I say Kids, but it can be for anyone who doesn’t like eating veggies.  The problme is that adults will still say no but the kids will think it’s awesome and want to eat them.  The trick – get them involved in the process!  What do I mean by that?  The answer … PURPLE BEANS … they’re MAGIC BEANS.

I was introduced to purple beans 2 years ago.  They were great tasting, but I discovered a surprise when I cooked them.  Have you figured it out yet?  Did you even know there was such a thing as purple beans?  I grew up on the what I call “regular” veggies.  Green and yellow beans, orange carrots, 1 type of turnip, 1 type of squash, new potatoes, cooking potatoes, and red potatoes, corn, hmmm… I might be forgetting something but you know what I mean.  The last few years I have discovered a whole new world of veggies out there!  It’s almost mind blowing.

Anyway, back to the magic… I mean purple beans.  Here is how to get your kids to eat their beans.

• Step 1 – buy purple bean seeds.
• Step 2 – with your child, plant bean seeds in the house (around end of April)
• Step 3 – when they grow a little transplant them outside into a garden (you can skip the inside step and plant outside – that’s what I did)
• Step 4 – with your child, take care of the beans – water them, weed them, water them, weed them some more.  It’s a lot of work!  Provide bug spray to avoid itchy bites and whinny kids and adults!
• Step 5 – when they are ready – pick the beans!  If you grow a long row like I did you will have to pick them every few days.
• Step 6 – wash the beans.
• Step 7 – snip the beans to the size you want and then put in a pot to boil.
• Step 8 – Allow your child to watch the beans cook – the beans turn a different colour!  They turn GREEN.  Does that make them green beans?  This is the magic part.  For the element of surprise put them in the pot and let them cook and then show the kids they changed colour. This might not work for the skeptic – the kid might think you switched the beans that’s why it’s good for them to watch0.
• Step 9 – after the kids see how magical the beans are and being part of the process of planting, taking care of them, and cooking them they will want to eat their purple beans… which in the end aren’t purple.

If you aren’t able to grow your own beans, find a farmer’s market near you.  Chances are you won’t find purple beans in the grocery store.  You will have to find a market or local farmer.

They are quite tasty.  I eat them raw as a snack. They are nice and filling.  It doesn’t beat a handful of chips but it is sure a lot better for you!  I love the option of going and picking a handful from the garden and munching away.

Tip: Be sure that your child is part of the full process – even if I didn’t say in the step to involve them.

If you don’t have kids this is for you too.  Everyone needs to eat their veggies!

What kind of new veggies have you come across lately? or How do you get the little ones in your life to eat their veggies?