Kids and veggies

[thesmokegoesupthechimneyjustthesame]

Son is 3 and typically loves fruit. Will eat an ungodly amount of raspberries, mangoes, strawberries, grapes and so on. But the only veg he'll eat on its own is corn on the cob or cucumber. Things like carrot or pepper sticks are ignored. Peas are also left which is madness to me. I'm hardly serving him brussel sprouts and cabbage.

Anyway, his eating is not concerning but I would like to up the veg intake. Thankfully he loves soup and also spaghetti bolognese so I can get lots of onions, carrots, garlic, lentils, leeks, and whatever else in him with these.

Any sneaky ways you up your kids veggies? He doesn't like veg where he can obviously see it so will eat around sweetcorn in tuna pasta for example. Doesn't seem to be an issue with soup bizarrely. Maybe I just need to be constantly making soups for him!

Does he like pizza? I mix a lot of carrot and tomato, pepper and sometimes even spinach into a base. And sometimes I make ‘monster sauce’ which is entirely green.

I also grate carrot into cheese for cheese on toast (using Red Leicester cheese so it all looks the same)
Really hit and miss though 😩 mine will eat cucumber and then a load of fruit.

Blended pasta sauces - as long as it appeared to be red/orange in colour it seemed fine (I even used to peel courgettes so the green bits didn't show!)
Things like shepherds pie/cottage pie - you can finely chop/grate veg into.

Otherwise try a complete range - just a small offering along with one he likes, don't make a fuss about it, and just repeat.
Try cabbage and sprouts - mine both actually liked them!

He does but we've only ever eaten it at parties or out at a restaurant. I should make my own and blitz things into the sauce. He'd pick any toppings off for sure.

Yeah definitely need to make my own sauces. Normally pasta is just tuna pasta, pesto pasta, or bolognese but I think he'd happily eat it in a homemade tomato sauce

Continuing to put veg on his plate and hope for the best. He likes a fruit salad as he calls it and I pop some veg on there too. It's never eaten 😅

Oh yes sorry that’s what I mean, I blitz up my own ‘tomato’ sauce using carrots and peppers too. As long as it’s basically red it usually passes 😅 I make a batch and freeze it flat in bags.

I'm inspired! It's the green veggies he's missing out on as he won't eat anything like broccoli even if it has cheese sauce on it and he's a cheese fiend.

Will need to experiment with how much green veg I can get away with without changing the colour of the sauce!

I've had success in putting out a little snack bowl of raw veg just before dinner for my kids, or when they're watching TV. Before dinner they're starving so they'll eat eg. Peppers and cucumbers and carrots, and when they're watching TV they will mindlessly eat whatever's there!

He'd pick any toppings off for sure.

Well, on the plus side, that’s developing the fine motor skills needed for writing 😂

Does he like cottage pie or fish pie? They are both good for hidden veg. We sometimes did spag bol pie (spag bol ragu topped with cheesy mash) when the DC were toddlers as it’s easy to eat.

How about carrot/swede/parsnip/butternut squash/seeet potato mash? Creamed sweetcorn or mushy peas? You could try adding a small amount to mashed potatoes first. Rainbow mash is quite fun with layers of different vegetables.

Add cauliflower rice to rice or finely chopped broccoli sprinkled on pasta like herbs.

Try serving salad French style before the main course.

A bit of sweet paprika often sorts the colour out OP 😉

I blend cauliflower into cheese sauce for Mac and cheese, that works quite well! Does he like smoothies? Could add spinach or kale to those, otherwise adding everything to pasta sauce as already mentioned

You mentioned pasta pesto I've often blitzed green veg into that as the colours match. So broccoli, spinach etc. When the colours match it tends to go down ok once the flavouring they're used to isn't overpowered. I think making all your own causes is key to sneaking in the veg. Great he likes soup you have so many options for veg there too!

I've tried this but always with fruit too. Maybe need to just put a veg plate out and not comment on it

😂

He's an absolute heathen and doesn't like mashed potatoes! He likes mince and tatties sans the tatties 😧

Cauliflower/broccoli blitzed into tiny pieces through something sounds like a plan. He likes curry but again, picks through the veg if it's chunky and just has the chicken

🙏🏻

This is a great idea for macaroni cheese. So many things in wouldn't have thought of 🙏🏻 smoothies would be an easy one but he's not fussed for them. Might try making some and freeze as lollies though

Red pesto only 🤪

Will definitely try making some sauces though

Cottage or shepherds pie is great for hiding veg in too. So is chilli (meat or mixed bean) or curries if he'll eat them.

Home made burgers could have some veg blitzed up and mixed into the meat patties. Same with homemade meatballs.

This time of year I'd definitely go big on the soup if he's into it!

Would he try dipping veg sticks into something? Tomato marinara sauce, garlic/cream cheese dip, hummus.... might be more appealing than the veg on their own.

Could you tempt him with a "strawberry/raspberry milkshake" that also carrots or similar blended in? Smoothies in general can be dominated by the fruit flavours he likes but a big handful of a mild green like spinach added in.

Sweet potato chips or roasted parsnips are sweeter (but not green....)
Butternut squash into sauces, possibly curry?

Red pesto could have carrots and red peppers easily blended into it. Roast them first.

Aw dang, sorry🤣🤣

True! Will definitely do this.

Have you tried cheesy mash if he is a cheese fiend but hates mashed potatoes? Mash is so good for adding veg…

What about carrot, beetroot, parsnip, sweet potato or kale crisps or fries or tempura with a dip? Not very healthy but it takes time to get used to a new food (I have a feeling it’s something like 10 tries). The flavour is milder and sweeter fried. He might be more open to eating them in healthier format once he has got a taste for the flavour 😂

Great ideas thank you. We are heavily leaning into soups still. He doesn't like any kinds of dips except for humous by the bucket load 😂 can't convince him to dip anything in it other than breadsticks though!

This was my thinking with broccoli. Absolutely cover it in grated cheese. But no, he doesn't like "blockeray" 🙄 Will try cheesy mash.

Another idea is "vegetable fritters" I haven't tried any of these recipes but had bookmarked them to try my DD on.

https://kidseatincolor.com/cheesy-vegetable-fritters-with-frozen-peas-corn/

https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/sweetcorn-and-sweet-potato-fritters/

https://kidseatincolor.com/ijjeh-arab-style-zucchini-fritters-from-lunchboxes/

This one is a bit different, if he likes pasta:

https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/pasta-vegetable-cheese-wedges/

I'm particularly keen to try her on this one as I have hopes for it as a lunch box option too!

If all else fails you could try beetroot chocolate brownies, I think you can do it with courgette too. They don’t taste of beetroot and it makes for a nice texture.