History Main / KidsHateVegetables

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** In "I Never Met the Dead Man", Stewie spends the entire B-plot attempting to destroy his plate of broccoli Lois made him eat for dinner. He ends up trying to feed them to Brian, but Brian just dumps them back onto Stewie's plate.
** In "He's Too Sexy for His Fat," Chris [[DietEpisode goes on a diet]] to lose weight, and Lois cooks him a vegetable platter for dinner, much to his dismay. He complains that "it tastes like a monkey--a monkey that's past its prime!"
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'': In "Pooh Oughta Be In Pictures", Christopher Robin has a melodramatic reaction to his mother asking him to eat his carrots. This inspires Tigger to make a giant carrot costume for the monster movie the toys were planning to make.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerPuffGirls'': In "Beat Your Greens", the Girls refuse to eat their vegetables, until Townsville is attacked by aliens that resemble them. They and the other kids eventually discover that the only way to defeat them is to eat them, and after that they love vegetables.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': While they can tolerate other vegetables, Broccoli is hated by all of the kids (and the adults, but unlike the kids, they can handle broccoli if they have to eat some), and it seems to act as some sort of Kryptonite.
** In the episode "Operation: I.T." [[BigBad Father]] gets made the leader of the Global KND, but in order to get in the KND's good graces, he enacts a plan to rid the world of broccoli once and for all, something all of the KND are overwhelmingly in favor of. Unfortunately, to everyone's horror, the only way to get rid of broccoli is to eat it. Later in the episode, Numbuh 362 becomes comatose after eating broccoli.
** In "Operation: S.P.R.O.U.T.", a FantasticVoyagePlot episode, Numbuh Four accidentally eats a Brussels sprout. The KND enact an entire ploy to get into Numbuh Four's body to destroy the Brussels sprout before it begins to make him enjoy cleaning his room, among other things. Later on, he accidentally starts it all over with some liver.
* ManChild example in ''WesternAnimation/DanVs''. The title character despises vegetables, and there is even an episode dedicated to him effacing vegetables off the face of the Earth after his favorite burger joint supplants burgers and fries for vegetables.
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': In the episode "Hunger Strikes", Dexter can't stand broccoli, which his family demands that he eats or else he can't have dessert afterwards. In order to avoid future denial of desserts, Dexter invents a machine that will genetically alter his taste buds that will make eating vegetables more palatable. Only problem is that this machine not only makes veggies suddenly delicious, he also happens to turn into an Incredible Hulk-like monster that destroys everything in his path in search of the vegetables he craves.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In the [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS21E4TreehouseOfHorrorXX Treehouse of Horror [=XX=]]] segment, "Don't Have a Cow, Mankind", Bart is shown starving despite there being a bowl of fresh fruits and carrots beside him (which he refuses to eat).
-->'''Bart:''' There's gotta be something yummy out there.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'' episode "Pups Save a Toof", Ryder says that [[AbsurdPhobia he fears Brussels sprouts]]. He then proceeds to eat one so that he can teach Alex about [[FaceYourFears facing your fears]]. Unfortunately, Alex isn't convinced.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': In the episode "Pickles vs. Pickles", after Drew and Charlotte send Angelica to her room without dessert for refusing to eat her broccoli, Angelica sues them. The surrounding media circus warps things and blows them out of proportion and the judge is taken in by Angelica's cuteness and sides with her. Drew goes crazy and is dragged off to prison screaming "I'm a good father!". Of course, it was AllJustADream, but the episode ends with Angelica being apologized to and it is implied that Drew has a very weak will which Angelica can manipulate this way for every vegetable.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Muppet Babies|1984}}'': Lampshaded and averted in one episode. Gonzo threatens Kermit that he'll make Kermit eat all of his green vegetables. Kermit just points out that he ''likes'' green vegetables because they put color in his cheeks.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}'':
** In "Presidential People", Loud Kiddington tries to persuade former President UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush to eat some broccoli in a parody of ''Literature/GreenEggsAndHam''. Bush does, and he hates it. It turns out, though, that Loud just wanted him to verify his distaste for it because it provides an excuse for him and his friends to not eat it themselves.
** Additionally, a sketch about Florence Nightingale included a part where she advises all the troops be put on a vegetable diet, during which she takes away the burger Froggo was about to eat. His response to what she gave him in its place:
--->'''Froggo:''' A turnip?!? Yeeugh!! Now I'm ''really'' sick!
* ''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig'': Played with the episode "Lunch" in which the title character and her family visit her grandparents' house for, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well, lunch]], where [[PronetoTears George]] refuses to eat his salad. So Grandpa Pig then rearranges the vegetables to look like a dinosaur, and because of that George eats them and loves it.
* In the ''Franchise/HelloKitty'' series ''Growing Up with Hello Kitty'', the episode "Eating Our Vegetables" reveals that the twins hate tomatoes and bell peppers, their classmates all hate various vegetables, and ''none'' of them like bell peppers. However, the twins' mother always looks sad whenever they don't eat their vegetables, so they decide to force them down anyway.
* ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'':
** In the short "Real Kids Don't Eat Broccoli", the titular mistake is [[ConvictionByContradiction all that Buster Bunny needs to see]] to know that he's dealing with robot replicas of the rest of the cast planning to TakeOverTheWorld.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'': In "[[Recap/NinjagoS1E1RiseOfTheSnakes Rise of the Snakes]]", BrattyHalfPint Lloyd Garmadon appears in Jamanakai Village and demands all the candy in town, but the villagers boo at him and throw fruits and vegetables, to which Lloyd exclaims that he hates vegetables.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyBigBigFriend'': In "Hippo-licious", Matt is none too pleased when his family has spinach for dinner. Later, he and Bongo are trapped in a forest of spinach, forcing them both to eat their way through. [[IDoNotLikeGreenEggsAndHam To Matt's surprise, it's not as bad as he'd thought it would be.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheCasagrandes'' episode "Chancla Force", eight-year-old Carl hates asparagus, and tries to make it bearable by [[BizarreTasteInFood having his pet bird Sergio dump chocolate sauce and sprinkles on it]].

