Broccoli vs. Trees

I used to read articles by parents who struggled to get their kids to eat vegetables and think, “You’re doing it wrong!” I, in my infinite wisdom, knew better than them. The trick is early and frequent exposure; everyone knows that! Silly parents, I thought, get with the program.

Then my veggie-eater decided she didn’t like broccoli.

Broccoli is one of my personal favorites. I like it raw, plain, dipped in dressing, steamed, smothered with cheese, stir-fried, baked on pizza…I could go on. My daughter shared my love of broccoli until she was three and a half. One evening at the dinner table, she looked at her bowl of pasta-with-uber-veggie-sauce and spoke four words I never thought I'd hear from her: “I don’t like broccoli!”

I was stunned. I insisted she eat it anyway; of course she liked broccoli, she’d always liked it. This resulted in a battle of wills (for anyone who has never entered a battle of wills with a preschooler, it's like arguing with a brick wall...one that can scream and throw things).

I’d heard many times the tip of calling broccoli “tiny trees” to trick kids into wanting to eat it. I was horrified by the idea of lying to my child; I also flat-out refused to call anything by an incorrect name. Broccoli is broccoli, it is delicious, she’d always eaten it before and she WILL eat it again, I stubbornly thought to myself. I continued to serve it every day, prepared differently each time but still calling it broccoli. She continued to refuse to eat it.

After a while I gave up. I stopped serving it. I bemoaned my failure as a parent. I had several more people suggest the “call-it-tiny-trees” method. Still I resisted.

Then, in the aftermath of a family crisis, my aunt repeated the suggestion when we were discussing the issue. For some reason, hearing it from her was different than hearing it from anyone else. I decided to finally give it a try.

The next time we were somewhere with a veggie tray that contained broccoli, I pointed to it and said, “Oh, look! They have trees!” My daughter looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Mom, that’s broccoli and I don’t like it.”
“No, it’s trees! I know it looks like broccoli, but it’s actually trees. They’re really yummy, you should try some.” To my surprise, she took a bite.
“Mmmm, I like trees!” she said, as she finished her first piece and reached for a second.

Mission accomplished.