My kid wont eat vegtables....

Toonewbeginnings

I have heard of blending fruits and veggies and sneaking them into recipes....

Anybody have any good recipes that I can try or any suggestions?

tazhinshaw

Posting for ideas - I have the same problem

Espressocycle

Bad parenting advice of the day: Stop feeding the kid anything but vegetables. In a couple days he'll be so hungry he'll eat drywall.

pastryari

Chop finely and stick into soups and stews. They won't even notice they are there.

Play around with different styles of preparing them, way of cooking and seasonings used.

I was extremely picky growing up, though. All I ate was cheese and pasta. My poor parents. :laugh:

deety3

Try Good Greens bars. Taste like a candy bar and contains 100% of your daily fruits & vegetables. Comes in lots of flavors.

LumpySpacePrincess1

The trick is not to give them an option. That's how my mum worked it out with my brother. Either he was gonna eat the damn veggies or eat nothing xD
You could put cup up vegetables in hand-mashed potato. Broccoli and carrots work great in that.

NoAdditives

I am very against hiding vegetables in meals. It does not teach kids to enjoy vegetables, which doesn't help them in the long run. They may eat them while you cook for them, but they will still think they dnt like them. A better way to handle a situation like this is to transition slowly. Try cooking vegetables that are similar to ones you know he already likes, like switch a white potato for a sweet potato. Or, give a new vegetable with a dip or a sauce that he likes. Try cutting up some broccoli or cauliflower to dip in ranch, or steam them and top them with a little cheese sauce. And, just be patient and keep offering vegetables. It can take ten times or more before a child will like a new food.

CoozyRoo

You can hide a lot in macaroni and cheese and also in rice. Anything noodle based usually works the best though if they are really picky.

Depending on how old your kids are, you may be able to get them excited about a vegetable (new or old) by teaching them more about it first, like where/how it grows, what animals also eat it (if any), and different ways to cook it. I sometimes do this and have them learn first and then involve them in picking it out at the store and watching/helping to cook it.

Best of luck!

jodynolte

Mine used to dip them all in ketchup... grossed me out, but he ate them that way.

FYI.. he now eats them without it with no problem.

shak29

I always did mixed veggies in the food processor and then would cook it with ground beef or turkey and then serve it to my daughter as spaghetti or tacos. The seasoning would take over the flavors and she never knew the difference. I also made meatballs like that for her too. She was 1 and a half at the time.

Edit to add that with my son all I had to do was tell him that they would make him big and strong and he would eat them right up.

jdaley90

my aunt has an amazing recpipe for 'green rice'.. cook regular rice in a pot which chicken & salted flavored water (bouillon cube) and when it's finished she throw in a package of frozen spinach. you cant taste the spinach because of the salt and chicken flavor.. her 3 kids LOVE it.

you could also trying blending it into things so that the veggies are too small to pick out?

Quieau

I used to do that! I would put mushrooms and onions into the pizza sauce and blend it, then spread it on the pizza with pepperoni and cheese. Also, pasta dishes with tomato sauce, Mexican dishes with a sauce (like enchiladas) and any casserole. You can also make puréed soups (like carrot soup, pumpkin soup, etc.) and just tell them it's "Halloween soup" ...

Also, kids love "dips" ... so I would give my daughter multigrain chips or crackers with hummus (dip made of chickpeas and tahini), salsa (all sorts of good veggies!), bean dip, etc. They will even dip a veggie now and then to have some dip! But my daughter used to dip the same thing over and over and then just lick the dip off. That's okay if the dip is made of veggies!

Hope this helps!

brraanndi

Chop/grind that stuff into a meat loaf, my man had no clue there was a full green pepper and a full red pepper in it.

jangier

My kids go back and fourth, sometimes they eat them up, some days they are a little pickier.

A few things that seemed to help me on picky days are letting them cook with me and choose the vegetables, keeping them involved in the kitchen so they get more excited, and dips always seem to work Also, personally if I am on edge freaking out because they won't eat it, that seems to fuel it more, if I try to relax and just go with it, I have better luck.

Here is a link to a book by Jerry Seinfeld's wife, she sneaks into foods for the bump in nutrition, some of the recipes are tasty

http://www.amazon.com/Deceptively-Delicious-Simple-Secrets-Eating/dp/006176793X

Good Luck!

