- Let's Play "Hide-and-Sneak"
with Veggies!
By Deborah Taylor-Hough
Do you find yourself sitting
by helplessly while your very own little picky eater works her
way through every ounce of spaghetti sauce, picking out the almost
microscopic bits of cooked onion?
Do you wish there were a way
to get little Johnny to eat more veggies than just the French
fries at the local drive- thru? (Do those even count as veggies,
anyway?)
Well, relax.
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While these tricks won't necessarily
help you win each of those out-right battles waged over plates
of food with flagrant veggies and fruit, playing a little "Hide-and-Sneak"
could be just what the doctor ordered for a simple way to help
your child eat healthier ... even if their picky little taste
buds haven't quite matured enough for a full serving of cooked
Brussel sprouts.
1) Puree veggies and add to spaghetti sauce, soups,
or soup stock. You can also use small baby food jars of pureed
carrots or squash to thicken (and add some healthy veggies) to
assorted sauces and soups.
2) Shred veggies and add to ground meat for healthier
burgers, meatloaf, or meatballs. You can also add some shredded
veggies as you're browning ground meat for tacos and other ground
meat meals. |
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3) Hide those "icky" onions in sauces,
casseroles, or other recipes by sauteing the sliced onions in
a small amount of margarine/butter or olive oil until soft. Then
blending throughly in the blender. You'll get all of the delicious
onion flavor but none of that yucky "slimy" texture
picky kids tend to find so disgusting.
4) Thicken gravies and sauces with pureed vegetables
(be sure to steam or cook the veggies first). You can also use
baby food veggies for this, too
5) Add 1/2 cup of carrot puree (or a jar of those
handy baby food carrots) to your favorite brownie mix or chocolate
cake recipe..
6) Let your kids "dip" their various raw
or cookked veggies in a dip: Cheese dip, Ranch dressing, salsa,
mayo, sour cream, or ketchup. One mom reported to me that her
daughter's veggie-with-dip of choice is cooked green beans dipped
in her favorite ketchup. Yeah, I know. Ick! But at least she's
eating those green beans happily.
7) Make your own fruit-flavored breakfast "syrups"
by blending fresh or thawed blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
or whatever you child's favorite berries might be with a small
amount of honey.
8) Make popsicles with 100% fruit juice, pureed fruit
mixed with a bit of honey and juice or milk, or flavored yogurt.
Be creative ... invent your own
version of "Hide-and-Sneak" with your picky child's
personal food arch-enemy.
Copyright (c) Deborah Taylor-Hough
Used with permission. All rights reserved. |
