Disguised vegetables

Cut brocolli up really small and hide in bolognese sauce.
Mash pumpkin or carrot up in potato.
Make soups and blend them so the vegies can't be seen (don't blend the meat if there is meat in the soup) ie make meat stock, remove meat, cook vegies in stock, blend, return meat to soup and reheat. You can't hide strong tasting vegies like capsicum this way.

I think you are lucky they like beans actually. Don't worry that they don't like all vegies. No-one likes them all. Could you try a one new vegetable a week day. They agree to taste a new veg once a week and don't have to eat it again if they don't like it. (except when hidden in soup but don't tell them that) Make sure you cook it nicely.
If they don't like carrots put some herbs or honey on them or even saute them lightly in butter after steaming them. yumbo!
If they don't like steamed pumpkin, roast or mash it or roast AND mash it. Add a touch of nutmeg.
if they don't like eggplant make it into a dip with youghurt and garlic and put it on a lamb shaslik. (called babaganoush)

I find it amazing how many adults I see on mfp who think all vegetables taste bad. There are thousands of vegetables and I'm sure they have only ever tried a couple.

There are so many ways to camouflage shredded vegetables that kids will never suspect they are eating them. Shredded carrots, zucchini, onions and peppers mix nicely in ground meat dishes — from meatloaf and meatballs to burgers and ground beef helpers. Carrots and zucchini take on the flavors of the foods they are in and onions and peppers add savory flavors to make the meal even better. Just be sure you shred or chop the veggies finely enough that they can’t be detected by the suspicious eye of a finicky child.

Cauliflower can easily go unnoticed when mashed in with creamy potatoes. Try a combo of two-thirds spuds to one-third florets. Mash some cooked butternut squash or carrots and disguise it as part of the sauce in your family’s fav mac and cheese.

Puree carrots, cukes and cabbage and stir the mixture into spaghetti or pizza sauce. Cook some spaghetti squash and mix the stringy strands with pasta. Once topped with sauce and sprinkled with cheese, your kiddos will never suspect how healthy their meal is.

When you are dishing up something they really love, you can hide vegetables in meals for kids almost in plain sight. Layers of squash atop the pasta of your famous lasagna will be perfectly concealed. Thin slices of veggies just under the bubbling cheese of a homemade pizza probably won’t be perceived. Slide mushroom bits into a chicken and cheese quesadilla and watch them dig in.

Not many kids will turn up their noses at a creamy after school smoothie. That doesn’t mean you have to tell them it is made with pureed carrots or celery. If you are lucky enough to have a juicer, your options are nearly endless. Mix sweet, juicy fruits with compatibly flavored veggies, pour into glasses and hand them straws.

You can’t go wrong with sweet treats and desserts. Zucchini bread dotted with chocolate chips will be gobbled up, especially when you call it “Mom’s Choco Bread.” Make chocolate cake with tomato soup or pureed beets in the mix. They will devour it with no questions asked. Pumpkin muffins, carrot cake and sweet potato pie are all delicious ways to hide vegetables in meals for kids.

But note that although this is great advice, I can’t guarantee results. LOL – my kids are pretty picky too, and seem to be able to detect “incognito vegetables”. But, give it a shot and let us know how it goes!

I food process bell peppers and mix in ground beef/turkey to make hamburgers.

Google recipes for cauliflower mashed "potatoes".

If you make spaghetti, can also food process lots of pepeprs, mushrooms, onions, carrots and hide in the sauce.

Are they old enough to cook with you or help you prepare? My daughter was always more willing to try foods that she had a hand in making.

My mom used to always make spaghetti riddled with onions, zucchini, and squash. We knew every time

Check out the book Deceptively Delicious!

*MINI CORN MUFFINS*

1 box jiffy cornbread mix
1 jar butternut squash baby food
1 individual-size can corn, drained (if they will eat it), drained

mix, bake at temp according to jiffy box (either 400 or 425) in a sprayed mini muffin pan, til edges are browned.



*CHOCOLATE MUFFINS*

1 box devil's food cake mix
1 can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

mix together in large bowl (it takes a while) and bake at 350 in sprayed muffin tin, following cake mix instructions for baking time.

you can make *spice muffins* using spice cake mix instead of devil's food.

You need to get them to eat their veggies just as veggies! Are you giving them canned or fresh/frozen veggies? Try fresh veggies! Bake parnips, carrots and other root vegetable and bake them as chips or fries.

I have the cookbook Deceptively Delicious and there's some good recipes in there. Here's a link to the macaroni and cheese that my kids LOVE!!! http://www.food.com/recipe/macaroni-and-cheese-with-butternut-squash-or-cauliflower-258018. When I make chicken noodle soup I add one cup of pureed cauliflower to the broth. I also make mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes. When I make hamburgers or meat loaf I put a couple carrots and a green pepper through the food processor and add it to the ground turkey.
I am lucky though; my kids LOVE their veggies. I credit it to the fact that I have a huge garden and I made all their baby food from fresh veggies. Plus now that they are older they help plant & harvest and we can veggies for the winter.

My kids are picky 8 and 12 year olds, but still drink the V8 splash drink, when I don't tell them what it is. They also both claim to hate tomatoes but when we mix tomato paste into recipies, they seem to think it's delicious. The rest we don't "disguse" as much as try to make fun. Artfully carved baby carrots, smiley faces made out of snap peas, etc. Most of the time it works.

As one MFP member suggested "dress" the veggies up. We made "Longhorns (cattle)" by threading a carrot strip through olives. Pinterest has some excellent pictures of strawberries made up with white chocolate and faces drawn with dark chocolate. Lots of Halloween dress-ups as well. We have made Pizza's (mushrooms, zucchini, peppers) with English muffins for years, pancakes (applesauce, bananas, most any fruit) with animals and faces. Let the kids decide how they will look - and definitely let them "decorate" as well. How about a fruit salad with 1/2 a kiwi slice for eyes, 1/2 grape for nose and watermelon (tomato) for mouth - stack it so it is 3-D or make several so seconds and thirds can be eaten, possibly add shredded carrot for hair. Broccoli was "little trees." Potatoes were easy to decorate, whether mashed or whole baked with toothpicks. HAVE FUN WITH FOOD!