Leather_N_Lace

Deceptively Delicious is a cook book all about putting veggies into foods.
Written by Jessica Sienfeld. It was pretty big in 2008 and was on a lot of food networks. Oprah even had her on her show.
You should be able to find it on Amazon for around $10..

littlelaura

My daughter loved raw veggies in dip because they were fun finger foods. I also use to hide them in bread or baked goods, you can blend cauliflower and turnips right into mashed potatoes, you can make a veggie and fruit smoothie (add in spinach that way too). Try letting them help put them into a food dehydrator and then maybe they will eat their homemade veggie chips. Show them their favorite tv or movie personality eating veggies it might make them want to do it too. Good Luck.

Quieau

I am very against hiding vegetables in meals. It does not teach kids to enjoy vegetables, which doesn't help them in the long run. They may eat them while you cook for them, but they will still think they dnt like them.

I disagree. I raised two kids through that finicky stage without EVER forcing them to eat anything (I had been forced as a kid and it really messed me up). By giving them the chance to get used to the FLAVOR of the veggies first on familiar grounds and THEN the texture later ... we raised two GREAT veggie eaters (both now grown and cooking veggies for themselves!) ...

After a certain age, they will transition to eating what "grownups" eat and once they bite in and realize that they KNOW this taste and have had it for years, they will dive right in! It worked great to encourage my son and daughter to really be adventurous as they got older and started trying new things like artichokes and such that were things they had not tried before.

erickirb

With pizza I mix pureed sweet potato into the sauce
Grilled cheese I spread a thin layer of sweet potato
with couscous I chop celery, carrotts and onions really fine saute them then add them to couscous
I make Popsicle with V8 splash, mixed with apple sauce type treat that is fruit and veggies together
I add veggies cut finely to eggs (mash up cooked broccoli and cauliflower, or onions and peppers)
I make homemade ice-cream using frozen purred sweet potato, frozen bananas or frozen berries, add milk or yogurt to cover and blend in a food processor
add pureed sweet potato or any type of squash to mac and cheese.
Mix in turnip or parsnips in mashed potatoes

I also get my son to eat some veggies on the side, small portions:
carrots, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms raw with some ranch to dip
Canned sweet peas

Acg67

French fries, mashed potatoes, potato skins

St_Paul

Don't hide them - you can only do so much anyway. Just serve them often. We tell them they're part of dinner. If you don't have room for dinner, you don't have room for treats. It puts the emphasis on the meal and not a certain part of it. Eat them yourself, in large quantities, otherwise ignore the issue. The bigger deal you make about it the more they'll resist. Eventually they'll come around.
Depending on where you live this might not be possible now, but have them plant something. Make it theirs. A broccoli 'tree', a cherry tomato plant, sugar snap peas, green beans - something they can go out a pick on their own, that they can control. You can grow potatoes easily and kids LOVE digging for them I've found (I ran a school garden for a number of years). Carrots are a bit more work but not much, and once they taste the difference of homegrown they may be a go to snack. I like the sugarsnax variety. Or the colored carrots as well provoke a good response (white, yellow, red, purple).
Good luck!

Sporks42

I am very against hiding vegetables in meals. It does not teach kids to enjoy vegetables, which doesn't help them in the long run. They may eat them while you cook for them, but they will still think they dnt like them. A better way to handle a situation like this is to transition slowly. Try cooking vegetables that are similar to ones you know he already likes, like switch a white potato for a sweet potato. Or, give a new vegetable with a dip or a sauce that he likes. Try cutting up some broccoli or cauliflower to dip in ranch, or steam them and top them with a little cheese sauce. And, just be patient and keep offering vegetables. It can take ten times or more before a child will like a new food.

Definitely this. Kids don't always like their veggies, but hiding them teaches them it's okay to never eat them!

My suggestion, if your budget allows it, try taking them to the grocery store and letting them each pick out a veggie they want for dinner, then look up ways to prepare the one they choose (most likely they will go for the most random looking one =P). It may not work, but it doesn't feel so forced if they chose it themselves. Or apply the same to your refrigerator, if you have the option of broccoli, carrots, peas and corn, ask them which one they would like the best.

cldimiceli

Here's a great recipe for burgers that contains kale, spinach, mushrooms and red pepper. ( you can also use ground beef)
1-2 lbs of ground turkey or beef ( depending on size of family) I use 1 lb so recipe follows that. Increase amounts as needed.

