After last weeks Cookie Oatmeal Smoothie recipe, I got a lot of emails asking if I had any other fun ways to sneak veggies into kids meals. Well of course I do, and I’m happy to share. First, here are the 6 golden items I try to keep on hand at all times:
*Frozen Chopped Spinach– a serious life saver! Frozen and already chopped I just throw it in to my recipes and boom an extra vegetable serving! Here’s a great resource on why you should be using spinach EVER DAY: Health Benefits of Spinach.
*Frozen Chopped Kale– ditto! And here are Health Benefits of Kale.
*Broccoli– Health Benefits of Broccoli.
*Zucchini– Health Benefits of Zucchini.
*Sweet Potatoes– my favorite vegetable! Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes.
*Bell Peppers– Health Benefits of Peppers.
Obviously smoothies are a great way to hide those veggies- specifically the frozen spinach and kale. Here are other ways to sneak veggies into your kids’ meals:
*Frozen Spinach: I mix it into omlettes or scrambled eggs, sandwiches, rice, pasta, and stuffed chicken. It’s very bland and many can’t even taste it so don’t be afraid to use a good amount. I put in at least a cup!
*Frozen Kale: I personally don’t like the taste of kale, so I hide it in my more zesty recipes like chili, soups, or tacos. If you like or are not bothered by the taste, add kale to everything!
*Broccoli: I steam a big bag of broccoli every week during meal prep and either use it as a side by itself or add it to my main dishes like omlettes, rice, pasta, quinoa mac and cheese, or any Asian-style chicken dish.
*Zucchini: Another fantastically bland vegetable! It’s very easy to cook up so I normally save making these until the day of. It’s great as a side dish like zucchini fries, mini pizzas, balsamic grilled zucchini, or zucchini bread (which you can add some AboutTime protein to for additional health benefits). If I want it as part of the main dish I throw it in with our quinoa pasta, brown rice, on top of sandwiches and burgers, or hide it underneath this delish and healthy Chicken Parmesan.
*Sweet Potatoes: Replace regular potatoes with sweet potatoes! You can do mashed, hasselback, cubed, or just baked. Some fun toppings are cinnamon, a little blue cheese, and if you have to: butter. I also add it to smoothies like the Cookie Oatmeal Smoothie mentioned above, or this Pumpkin Berry Spice Smoothie.
*Sweet Peppers: I meal prep these each Sunday by finely chopping them in the food processor. That way I can add them to any of our chicken dishes, eggs, rice, quinoa mac and cheese, and sandwiches without extra fuss.
So give these tricks a try. And if the kids don’t like it, try it again. And again. Because nothing is more important than your kids getting the nutrients they need to be healthy.
*If you’re a new reader, note that I buy organic. I don’t want to annoy people by putting the word “organic” in front of every single recipe and item so unless otherwise stated, it’s organic.
I hide them in their food. Pasta sauce is my best friend because I can get lots of veggies in there.
Definitely great ways to get kids to eat veggies. Hide them, or make them look cool/fun/interesting and perhaps kids will try them out too!
Love these tips! I'm going to have to try the frozen spinach. Pinning @ http://www.pinterest.com/contactbrendid/ Here's a recipe I use to "sneak" extra veggies in to my kids diet. http://brendid.com/super-vegetable-sloppy-joes/
We need to start freezing our greens. We tend to throw our produce in the crispers, but often by the time we use it it's wilted and ick.
Really great tips! I lucked out because all of my kiddies love Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes. I need to start introducing a few of these other veggies into their diest soon though.
I'm a lucky parent because my kids have always loved veggies of every kind. They must get it from me, because I do too!
I was so sad when my kiddo stopped eating sweet potato! He used to eat canned pumpkin with a spoon, too, and won't do that anymore.
My kids eat a lot of steamed veggies, but I like the idea of sneaking them into other dishes. Will definitely try some of these ideas.
Awesome tips! My daughters loves eating certain raw veggies so I need to try these tips to hide different veggies in foods.
