What nutritious foods can I hide in leek and potato soup

[Bronzenettle]

My youngest is a very fussy eater and there‘s not much fruit and veg or protein that he will eat.
I make pasta sauce with plenty of hidden veg in which he has a couple of times a week but he’s recently discovered he likes leek and potato soup so I’m wondering what I could sneak into that?
Would green lentils work? Spinach? Cabbage or cauliflower?
Any genius ideas?

Leek and potato soup is fine on it own. Do you add milk towards the end ?

Spinach is pretty much flavourless so should work. Same with blended cauliflower. Depends whether a change in texture would be noticed - lentils would change the texture I think. You might get away with adding turmeric?

Leek and potato soup is pretty nutritious already though.

Yes I put milk in. I know it’s pretty good on its own. It’s just that I’m trying to maximise the amount I can get in there as the rest of the day will consist of bread and crackers!

I sometimes blend in some silken tofu for extra protein. Lentils definitely, and I'd think cauliflower wouldn't be noticeable once blended unless you used loads and could really taste it!

Leek and potato soup is probably pretty good on its own, especially if you make it with homemade vegetable stock. But you could perhaps try lentils for protein - if he won't go for the texture you can cook red lentils in stock until they go mushy then blend them and they just add stodge, in a good way.

Celery or celeriac? A bit of kale? Cauli has a strong taste which might spoil it imho.

Well you could use a really good chicken stock using Carrots, onion and celery with the carcass and some onion of course. All the goodness will end up in the stock.

I'd also consider adding a couple of handfuls of watercress before blending (full of iron).

What about a can of white beans? I add it to tomato soup & blend sometimes instead of lentils for extra creamyness.

I make a green mix from cooked celery, spinach, things like radish leaves, fresh parsley and basil. Blend it and freeze in portions in an ice cube tray.
My family are vegetable dodgers so I just tell them its herbs.

If it's texture you probably won't get away with lentils

Maybe blend in a bit of cauli and sweetcorn

Cauli or broccoli, or both.
If he likes cheese add some to disguise other flavours.

Bone marrow. It tastes like butter so he won’t notice anything.

It’s extremely nutritious

Use cream instead of milk
Decent chicken stock as a base
Mix some mild flavoured cheese in too

What is silken tofu?

I second the can of white beans suggestion. Butter beans are very bland but v good for you.

Assuming you're blending it, you could switch out some potatoes for white beans.

Any dark green leafy veg will work, I do a basic green soup with onions, potato and garlic, plus whatever is to hand: leek, broccoli, spinach, watercress, rocket, greens. Can also add turnip, kohlrabi, cauliflower.

Not sweetcorn! Will ruin it! Leek and potato soup is lovely - as pp have said you could make it with a stock including carrot, onion and celery and watercress is delicious in soup, as is sorrel. I think kale might taste a bit strong. You could try parsley,also full of iron. And a large knob of butter added at the end brings all the flavours together

Cheese - Wensleydale is good.

You could try and sweet potato and leek soup. Or chicken, leek and potato.

Has he tried other soup recipes? Watercress and potato is lovely. Celery soup is lovely as well. The taste does change when too many vegetables are added.

White beans like butter beans or cannelini. The texture of the potatoe will hide the texture & the colour is the same so noone will know. You can skin them to be extra sure. I thinks is a very good idea as not really a lot of nutrition in leek & potato. I hid quite a lot of liquidised brown lentils in a cottage pie the other day - reduced the fat/meat content & improved the fibre. Noone in my lentil-hating family even noticed.

White beans and poached chicken breast

This might be v v wide of the mark but, grated cheese goes well on an L&P soup. As well as smuggling in a tiny bit of cheese in the soup itself could you have some grated mild cheese that 'just happens to be around' that you could give him the option of sprinkling on top of the soup?Just with a no-pressure shrug if he's not interested.

I always add about 1/2 small tub of cream cheese when blending, and then milk tomloisen it gets too thick. Never added any extra vegetables though so don't know if they would change the taste. Like the pp idea of adding butter beans though!

I'd add some chicken - you could blend it in.