[[folder: Real Life]]
* There is [[https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-03/fyi-why-do-kids-hate-brussels-sprouts/ evidence]] to suggest that this may be an [[https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-do-children-dislike-vegetables/ evolutionary trait]]. Vegetables tend to be bitter, and poisonous plants are also bitter. In our ancient days as a species, small children would not know what plants were poisonous or not, and having this aversion would help keep them from eating toxic plants.
[[/folder]]

In fiction, children tend to have a disgust for vegetables and dread the moment they're served for dinner or lunch. It could be that they're {{Picky Eater}}s, or their taste buds just are more sensitive to bitter tastes, which are found in many vegetables. Or their parents (usually the mom in fiction) has [[LethalChef poor culinary skills]] and [[MessOnAPlate cooks them to an unappetizing mush]]. Whatever the cause, they will devise a mischievous plot behind their parents' back to get rid of them, [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin which usually never ends well]]. This can often be used as an exploitative device for [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood parents or babysitters]] to torture disobedient kids, though in most cases they just want to ensure a healthy diet in children to assist in their growth. Oftentimes, the kids will resort to [[LoopholeAbuse hiding the vegetables, feeding them to a pet, putting them on a sibling's plate, or using a junk food condiment to diminish the squeamish flavor]].

* A televised commercial for Sara Lee baked goods has two brothers at the dinner table. One boy finishes his vegetables, and is rewarded with a serving of Sara Lee pound cake. The second boy sees this, and begins trying to ingest a head of broccoli. It's a slow process, as if the thing is made of nitro.

* In ''Anime/CrayonShinChan'', one of Shin-Chan's trademark dislikes is green bell peppers, which he often tries to dispose off without his mom noticing, from holding it in his mouth and running away mid-dinner to spit them into the toilet, to pretending to keep them with plant seeds and burying them. TruthInTelevision, however -- [[https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2015/07/17/food/history-vegetable-hated-japanese-children bell peppers are widely-produced in Japan and frequently served to children for their nutritious value,]] but most Japanese kids dislike them for their bitter taste.

-->'''Anger:''' Congratulations, San Francisco! YOU'VE RUINED PIZZA! First the Hawaiians, and now you!

* ''Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection'': In the book ''Meet Molly", Molly [=McIntire=] is disgusted by the sight of the orange colored blob of mashed turnips that the family's housekeeper Mrs. Gilford had made for dinner and refuses to eat it. Mrs. Gilford tries to shame Molly for being wasteful and unpatriotic, as this is taking place during World War II and the turnips came from their very own "victory garden".

* In the children's picture book ''How Martha Saved Her Parents From Green Beans'', Martha absolutely hates eating green beans and fights tooth-and-nail to avoid them. But one day a gang of outlaw green beans invades her town and abducts everyone who ever told people to eat green beans, including her parents. Martha soon realizes that if she's going to defeat the green beans and get her parents back, there's only one way to do it...by, you guessed it, eating them.
* In the second ''Literature/PippiLongstocking'' book, ''Pippi Goes on Board'', Pippi, Tommy and Annika "shipwreck" themselves on an island in a lake, and Pippi wonders if they might get caught and eaten by cannibals. Her only apparent concern about this is that the cannibals might serve her with stewed carrots, which she hates.

