Do you ever feel frustrated that your vegan child is not trying their vegetables? 

If you said yes, you’re not alone. I myself have experienced many times when my 2 year old daughter doesn’t try her broccoli or leafy greens—let alone touch them in any way. 

The “how do I get my child to eat” question is one of the biggest, most common questions I get asked from vegan parents just like yourself. So much so that at the end of the day you feel that your son or daughter are starting to be “picky eaters”. 

Helping our vegan children try their vegetables is important for them to meet their nutrient needs and thrive on a vegan diet..

But it’s even more important to have strategies that establish healthy eating habits so that our vegan kids can learn to “like” all foods throughout their life. This is the time, when they are young and just learning about food, that we can teach them eating habits they can carry throughout their growing childhood.  

So, today I’m going to walk you through one strategy that helps your child try whatever plant food—a vegetable, grain, legume—you want to help them to learn to “like”. This single strategy helps your child engage with that particular vegetable or grain, helping them move closer to actually trying and taking a bite, and ultimately helping you feel less anxious and frustrated around this topic. 

This strategy involves the use of a tahini recipe, which serves two purposes: meeting your vegan child’s nutritional needs and helping them try plant foods. 

Helping your child learn to “like” vegetables entails much more than the one strategy I cover here today but my hope is that this will help you move toward breaking away from the question of “how do I get my vegan child to try _____”. 

This tahini recipe can be turned into a creamy sauce, dressing, or a dip that your vegan child can use for their vegetables (or crackers!).

When you give this kid-friendly recipe a try, you’ll not only feel more at ease knowing that your vegan child is meeting their key nutrients, such as calcium, iron, calories, and fat. But you’ll also allow your child to have autonomy at meal times, making them feel that they have control over their food choices by simply being able to prepare the meal that’s in front of them. 

Children love independence. They want to have a choice and they can do so through their actions, making them feel more fulfilled. By inviting your vegan child to pour the designated amount of dressing they choose to add to their meal/bowl, they get to have some sort of engagement with their meal. They get to see the process of preparing their meal. And this is what helps them want to try their food. 

Will you give this recipe and strategy a try? Let me know in the comments below what vegetable or plant food you’ll make this with your vegan child.

Tahini Dill Dressing (or Dip)

Total Time: 5 - 8 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cup (130gm) tahini, unsweetened

• 1 teaspoon (2gm) garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon (2gm) onion powder

• 1 teaspoon (1gm) dried dill (you can use fresh too)

• 4 teaspoons (6gm) nutritional yeast

• ½ teaspoon (4gm) salt (optional—see notes; I use and recommend iodized)

• 1 tablespoon (13gm) extra virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup (55ml) lemon juice

• 4 to 7 tablespoons (60 to 105ml) of water (see Step #2 for desired consistency)
  

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients in the order they are listed and mix until well combined. (you can adjust the taste by adding more olive oil for a milder and subtle taste. I sometimes add a little extra lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt for my taste preference). 

2. To make this recipe into a dip, add 4 tablespoons of water. To make this a dressing or sauce, add about 7 tablespoons of water or continue adding 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Notes

• If you make this for infants under the age of 12 months, I recommend either omitting the salt or removing a small portion of the dressing/dip to reserve for them and then add the salt to remaining dressing. Amount suggested in recipe is okay for toddlers and children.

• If you make this into a dip, you can include this in your child’s school lunch for them to dip their vegetables, crackers, or tortilla chips. It makes a great pair for kids to have a little fun with their food.

• Store in an air tight container for about 1-3 weeks. You may notice it thickens as it sits refrigerated so you can adjust the consistency with a bit of water or lemon juice.