Blerg. Brainwash them, in other words, with cartoon language? I ate almost no vegetables (except my mom's homemade spaghetti sauce and raw carrots) until about the age of 12. Then I fell in love with them. Vegetables are strong flavors, maybe that's why many kids have an issue with them. I say ask kids to keep trying, offer reasonable alternatives (raw carrots are a start) and let it go. Eventually I think they will grow into it. I eat everything now. It's keeping the channels open to try things, but forcing wouldn't have worked for me.

We just didn't have the option not to like them as kids...a. we ate what we were given, the end, and b. we were never exposed to a cultural bias against veggies: we helped grow them, pick them, mom and dad liked them...so of course we ate them.

Also, to be fair, on the few occasions I had to eat school lunch - I REFUSED to eat the "veggies"...I think on one occasion the school nutritionist called my parents who found the whole thing quite amusing (canned green beans are NOT veggies!)

I don't really agree with hiding vegetables or giving an "irresistible new name". So many kids have no notion about where their food comes from. As above posters have said, it's more to do with offering vegetables as an integral part of the meal so it becomes the norm to have veg on the plate. I would prefer to educate kids about the provenance of their food by getting them to help grow vegetables (some schools in the UK do this), and by involving them in the preparation and cooking of veg. Same goes for meat - don't gloss over what animal their meat comes from.

We call green smoothies Monster Snot and my kids would drink it by the gallon if I let em ;)

Ha ha. Did anyone else hear Wait Wait Don't Tell Me poking fun at this study last week? They were joking about grown up Billy going on a first date with a girl at a fancy restaurant and ordering X-Ray Vision Carrots. It was pretty funny.

I understand the philosophical objections, but if this is what it took to get my kids to like and enjoy veggies then I would do it. Carrots ARE good for your vision, and broccoli DOES give you power. So it's not lying at all. (PS I don't have kids yet.)

I agree with the comments above. if children don't want to eat vegetables they shouldn't be tricked into eating them- even if they suffer from malnutrition and or starve. By tricking our children into eating vegetables by hiding them or giving them funny names, we might avoid unhappy meal times and struggles, but really- is it worth it if our kids eat a balanced meal?

Oh super, one more thing making me question my desire to have children someday.

Are kids popping out this spoiled or are parents just this spineless these days?

I have always found that kids are more likely to eat veggies raw....chopped up & offered with some dipping sauce. I always had this on the table at every meal time and my son ate different kind of veggies with absolutely no problems. He's friends would try them too!

Wait, so you would literally rather that children suffer from malnutrition and/or starve than refer to carrots as "x-ray vision carrots"?

Some kids are extremely spoiled these days by some parents who think they should get to make all their own decisions! However I agree this may be a good method. Kids do have much stronger taste buds and forcing a kid to eat something is quite a bit more severe than telling them to have manners and be responsible. (ps How about Kryptonite Kale?) :D

Paley - This seems a little harsh, don't you think? Letting kids starve and suffer from malnutrition rather than playing a simple word game?

I don't have kids yet and my brother and I were fortunate enough to grow up in a household that offered some GREAT eats out of our own garden, but I remember a lot of my friends who didn't. Most have since grown into their love of veg and I believe that's the case all around.

I say insist your kids try the foods and if they don't like it just give them time. Most come around in their older years.

I guess I'm in the minority but I don't see anything wrong with calling veggies something fun to encourage kids to eat them. None of you had sandwiches cut into a funny shape? Or pancakes shaped like letters? Or made a smiley face with the jam in your peanut butter and jam sandwich? I don't see how it's any different than a restaurant picking an appealing name for a dish or cocktail. Food should be enjoyed on multiple levels for by all ages and for kids that might mean adding a sense of whimsy or a fun name.

I see no problem with giving clever or fun names to healthy foods if it gets kids to eat them. Health vs. semantics... no contest, imo. Hiding veggies as ingredients (zucchini chocolate cake?) is fine by me too.

"so you would literally rather that children suffer from malnutrition and/or starve than refer to carrots as "x-ray vision carrots"?"

If a kid was starving, I think s/he would eat the carrot, x-ray vision or no.