* ''Series/ShiningTimeStation'': In "Double Trouble", after telling the story of the ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' episode, "[[Recap/ThomasAndFriendsS2E21TheDiseasal The Diseasel]]" to the children at the station, Mr. Conductor says he wishes he had a twin of his own so he could eat his peas for him, since he doesn't like peas. He then asks the children if they like peas, and Dan says, "Peas? Yuck!"

* ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen'': In "Keen Dreams", Keen is send to bed without supper after refusing to eat his vegetables, and subsequently gets [[DreamEmergencyExit trapped in a dreamworld]] where kids that refuse their vegetables are enslaved by sentient vegetables.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'': Downplayed compared to Felix, but Lysithea complains about eating vegetables and wishes she could eat [[SweetTooth nothing but sweets]]. Much to her horror, the much pickier Felix doesn't like sweets at all, but also and dislikes three out of the four vegetable-based dishes (with the fourth having a heavy cheese and fish component). It seems {{meat|VersusVeggies}} is the only food he actually likes.

* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': In the episode "Hunger Strikes", Dexter can't stand broccoli, which his family demands that he eats or else he can't have dessert afterwards. In order to avoid future denial of desserts, Dexter invents a machine that will genetically alter his taste buds that will make eating vegetables more palatable. Only problem is that this machine not only makes veggies suddenly delicious, he also happens to turn into a Incredible Hulk like monster that destroys everything in his path in search of the vegetables he craves.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In "D.W. the Picky Eater", among the many other foods that D.W. refuses to eat, [[BerserkButton spinach is what]] ''[[BerserkButton really]]'' [[BerserkButton sets her off]]. When David and Jane worry that she's too immature to handle Grandma Thora's birthday dinner at a fairy-tale themed restaurant, Arthur, who ''really'' wants to go, makes it his mission to help D.W. overcome her problem. In a twist ending, D.W. chooses "Little Bo Peep Pot Pie" for her entree, loves it, and is surprised to learn that it is, in fact, full of spinach.

** In "Presidential People", Loud Kiddington tries to persuade former President UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush to eat some broccoli in a parody of ''Literature/GreenEggsAndHam''. Bush does, and he hates it. It turns out, though, that Loud just wanted him to verify his distaste for it, because it provides an excuse for him and his friends to not eat it themselves.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'': Unlike their uncle, Popeye's four nephews Peepeye, Pipeye, Poopeye, and Pupeye, hate spinach.

[[/folder]]

In fiction, children tend to have a disgust for vegetables and dread the moment they're served for dinner or lunch. It could be that they're {{Picky Eater}}s, or their taste buds just are more sensitive to bitter tastes, which are found in many vegetables. Whatever the cause, they will devise a mischievous plot behind their parents' back to get rid of them, [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin which usually never ends well]]. This can often be used as an exploitative device for [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood parents or babysitters]] to torture disobedient kids, though in most cases they just want to ensure a healthy diet in children to assist in their growth. Oftentimes, the kids will resort to [[LoopholeAbuse hiding the vegetables, feeding them to a pet, putting them on a sibling's plate, or using a junk food condiment to diminish the squeamish flavor]].

** The episode " Operation IT" even has Numbuh 362 becoming comatose after eating broccoli.
** [[BigBad Father]] gets made the leader of the Global KND in one episode, but in order to get in the KND's good graces, he enacts a plan to rid the world of broccoli once and for all, something all of the KND are overwhelmingly in favor of. Unfortunately, to everyone's horror, the only way to get rid of broccoli is to eat it.
** In a FantasticVoyagePlot episode, Numbuh Four accidentally eats a Brussels sprout. The KND enact an entire ploy to get into Numbuh Four's body to destroy the Brussels sprout before it begins to make him enjoy cleaning his room, among other things. Later on, he accidentally starts it all over with some liver.

* The Creator/SandraBoynton album ''Dog Train'' includes a song "(Don't Give Me That) Broccoli", performed by the Phenomenauts. Subverted at the end; after an entire song about the horrors of broccoli, the child takes a bite and says: "Yum."

