How to Trick Your Toddler into Eating Swiss Chard

In my house, green food items on the high chair tray get a one-way ticket overboard. They may get to stick around while the superior food items are eaten, but they inevitably fall to their hardwood demise, where we let them dry out, then vacuum them up later with the stick vacuum.

*sigh*

But I am “stealth health mom” (take note, Wonder Woman producers), and I have devised the most clever plan in the history of mom-dom to get my toddler to eat Swiss chard.

Here is the secret formula:

Serve the Swiss chard with something that is MORE green than Swiss chard.

Avocados, for example. They are lovely and beautiful. Such a nice, soft green color. Who wouldn’t want to eat avocados? (My kid.)

The toddler may think she knows what the color green is. She is so smart, she has these “color things” figured out. Serve Swiss chard with eggs? Hope you like cleaning up soggy green lumps on the floor.

But when the Swiss chard is placed next to the avocado, the toddler’s mind is blown because THERE CAN’T POSSIBLY BE TWO COLORS OF GREEN. The toddler will pause to do a little mental compartmentalization–fire a few neurons, destroy a couple pathways in the brain–then, after several seconds of suspense, venture to try the thing that is not green, which, in this case, is the Swiss chard.

VICTORY.

Unfortunately, this will only work once. You may have caught her off guard this time. Maybe she was in a good mood.

She’ll be ready for you next time.