What are some good ways to sneak vegetables into your family's meals?

Question

Kiddos suddenly pick eaters & not wanting much veggies.

Suggestions?

Answer 1

I have been lucky with my kids, they pretty much eat all the vegies and fruit I give them. The best advice I was ever given is not to stress about kids eating habits. The more stressed about it you get, the more stressed about it they get!

That being said here are some ideas for hiding the veg

Grate some carrot and/or potato or finely dice some celery and put it in the spaghetti bolognaise sauce while cooking. Make sure you cook the sauce for a decent amount of time and the veg will sort of 'melt' into it.

Meatballs or Tuna balls are good for hiding veg in as well, or the old standard meatloaf.

Depending on the ages of your kids sometimes it also helps to let them be involved in the preperation of a meal. I have found that my kids really enjoy eating something they have helped cook. Or if they can't help with the cooking make meals that they can 'assemble' themselves, like tacos or burritos.

IIf they are eating salad and fruit I wouldn't be too concerned about the veg and always remember kids will eat eventually, they're not going to starve!

Answer 2

the quick answer ist which you won't be in a position to get around this project. in case your mom and father are already going out of their thank you to sabotage your efforts, then that is totally no longer likely that they are going to respond to any efforts on your area to teach them approximately some great reward of being vegetarian/vegan. some people won't be in a position to or won't open their minds to new techniques. There comes a element whilst this is terrific to end attempting and take action. i might take a problematical inspect the expenses in touch in transferring out. are you able to get a room in a shared domicile the place you are going to be able to make and prepare all your very own nutrients? once you're a pupil then there may be some economic tips attainable to help with the value of residing independently.

Answer 3

If they do not like veggies get them some vitamins to make sure they are getting the right amount each day. Kids will go through stages on what they like and dislike. You can try to sneak them in by making casseroles or soups though. I have heard people sneaking them into desserts also.

Answer 4

I used a recipe for spinach in brownies (sorry don't have it anymore), but you couldn't tell. Saurkraut chocolate cake and zucchini bread are also both really good.
Actually the best way is in soups, stews and casseroles. In a good stew, they practically seem to disappear. You can add mushrooms and eggplant to lasagne and no one will know...
Have the kids go shopping with you and choose veggies. Have them help you make crudites and dip. Explore a new type of veggie. Once my son discovered asparagus (except in our house it's asparaGOOSE), he couldn't get enough of it. Same with eggplant (I make it like schnitzel, dipped in flour, egg and crumbs, then fried golden). Salads are great too - make unusual ones like small cut up broccoli with cut up red grapes and sunflower seeds - it has a sweeet dressing.
Good luck!

Answer 5

Will they eat pasta with tomato sauce? You can sneak almost ANYTHING into pasta sauce if you puree it first. If you use a high-protein pasta like Barilla Plus and puree some extra veggies into your sauce, you have a complete meal. They will never know that they just ate a serving of protein, 2 servings of fiber, and at least 2 servings of veggies! We've also tried whole wheat pasta, but even I can't stand it (and I'm pretty crunchy)!

You can make up a huge batch of pasta sauce and freeze it for later use. We don't freeze ours, as we have pasta several times a week. That wouldn't be very healthy if I didn't use the high-protein, high fiber stuff.

There are some fruit juices that sneak veggies in (I think V-8 has a line like that). Be careful though...many of those also have high fructose corn syrup, which pretty much cancells out the benefit of the veggies. If your kids are super picky, make sure they are taking a good multi-vitamin and have lots of fiber from other sources (whole grain crackers without trans-fats, fruits, and smoothies made with yogurt and flax meal, for example).

In our home, the children have to eat their veggies, or dad is upset. It took about 2 occasions of children going to bed without bathtime or stories before they got the picture. I'm not one for forcing eating, but my son is really anemic, and there are certain things he must eat to stay healthy. I let my hubby have a week of doing it his way (Eat your food or go to bed), and now, we have no struggles with veggies. My daughter LOVES veggies, my son does not. Even he is starting to admit that some of them taste OK.

Also, I make sure my kids see me eat a HUGE heap of veggies with every meal. I have cut veggies in the fridge with a bowl of dressing for dipping that they are allowed to eat anytime, other than right before dinner.

Answer 6

Put into a blender and puree them. Use the broth in meatloaf, spaghetti sause or whatever else they will eat.

Answer 7

You can add spinach to brownies, if you allow them eat brownies. I've never done it, so I don't know how much spinach to add, I read this tip somewhere once. That's the best I can give you.

Answer 8

Blend them up into a puree and then hide them in the food.

Answer 9

Food process them and put them in your meals.

Answer 10

when making pasta, put vegetables inside some of the pasta..

you know penne pasta, perfect one. they wnt even notice