** Usagi is a young teenager, but to emphasize how [[KiddieKid immature]] she is, she is shown to detest carrots. This is ironic, as her name sounds like the Japanese word for "rabbit". [[side note]]But then again, carrots aren’t all that good for rabbits due to their high sugar levels.[[/side note]]

** Usagi is a young teenager, but to emphasize how [[KiddieKid immature]] she is, she is shown to detest carrots. This is ironic, as her name sounds like the Japanese word for "rabbit". [[side note]][[But then again, carrots aren’t all that good for rabbits due to their high sugar levels.[[/side note]]

** Usagi is a young teenager, but to emphasize how [[KiddieKid immature]] she is, she is shown to detest carrots. This is ironic, as her name sounds like the Japanese word for "rabbit". [[side note]][[But then again, carrots aren’t all that good for rabbits due to their high sugar levels.[[/note]]

** Usagi is a young teenager, but to emphasize how [[KiddieKid immature]] she is, she is shown to detest carrots. This is ironic, as her name sounds like the Japanese word for "rabbit".

[[folder: Advertising]]

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]

[[folder: Art]]

[[folder: Asian Animation]]
* ''Animation/BoBoiBoy'': Probe displayed a slideshow to his boss Adu Du about the horrible things humans do to green aliens like him, [[HumansThroughAlienEyes unaware at the time that it was simply broccoli]]. One of the slides displayed a young child leaning away in fear from the broccoli being served to him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Strips]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder: Films - Animated]]

[[folder: Films - Live Action]]

* Actually weaponized in ''Film/TheFrenchDispatch''. When bringing poisoned food to the criminals that have kidnapped the Commissaire's son Gigi (as well as the aforementioned captive), Lt. Nescaffier specifically puts the poison in the radishes, knowing that Gigi won't touch them because he hates radishes. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, the leader of the kidnappers hates radishes too.]]

[[folder: Literature]]

* In the second ''Literature/PippiLongstocking'' book, ''Pippi Goes On Board'', Pippi, Tommy and Annika "shipwreck" themselves on an island in a lake, and Pippi wonders if they might get caught and eaten by cannibals. Her only apparent concern about this is that the cannibals might serve her with stewed carrots, which she hates.
* "The Etiology and Treatment of Childhood," a pseudoscientific spoof by Jordan W. Smoller names [[ExpospeakGag "legume anorexia"]] (i.e. the refusal of children to eat their vegetables) as the fifth out of five clinical markers of childhood to be used in a proposed DSM-IV definition. This condition was reportedly measured through a Vegetable Appetite Test devised by a researcher credited as [[Franchise/{{Popeye}} Popeye, T.S.M.]], who is cited for articles on the subject of spinach.

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Music]]
* The ''Music/PreschoolPopstars'' song "Wait Until I Cook It" features a little girl of preschool age saying that she's so hungry that she'd "even" eat vegetables, implying that she usually wouldn't.

[[folder: Video Games]]

--> Son: "Is that a vegetable!? Gross!"
--> Dad: "I washed them. Honest."

--> '''Tiny Tina:''' I can’t believe you made me eat salad.\\
'''Lilith:''' It wasn’t THAT bad, was it?\\
'''Tiny Tina:''' No, it wasn’t. It was tasty. That’s the PROBLEM.\\

'''Tiny Tina:''' You know who likes the taste of salads? ADULTS. I don’t wanna be an adult!

[[folder: Web Comics]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "I Never Met the Dead Man", Stewie spends the entire B-plot attempting to destroy his plate of broccoli Lois made him eat for dinner. He ends up trying to feed them to Brian, but Brian just dumps them back onto Stewie's plate.

--> '''D.W.''': This...this is spinach.
--> '''Waiter''': ...Is something the matter?
--> '''D.W.''': This is spinach. And [[PunctuatedForEmphasis I! HATE!]] '''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis SPINACH!]]''''' ''(slams her fists on the table until her bowl flies up and on the waiter's head)''
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In the [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS21E4TreehouseOfHorrorXX Treehouse of Horror [=XX=]]] segment, "Don't Have A Cow, Mankind", Bart is shown starving despite there being a bowl of fresh fruits and carrots beside him (which he refuses to eat).
--> '''Bart:''' There's gotta be something yummy out there.

* ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984'': Lampshaded and averted in one episode. Gonzo threatens Kermit that he'll make Kermit eat all of his green vegetables. Kermit just points out that he ''likes'' green vegetables because they put color in his cheeks.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'': In "[[Recap/NinjagoS1E1RiseOfTheSnakes Rise of the Snakes]]," BrattyHalfPint Lloyd Garmadon appears in Jamanakai Village and demands all the candy in town, but the villagers boo at him and throw fruits and vegetables, to which Lloyd exclaims that he hates vegetables.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'': Unlike their uncle, Popeye's four nephews Peepeye, Pipeye, Poopeye, and Pupeye, hate spinach.

