Ways to get your Superhero to Eat His Veggies {June BabbaBox Activities}

As I mentioned in my previous BabbaBox post (BabbaBox: a cool learning tool for kids), we are big fans of BabbaCo and their monthly BabbaBoxes.

So, we are very excited to be teaming up with BabbaCo to share a new monthly summer series with you where we will feature book-related crafts and activities created exclusively to go along with the children's books included in each BabbaBox. 

The June BabbaBox (arriving this week) includes the Charlie and Lola book I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child.

This book is adorable and tells the story of how Charlie gets his little sister (a very fussy and picky eater) to eat her vegetables!

We have a similar situation at our house... except my 4-year-old is the picky eater (not my toddler). After reading this book and listening to all of the silly ways that Charlie uses to get his sister to eat her veggies, my son decided that superhero powers (and a cape) could definitely help him (and his sister) eat their veggies.

Here are some crafts and activities we came up with to get your superhero to eat his veggies (or at least like them a little bit more)!

1. Brainstorm your favorite veggies and fruits... and then turn them into SUPERHEROES!

We started off by making a list of our favorite veggies and fruits (and ones we didn't like so much). We did this mostly outloud on errands while we were driving. Some of our best creative ideas come when my son and I have downtime in the car.

Here were a few fruits/veggies that were mentioned: pineapple, strawberry, apple, tomato, broccoli, corn, etc.

Then we goofed around with our favorite superhero names and changed them by adding a veggie or fruit into the name.

Captain Tomato... Strawberry Girl... Broccoli Woman... Pineapple Man... were just a few that we came up with.

2. Design your superhero fruit & veggie logos with play-doh.

We have been loving play-doh and play-doh mats recently, so we created a very simple play-doh mat for you to print out and use for designing. You can download the blank Superhero Logo play-doh mat here.

All you do is print out the mat onto cardstock, cover it with contact paper (or laminate it), adhere it to your table somehow (we just stuck the contact paper straight onto the table), and then grab your play-doh and start creating!! If you need a visual, you can check out our recent five little duckling play-doh mats here.

If you're not a play-doh lover, your kids could also design their logos with crayons or markers. Here are the logos we created for Captain Tomato and Pineapple Man!! (we ended up changing the shield into an orange circle though)

3. Make no-sew and sticker SUPERHERO capes!

This activity was partially a mom project. I followed this fabulous no-sew cape tutorial on Jollymom and created a double-sided cape for both my son and daughter based on the superheroes my son chose for them. He wanted his cape to be for Captain Tomato and Pineapple Man, so I put a logo on both sides of his felt cape.

I am not a seamstress or a huge fan of doing anything with fabric (or even much with felt), so when I say these are EASY... take me at my word. I am now going to turn into a no-sew cape making machine. By putting a logo on each side my son can change his mind about which character he wants to be in the middle of playing.

Being Captain America or Superman is cool... but being Captain Tomato or Pineapple Man is hysterical. My son kept cracking himself up when he'd run around and yell who he was- "I'm PINEAPPLE MAN! Here to save the day!"

While I crafted with felt and my glue gun, I set up a little kid no-sew station using foam sticker paper. My son got several sheets of foam sticky paper and stickers and got to create his own foam no-sew cape while I finished up his felt cape creation. Both of us had fun creating together... and the sticker activity kept my son from messing around with my glue gun and scissors. Here is an example of one of the sticker activities.

4. Put on your capes, get in the car, and go on a rainbow hunt at the grocery store!! 

We do this activity once a week and it is a big hit with my kids. It has helped us learn about and try new fruits and veggies. You can read more about exactly what we do for our rainbow grocery store hunt here.

5. Decide what your superhero powers are going to be and practice them!

We love to pretend and be silly. Once we get home from the grocery store we talk about all the different fruits and veggies we purchased. Then we talk about our superhero powers. I try and help my son brainstorm superhero powers that will also encourage him to try new things.

Some superhero power examples could be...

• eat an entire banana in five minutes 
• choose two new fruits or veggies to try and swallow them without saying a word (especially any complaining)
• secretly eat a rainbow in one day without mom knowing (one fruit/veggie from each color) 

Or... sometimes we pair them with an action and create a challenge or call the fruits and veggies something different (like Charlie did) to try and make eating them more exciting...

• swallow four spoonfuls of superhero soup (which is what we call Taco soup)
• stab two green trees (broccoli) with your spear (fork) and toss them into the ravine (your throat)

We practice being veggie superheros and pretend to eat a variety of veggies and fruits using our play food... and I cross my fingers and hope that the continued exposure and opportunities that I give my kids to try new things (in play and real life) will eventually help them develop a love for fruits, veggies, and a varied diet.

Making fruits and vegetables exciting or fun is just one way to get kids more interested in eating them. My son definitely has a new attitude about veggies after reading this darling book and doing some of these superhero veggie activities!

Here are some other great posts with ideas to help encourage your child to eat healthier:

• Eating a Rainbow: Two Fun Activities for Kids
• Choosing a Healthy Plate: A Nutrition Activity for Preschoolers via Quirky Momma
• 3 Tricks for Helping Kids Eat Veggies via Say Yes to Hoboken 
• This Week We Ate a Rainbow via The Educator's Spin On It

How do you encourage your kids to eat healthier? Do you have any tips or tricks for me?

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Have you signed up for a monthly BabbaBox subscription yet? 

To learn more about BabbaBox, a monthly subscription box filled with themed crafts and activities, head on over to my previous post here. This month BabbaCo is offering Toddler Approved readers a special 1 cent deal on their monthly and annual BabbaBox subscriptions. You can enjoy your first box in a monthly or annual membership for just 1 cent! Just type in this code at checkout: TA1CENT

Click here to sign up now! The 1 cent offer is good until July 4th!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of BabbaCo. BabbaCo will be compensating me for my monthly book-related craft and activity posts. All posts reflect my personal opinion and endorsement and are not swayed by compensation and/or free products. Please note that this post reflects my opinion and preferences and you might not share that same opinion.