Home-Grown Vegetable Recipes for the Family

Corn-on-the-cob. Vegetable stew. Fried green tomatoes. Fresh spinach salad. Vegetable recipes elicit different memories for everyone. Some kids are lucky enough to grow up in a home where vegetable seeds are planted every spring to bring fresh vegetables to most meals.

In terms of taste, these vegetables certainly top any canned or frozen variety consumed by many families. Not to knock the convenience of that, but when you can get fresh, there is nothing like it.

Somehow "eating your vegetables" can be more enjoyable and less of a chore if you had a hand in the vegetable gardening. When gardening with children, you have an opportunity to show them what vegetables look like before they start to grow. Pretty soon they will be able to recognize cucumber seeds and seed potatoes; tomato blight; and garden plants and weed plants.

Get Them Excited About Vegetables

Get your children involved with vegetables in the garden and in the kitchen. Share your seed magazines with them. Demonstrate the basics of growing vegetables. Take them through the process of how each type starts from a seed and grows into a plant. Give them responsibilities, such as weeding, picking the ripe vegetables, planting the seeds, and pulling up the plants.

Consider involving kids in the whole process: have them wash the vegetables, pull off the stems, shell the peas, tear the lettuce, and stir the soup. Let them work at the table or stand on a chair at the counter as you work. Explain each step of the recipe and encourage their participation whenever possible.

Children take pride in their work when they are encouraged to participate. Learning about vegetables is a great way to understand nature. As an added benefit, you may see them eating their vegetables at dinner with more enthusiasm.

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