Encouraging toddlers and preschoolers to eat their vegetables can be a challenge.
Here are some of the ways we have hidden vegetables into fairly common, kid-friendly meals and side dishes, even into smoothies! Spaghetti Sauce: Spaghetti sauce has such a strong flavor you can hide almost anything in it! We have hidden squash, spinach, peas, carrots, as well as traditional sauce veggies like onions, peppers, mushrooms and garlic.
You can mix the foods into the sauce one of two ways.
Some people prefer chunks of veggies, but most kids would rather not see that they are eating something green.
For their sake, put the veggies through a food processor.
When they are chopped finely even a picky husband can not tell that several handfuls of peas or half a squash was hidden in the sauce! You can collect veggies that are leftover from meals and combine them in a bag in the fridge, when the bag is full food process them, freeze the cubes and pop them into a ziplock.
The frozen cubes are already in manageable pureed serving portions.
You can even use the puree mixture as a nutritious alternative to jarred baby food.
Sweet breads (banana bread, corn bread, some cookies, brownies, etc.
) and or pancakes: These are a big harder to hide veggies.
For this reason, you should use sweeter veggies and ones that have a more mild flavor.
I also either shred or food process them before adding them to the food.
We have used carrots, corn, sweet potato, squash, cucumber, etc.
Add the pureed vegetables along with the wet ingredients.
You can make these fun! Sweet potato pancakes with a handful of strawberries are "Pink pancakes" fit for a princess and adding spinach and blueberries make terrific "Incredible Hulk" pancakes.
When in doubt, cheese it out! Most kids love, LOVE, cheese.
You will be amazed at the amount of veggies you can hide in some homemade macaroni and cheese! Squash, spinach, peas, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, broccoli, carrots, corn, really, all taste great in Mac-n-cheese! Stuffed Lunch Rolls also taste great with veggies layered in amongst the rings of cheese.
Consider adding peppers, onions, broccoli heads, spinach and even purred veggie cubes as a spread in the lunch rolls.
Here are some of the ways we have hidden vegetables into fairly common, kid-friendly meals and side dishes, even into smoothies! Spaghetti Sauce: Spaghetti sauce has such a strong flavor you can hide almost anything in it! We have hidden squash, spinach, peas, carrots, as well as traditional sauce veggies like onions, peppers, mushrooms and garlic.
You can mix the foods into the sauce one of two ways.
Some people prefer chunks of veggies, but most kids would rather not see that they are eating something green.
For their sake, put the veggies through a food processor.
When they are chopped finely even a picky husband can not tell that several handfuls of peas or half a squash was hidden in the sauce! You can collect veggies that are leftover from meals and combine them in a bag in the fridge, when the bag is full food process them, freeze the cubes and pop them into a ziplock.
The frozen cubes are already in manageable pureed serving portions.
You can even use the puree mixture as a nutritious alternative to jarred baby food.
Sweet breads (banana bread, corn bread, some cookies, brownies, etc.
) and or pancakes: These are a big harder to hide veggies.
For this reason, you should use sweeter veggies and ones that have a more mild flavor.
I also either shred or food process them before adding them to the food.
We have used carrots, corn, sweet potato, squash, cucumber, etc.
Add the pureed vegetables along with the wet ingredients.
You can make these fun! Sweet potato pancakes with a handful of strawberries are "Pink pancakes" fit for a princess and adding spinach and blueberries make terrific "Incredible Hulk" pancakes.
When in doubt, cheese it out! Most kids love, LOVE, cheese.
You will be amazed at the amount of veggies you can hide in some homemade macaroni and cheese! Squash, spinach, peas, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, broccoli, carrots, corn, really, all taste great in Mac-n-cheese! Stuffed Lunch Rolls also taste great with veggies layered in amongst the rings of cheese.
Consider adding peppers, onions, broccoli heads, spinach and even purred veggie cubes as a spread in the lunch rolls.
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