Shocking New Study Discovers That Kids Will Eat Vegetables – If They Are Sugar Coated

shutterstock_127135730The University of Connecticut’s Department of Nutritional Sciences discovered that preschool children ate more vegetables that were sweetened with sugar than standard veggies. As I have stated many times on Mommyish before, I am not an actual scientist, but I am a scientist when it comes to things like sugar, and things that you put in your mouth hole, so as this type of scientist I can state for the record that my official stance on this study is:

Of course kids will eat vegetables that are covered in sugar, doy.

(I really hope some amazing medical journal uses the above as my official quote. )

This professor named Valerie Duffy made this discovery and got to share it at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston. It should also be noted that I have never been invited to share my findings at any annual science conventions, including my intense study where I discovered that if you eat too many pieces of Warhead candy you can make the inside of your mouth bleed. I’m thinking if I owned a lab coat I may be invited next year to reveal my findings. Anyway, according to The Daily Mail:

There she made it clear that the sweet mist is not designed to be used for extended periods, but just as a tool to get children eating vegetables.

Once this has been achieved the sugar can be left out of savory meals.

The researchers also say that the mist doesn’t add many calories to a meal. Duffy said they add half a teaspoon of sugar, about eight calories, to three-fourths of a cup of vegetables.

I never had issues with my kids eating vegetables, even if I didn’t cover them in sugar and chocolate and sprinkles and jimmies, and don’t we give our kids enough sugar on a daily basis that we can sort of leave vegetables out of the sugar bowl? Aren’t vegetables good enough presented how they are found in nature, with garlic butter and sea salt or in a nice salad infused with lemony balsamic and fresh cracked pepper?

Kids go through phases. When mine were toddlers the only vegetables they really cared about where grapes (and ugh, did you do that thing with grapes where you actually sliced them for your little ones to make them less choke-y? That sucked, stupid slippery grapes) and carrot sticks. I realize that grapes are not scientifically a vegetable, but they do fall under the scientific category of : Things my kids ate that were not grilled cheese. Now they are all champion vegetable eaters judging by the amount of kale I have to roast in a week. Even though, as a scientist, I respect my fellow scientist’s findings (Us people in the science community stick together like that) I still think we can kinda leave the sugar where it belongs. On delicious, delicious candy. In my mouth.

(Photo: Serhiy Kobyakov/shutterstock)

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