How to Make Veg Fun!

Claire Wright

Veg Power Editor and recipe creator Claire Wright shares our top tips to making veg fun and playful instead of a chore for kids using Eat Them To Defeat Them.

Veg and fun are perhaps not two words that we as parents naturally put together. Our kids certainly don’t seem to associate the two. But bringing play into engagement with veg and adding fun can turn something that can often feel like a battle into an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

The main reason why multi-award-winning campaign Eat Them To Defeat Them is so successful in getting kids to eat more veg is that it is fun! Kids love the story, the silly catchphrases, being on the same side as their parents as heroes, and the play involved in the game-like campaign. Bringing that play into mealtimes more can be the difference between a veg being tried or refused.

On top of the fun theme, Eat Them To Defeat Them brings in an ad campaign and celebrity support to build on excitement – meaning they want to eat veg so they can be involved! Schools taking part in the schools’ programme start the play by bringing in the story and some fun goals, and finding tasty and enjoyable ways to try particular veggies, rewarding with stickers. 

Repeating this fun and rewarding at home with our sticker and reward chart packs means that trying and eating these veg becomes the norm, developing long-term healthy habits!

This year, we’ve introduced a new way to make eating to defeat them fun with The Big Chomp! We are encouraging schools, families, and all the kids involved in the campaign to have fun making their veg-chomping entertaining and over-the-top, and sharing their “big chomps” with us and their families and friends. This is all about making the act of eating veg fun, and that playful attitude turns veg-eating into a positive experience for all.