Wow- I take it these holier than thou comments come from people who do not actually have children. There is a difference between giving vegetables funny names and "hiding" them in brownies or what-not. And I don't know about spoiled kids being allowed to make their own decisions- you certainly can't force a child to eat something they don't want to. My kids are always served what their parents are eating and they like most vegetable. However, my daughter developed a deep animosity to Kale when she was 3. So, one day I told her I was serving Ookily-Bookily leaves from Australia instead. She tried it. She liked it. She ate it for about a year before I told her the very special secret that ookily-bookily leaves are actually kale. And now she happily eats kale.
Kids are not mini-adults. Sometimes you have to make things more fun or creative. That's part of parenting.

When I was a little girl, I ate what was served. There wasn't room for negotiation. Sandwiches weren't cut in to fun shapes, veggies weren't dressed up or hidden. I was given the same plate of food as everyone else. Eat what was served or go to bed hungry. I went to bed hungry 1 time. Never did it again after that. I can't possibly have been unusual.

We have 2 vegetable side dishes with our dinner every single day. My 6 year old son has always loved his veggies, but we do come across those stubborn days. A little threat of getting his butt whooped, and the veggies disappear. Kids learn how to get their way. Too many kids these days get away with everything, our bought everything they want, and never disciplined. That is why kids these days don't eat their veggies, they know nothing will happen to them if they don't. I see it every day with co-workers, friends and family members and their children.

The comments here are kind of judgey wudgey. I can remember my mom calling broccoli "little trees" and it hasn't prevented me from understanding what they are as an adult. And since Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street liked to eat cabbage, she called brussel's sprouts "little Snuffies". It's a nice memory.

Cosigned @jennybell

i was being sarcastic. this was my response to all of the judgement from what i presume childless commentators. parenthood is hard enough without people calling us spineless and our children spoiled. what parent actively seeks out to ruin their children?

fyi: negotiation, threats and starving my two year old out haven't worked. (its war people- all is fair.) i would hide veggies in my shoes if it would work. i also name all veggies panda food, lion food, and dinosaur food on a regular basis.

Hiding vegetables in food scares me a bit. AT did just post a pretty good story about how milk could negate the benefits of black tea. I am a strong believer that this is true for many foods - the fatty sugary stuff could kill absorption of the nutritents. Not that we shouldn't be clever, just informed about how stuff affects our wonderful veggies. :)

@Paley - so sorry I misinterpreted your comment. I thought it seemed a little extreme. I've always said there should be a sarcasm font!

I suppose this counts. When I was little my mother used food as part of my secondary language acquisition. I learned all the names of the foods on my plate in French before I learnt them in English.

I don't see why so many people are so uppity about this. Sure, we had a garden growing up that I helped with and yes I was made to eat what adults ate (veggies and all). But HECK YES as a kid I'd have been more willing to try super strength popeye spinach or fairy hair bean sprouts than I was to eat the run of the mill kind.

When 'real' foods are literally competing with things like gummy brightly colored sugar fruit snacks with neon goo centers, why not give the 'real' food all the free help it can get? It's not like it was 50 years ago (sorry old folks). Food marketing is big business and parents and schools can't just put their fingers in their ears and pretend it doesn't exist.

And for goodness sake, can't we all have fun with our foods? I'm a full grown adult and I still love a good themed food at an event or party. I'm trying to find a good political pun-y food right now for a debate party. Have a little fun! Geez.

My toddler has a wonderful imagination. She also loves to say "No!" just because she can. So when she refused to eat one of her favorite foods - Grapes - we offered her Crunchy Frogs, which she thought might taste yummy. She fully knows that they're grapes, but they're just placed on her plate in an abstract frog shape. So, yeah, catchy names are a hit here.

I admit it - we called brussels sprouts "green basketballs." It worked for YEARS.

@Jsenpai: I think the judgment cuts both ways. Parents who expect their kids to eat what is put in front of them are not tyrants doing daily battle at mealtimes. I don't really care how anyone chooses to get their kids to eat veg or any other foods. What worked best for my family was just the expectation that everyone eats what someone has lovingly cooked for them. There was no screaming, spanking or sitting for hours at the table, just certain expectations.

My kids are grown and still call hominy "jumping beans." I say do whatever it takes.