1 lb of ground beef or turkey
1 cup of spinach
1 cup of kale
1 1/2 red pepper
OPTIONAL: small square piece of cheese for each burger ( this is special treat for the boys)
Blend all vegetables in cusinart . Add into ground beef or turkey and mix well.
make burger
(OPTIONAL CHEESE-split open insert piece of cheese shut burger and cook )
wrap in lettuce or put on bun

I also use Milford Spice Brighton's Burger Blast (shameless work promotion) 1 tsp per pound of meat ( OPTIONAL)

chadraeder3

Maybe try vegies that are considered sweet like parsnips and carrots. Children do not like sour or bitter because those tastes are associated with poisons. Another possible trick is to use salt to stop the receptors in the tongue from sensing bitter tastes. If you want more of a explanation check out the show Good eats where Alton Brown explains how to prepare grapefruit so that it does not taste bitter he also does a couple episodes about children and eating vegetables.

msnicol

add a little cheese to them.. it worked for my boys

ronitabur

Best advice I ever received was from a radio pshychiatrist - put a little bit of vegetables on your childs plate with his meals. Don't force him to eat it. Ask him to try it but don't make him. Often kids just have to get used to how it looks before they try. It's a survival thing. Usually after 4-5 times of putting a vegetable on their plate, they will try it. I did this with my son and I created a monster - he turned vegetarian when he was 14. He decided he didn't need meat any more. So, whe he turned vegetarian, and refused to eat beans, I'd put 2 or 3 beans in his veggie burrito. He'd get mad and I would tell him, "Pick 'em out if you don't want them". Now (he's 21) and one of his favorite foods are bean burritos. One thing you learn with kids is, nothing lasts forever - unless he turns vegetarian, then you're screwed. Just be encouraging. Trying to hide the food reinforces pickiness.

I like Sporks42's suggestions too! Very nice!

smaihlee

The problem comes when a child is given that choice in the first place. Growing up, we ate most of our vegetables because we liked them, but the ones we didn't had to be given at least 3 bites.

I feel like if you hide the veggies, they will never learn to like them or choose to eat them on their own. A lot of the "dislike" is not that they don't like the taste--it's because of the way it looks or the texture or even the name.

With my own child, he loved veggies as a baby but when he got older he dug his heels in. We decided we had to dig ours in harder. We had to have a few scenes reminiscent of "Mommie Dearest", but the only thing that worked was to make him sit at the table until he took 3 bites of the veggies.

Son is now 14, 6'2" (and growing) and eats everything in sight. He's not fond of squash, but I'm pretty pleased about how well he eats otherwise.

You will be very glad if you go ahead and nip this in the bud early. Your child will be better off for it, too.

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NoAdditives

I am very against hiding vegetables in meals. It does not teach kids to enjoy vegetables, which doesn't help them in the long run. They may eat them while you cook for them, but they will still think they dnt like them.

I disagree. I raised two kids through that finicky stage without EVER forcing them to eat anything (I had been forced as a kid and it really messed me up). By giving them the chance to get used to the FLAVOR of the veggies first on familiar grounds and THEN the texture later ... we raised two GREAT veggie eaters (both now grown and cooking veggies for themselves!) ...

After a certain age, they will transition to eating what "grownups" eat and once they bite in and realize that they KNOW this taste and have had it for years, they will dive right in! It worked great to encourage my son and daughter to really be adventurous as they got older and started trying new things like artichokes and such that were things they had not tried before.

That's actually the kind of thing I was suggesting, and it is not the same as hiding them in foods. You can puree all kinds of things and put them into spaghetti sauce, taco meat, hamburgers, meatloaf, etc. and they won't be tasted. They'll be eaten, but that isn't teaching kids to appreciate vegetables as they are. Hiding them in that manner, rather than transitioning into eating them raw or steamed, actually reinforces the idea that vegetables are gross.

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Fitnin6280

I am probably the meanest mom in the world... I don't let my kids leave the table until they finish them. I don't give them much, and if they want more they are absolutely welcome to them. But my kids know they better just eat them or they sit at the table for a very long time.

VincitQuiSeVincit

Ill make meatballs/meatloaf/burgers/chili with veggies in them (blender FTW)
I'll make mac& cheese with broccoli bits
Mashed potatoes with carrots mashed in
Rice with diced carrots and peas

I never hid veggies, but my son refuses any raw vegetable.
We're pretty limited to broccoli, carrots, peas and eggplant in my house, but he eats them because it's not an option to not do so.