* The title character of ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver'' ''hates'' Brusells sprouts. This became a plot point of an episode in which Beaver was promised to eat his brusell sprouts or he won't be able to see a sports game. He eventually bucks up and eats them when his family goes out for a meal. A later episode had Wally reveal that the Beav once hid his brussel sprouts under a couch cushion.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerPuffGirls'': In "Beat Your Greens", the Girls refuse to eat their vegetables, until Townsville is attacked by aliens that resemble them. They and the other kids eventually discover that the only way to defat them is to eat them, and after that they love vegetables.

** In a FantasticVoyagePlot episode, Numbuh Four accidentally eats a brussel sprout. The KND enact an entire ploy to get into Numbuh Four's body to destroy the brussel sprout before it begins to make him enjoy cleaning his room, among other things. Later on, he accidentally starts it all over with some liver.

* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': In the episode "Hunger Strikes", Dexter is shown to can't stand eating broccoli, which his family demands that he eats or else he can't have dessert afterwards. In order to avoid future denial of desserts, Dexter invents a machine that will genetically alter his taste buds that will make eating vegetables more palatable. Only problem is that this machine not only makes veggies suddenly delicious, he also happens to turn into a Incredible Hulk like monster that destroys everything in his path in search of the vegetables he craves.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In "D.W. the Picky Eater", among the many other foods that D.W. refuses to eat, [[BerserkButton spinach is what]] ''[[BerserkButton really]]'' [[BerserkButton sets her off]]. She gets over this once she has a pie with spinach in it.

* ''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig'': Played with the episode "Lunch" in which the title character and her family visit her grandparents' house for ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin where [[PronetoTears George]] refuses to eat some vegetables (as seen in the page image). So Grandpa Pig then rearranges the vegetables to look like a dinosaur, and because of that George eats them and loves it.

** In "The Return to the Acme Acres Zone", the androids posing as kids are found out by a StockYuck. The evil droids like broccoli, something real kids don't eat.

* In [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Smolyne/comments/hcthi3/smolyne_doesnt_want_to_be_stronk_like_ocean_man/ this]] ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' fan comic, Jolyne doesn't want to eat her vegetables. Her mom tries to get her to eat them by saying that she will grow up to be big and strong like her dad Jotaro if she does, but it backfires when Jolyne starts to cry at the thought of that happening.

* ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984'':
** Lampshaded and averted in one episode. Gonzo threatens Kermit that he'll make Kermit eat all of his green vegetables. Kermit just points out that he ''likes'' green vegetables because they put color in his cheeks.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': Broccoli is hated by all of the kids (and the adults, but unlike the kids, they can handle broccoli if they have to eat some).

* In ''Anime/CrayonShinChan'', one of Shin-Chan's trademark dislikes is green bell peppers, which he often tries to dispose off without his mom noticing, from holding it in his mouth and running away mid-dinner to spit them into the toilet, to pretending to keep them with plant seeds and burying them. TruthInTelevision, however -- [[https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2015/07/17/food/history-vegetable-hated-japanese-children/ bell peppers are widely-produced in Japan and frequently served to children for their nutritious value]], but most Japanese kids dislike them for their bitter taste.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': Calvin, a PickyEater in general, hates vegetables and vegetarian meals, claiming to be a [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1987/05/09 a dessertarian]]. To be fair, most of his mom's cooking appears to be lumpy green sludge -- but that might just be Calvin's [[MrImagination overactive imagination]]. He also provides the page image for DoesNotLikeSpam, complaining about having to eat a "slimy asparagus".
* The titular character of ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS'' is a five-year-old boy who hates carrots. In [[https://sacredappetite.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/dennis_the_menace1.gif a few]] [[https://i.pinimg.com/736x/75/a4/59/75a459c79c3237b215ea15a9afa2aca7.jpg strips]] , he'd try unsuccessfully to get rid of them.

* In [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Smolyne/comments/hcthi3/smolyne_doesnt_want_to_be_stronk_like_ocean_man/ this]] ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' fan comic, Jolyne doesn't want to eat her vegetables. Her mom tries to get her to eat them by saying that she will grow up to be big and strong like dad Jotaro if she does, but it backfires when Jolyne starts to cry at the thought of that happening.

* In [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Smolyne/comments/hcthi3/smolyne_doesnt_want_to_be_stronk_like_ocean_man/ this]] ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' fan comic, Jolyne doesn't want to eat her vegetables. Her mom tries to get her to eat them by saying that she will grow up to be big and strong like dad Jotaro if she does, but it backfires when Jolyne starts to cry and says she doesn't want to look like her dad.