My Teen Hates Vegetables

My Teen Hates Vegetables

Hi, friends, today I am going to share a little bit of my family life. I am not going to beat around the bush but just say it. My teen hates vegetables. It simply drives me crazy. And to make it really difficult, he is the most stubborn person I have ever met. Trying to trick, bribe, beg, plead and yes, guilt him into eating vegetables has been a complete disaster. I feel the mom failure cloud looming over my head and it is not a great feeling.

Deep down I know my kid needs to eat his greens. I am just baffled that I am going to have to go to the mats to get this to happen. I have just a few more years of him in this house and something drastic has to change. So, if you are in the same boat, you might want to check back each week this month and find out our progress!

My Teen Hates Vegetables and Here Is My Plan

Go Team Green!   You see, I am really trying to stay positive.  After all, the way to succeed at goals, it to keep on keeping on, never give up, and make a plan.  So that is what I am doing these next few weeks.

I am creating a goal, writing steps to achieve the goal, and then implementing.

My goal for my meat eater is to add three more vegetables to his food repertoire this month. I don’t mean, the three bite rule, which has never worked! I mean one portion of meat, one of the grains, and two real servings of vegetables.  This is not going to be an easy task, I am dealing with Captain Stubborn.

 

Steps To My Goal Of This Vegetable Mission

• Goal: Add Three More Vegetables to Meals That Will Be Readily Eaten
• Make It Happen: Have meals at home. No sense in battling a teen at a restaurant thinks could get out of hand. Teens have been known to have a short fuse and I don’t want to hear the fireworks when they start exploding.
• Plan, Plan, Plan: Planning the meals will have to be very science like.  No sugar snacks, because then the vegetables will taste even more bitter. Balance the good and the new. I plan on allowing my picky teen to choose his protein and grains.
• Serve Dinner Like A  Pro:  Going to make meals beautiful and eventful.  Meals are going to look fabulous, and there will be candles!
• Secret: I am not really going to tell him that he has become my personal mission. I am just going to be truthful and say this family needs to eat healthier and that includes you.
• Transparent: I am also going to post our menu plan on the board, in plain view.  This will allow everyone in the house to recognize that dinner is not just about the meat. How many times have you seen meal plans are written and they only state the main course? It’s like the veggies and fruits are just thrown on the plate because you feel like you need to add some.

I am going to try and make Vegetables and Fruits the focus on the plates! Yep!

And on that note: Here is Our Menu Plan For The Week

 

My Teen Hates Vegetables and Here Is Our Menu

• Monday- Buttery Lemon Pasta with Parsley, Vegetable Strips ( Red Peppers and Carrots) with a Thai Peanut Sauce.
• Tuesday – Burgers with Pickles, Baked Fries, and the leftover Vegetable Strips with more Thai Peanut Sauce.
• Wednesday – Sheet Pan Supper- Lemon Chicken with potatoes, and green beans. This is a real stretch, but I am going to serve some wonderful sourdough toast with this with plenty of real butter. We are going to try those green beans because by golly they are momma’s favorite!
• Thursday – Breakfast for Dinner  – Waffles, Bacon, and Fruit with Spicy Southern Funeral Potatoes.
• Friday – Dinner Out – With a short reminder to myself to lead by example.
• Saturday -Grilled Cheese with you guessed it vegetable strips.
• Sunday – Leftover Pulled Pork from the Freezer, Baked Potatoes, and Fruit Salad.  ( Instant Pot Kalua Pork, so darn good!

What is so great about this menu plan, is that it is super affordable because of the repetition of the veggie strips and keeping it simple!

I am linking up with menu plan Monday, lots of good ideas!