These are some awesome tips. I am so happy I don't have these issue. My son know he has to eat them or he's stuck at the table. =P
I could really use some of these ideas for myself! It's always great to have more veggies in your diet.
Forget kids, these are great ideas for me! Hahahaha. I know that sounds weird, but I really need to start buying more greens for myself. I don't know what changed in the past year but I used to love broccoli. Now I can't stand it. So I've been hiding it in my own eggs lol.
My kids don't eat veggies, thank you so much for the useful post 😀
Those are some great tips. My daughter is so picky now that I am having a tough time.
Michelle F.
Thanks for the tips on the veggies! Very useful post.
I remember being picky as a child.
I am really lucky because my kids love vegetables. Unfortunately my husband is a different story.
These are some great tips that I am going to give a try! My 5 year old HATES veggies with a passion, but what he doesn't know…. right!!!!
Wonderful tips! I usually hide them in their food or just tell them to eat:)
These are great tips. My son fights me.
My kids love steamed broccoli! Thank God I never have to convince them – they ask for it whenever we go out to eat. 🙂
I am happy I have never had a problem with my son eating his veggies.
Just make sure it's not bland and hopefully, yeah maybe 🙂
These are great ideas. My kids love mostly all veggies. Each one has one or two they don't care for, and that's fine by me. I don't generally care for beets or turnips so I let them choose between two veggies at every meal.
I'm bookmarking this post, I struggle daily :(… Thanks for the tips.
Veggies are really delicious and healthy. I don't know how our parents made us appreciate the taste. I guess what they did just as you said — try and try again! 🙂
Always best to introduce veggies to them when they are young and teach them it is tasty and good for them!
My siblings and I were picky eaters but mum always gave us gravy and veggies first then the meat and it worked for us, we ended up liking veggies so much that a meal without was no meal at all to us
Can you give me tips on how to get Hubby to eat veggies? LOL
These are such great tips. I always mix veg into my sons mashed potatoes and his omlettes.
I get a big frozen back of spinach, kale and other greens at Costco and I add them to our smoothies and the kids do not even taste them.
GREAT tips, thanks for sharing. This is always a challenge!
These are great tips for getting kids to eat veggies. I was lucky because my kids always loved all the veggies and still do. Thanks for sharing.
My son is so picky and he hardly eats vegetables at all. Thank you for this.
I am so thankful my girls love veggies! They love when I add Kale to their smoothies!
Thanks for sharing these ideas. My two year old started eating broccoli when we called it "trees" and he calls peas "balls" because he loves to play ball. Luckily, he hasn't thrown the peas like balls!
How to get kids both big and small to eat their veggies. Great tips as usual!
I was lucky. My daughter always loved veggies.
These are all fantastic ideas! I don't care for the taste of kale either but really want the benefits of it so I mix it with other foods and can't taste it.
These are all good tips. The sweet potato one would be so easy, we've got a huge family of sweet potato lovers.
love these tips. I am always looking for new ways!
These are really great ideas and tips. Thanks for sharing.
All great ideas! I don't have kids, but I'm sure I'll be reading these kinds of blog entries when the time comes 😉
Thank God I don't have a problem in this area. Good ideas though
Totally using some of these tricks on my boyfriend haha.
I love my veggies. Great tips… totally going to use these on my boys. 🙂
Hiding veggies is always fun! I even do with adults!
It's funny because as I'm reading this I'm thinking of how I can do these things for my BF. He is SUCH a picky eater it really limits what I can cook!
I love finding new ways to incorporate veggies in a meal. My kids do love most vegetables though so I am lucky because I don't need to hide them 🙂
I know a few mamas I'm going to share this with. Great post!
Getting my kids to eat veggies is a challenge and it's harder and harder to be sneaky about it. One day I hope the decision to eat more veggies will be their own.
All great tips! I'll have to use some of these when I eventually have kids of my own.
I have no kids, but up until recently, I liked to hide my veggies from myself LOL
Love all these tips 😀