their Food

Elizabeth encourages her kids to interact with vegetables in playful ways. She sets up “veggie art” sessions where her three-year-old and five-year-old build towers with cucumber slices or create faces with bell pepper strips. This hands-on fun builds familiarity and reduces the intimidation factor, making kids more likely to take a bite.

Trick 4: Offer Choices, Not Ultimatums

Instead of demanding her kids eat their greens, Elizabeth gives them control. She offers two vegetable options at dinner, like peas or carrots, and lets them choose. This small sense of power makes her kids feel involved and less resistant, often leading them to try both options over time.

Trick 5: Turn Veggies into Snacks

Elizabeth noticed her kids are more open to new foods between meals. She keeps a “snack tray” of bite-sized veggies—like cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, or snap peas—on the counter. Paired with a fun dip like hummus or yogurt, these snacks disappear quickly as her kids graze throughout the day.

Trick 6: Grow a Tiny Garden Together

To spark curiosity, Elizabeth started a small kitchen garden with her children. They plant and care for easy-to-grow veggies like lettuce and radishes in pots. Watching their plants grow gives her kids a sense of pride, and they’re eager to taste the results of their efforts, even if it’s just a nibble.

Trick 7: Celebrate Every Small Win

Elizabeth makes a big deal out of every vegetable bite, no matter how small. A cheer, a high-five, or a silly dance rewards her kids for trying something new. This positive reinforcement builds confidence and turns veggie-eating into a fun, pride-filled moment rather than a chore.

Why These Tricks Work

Elizabeth’s strategies succeed because they focus on fun, empowerment, and gradual exposure. By making vegetables approachable and exciting, she’s helped her three-year-old son and five-year-old daughter go from veggie skeptics to enthusiastic eaters. Her tricks don’t rely on forcing or bribing but on building a positive relationship with food.

Try Them at Home

Parents everywhere can borrow Elizabeth’s playbook to tackle their own picky eater challenges. Start with one or two tricks, like storytelling or offering choices, and watch your kids’ attitudes toward vegetables shift. With patience and creativity, those mealtime battles can become a thing of the past, just as they have for this Maplewood mom. Have any tips or tricks of your own? Help other parents and share them in the comments section!