What has been the best thing about your Veggiecation training? I love having a framework to use in educating children on the importance of eating their veggies. So often they are just told to eat their veggies, when I teach a Veggiecation lesson, I am able to teach them “why” and make it relevant to them. And, having the stickers as motivation is sometimes just what it takes to get them to take that first try!

And VEN membership? I use the coloring sheets and family recipes every time I teach a lesson. These resources have been a huge hit with my students and help tie everything together!

What's your favorite anecdote about an especially cute or picky child? I teach classes once per month at my local Montessori school. Recently, the mom of one of my students who NEVER tries anything during class came up to me after an early morning workout. She told me that during dinner the night before during the usual “eat your veggies” struggle, she told her daughter that if she would just try it, she would find me and tell me. Her daughter agreed and tried the cauliflower. This story made my day and just goes to show that Veggiecation works...maybe not instantly, but it works!

What are your favorite recipes to use? I love to use the smoothie recipes. I mostly teach preschool and early elementary students and the smoothies are a great “gateway” to making intimidating veggies like spinach & kale less scary. And, if they try it...they usually like it. In a recent day of classes, I served the shamrock smoothie, out of 131 kids...126 tried the smoothie! That’s 126 kiddos who had kale in their diet that day. Needless to say, my dietitian heart was so happy!