Getting your child to eat their stir-fried cabbage or broccoli at dinner can feel like you’re fighting a losing battle, right parents?
It’s so annoying when you look in their soup bowl and see that everything was eaten but the carrots.
“Why can’t you just eat the carrot? It tastes like the spare rib too, I promise!”
Sigh. we shouldn’t be lying to our kids. It doesn’t work anyway…
But how else can I get my child to eat their vegetables? It’s pretty much impossible!
We don’t want dinner tonight to turn into another event of headshaking, frustration, and endless “please” and “no”s. But we can’t let them get away without eating their veggies, right?
So when I found a trick online that promises to get more greens and fibre into my child’s diet without the back-and-forth battle, how could I not try it?
They say that anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. But I can assure you that although this trick sounds too good to be true, it actually works!
So if you’d like to learn the secret too, continue reading!
Introducing The Solution: Hidden Veggies!
It’s exactly as it sounds!
You hide the vegetables in your child’s food!
“Ok, but can’t they just fish through it and pick them out?” I hear you asking.
The trick here is to puree or grate them!
This way, your child won’t even know there are carrots and celery in their chicken soup! And even if they wanted to fish them out, how’re they going to? Muahahaha!
My Personal Experience
I don’t even know what words I can use to describe how chaotic and mind-numbing meal times used to be in my home.
I wanted my young children to eat the right food so they get the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients they need to grow up properly and do well.
But it was such a struggle when they’d refuse to eat anything green!
After I started hiding more vegetables in their food, a lot of that stress was relieved.
And by the way, if you’re weirded out about the idea of veggies in your desserts, I’m sure you wouldn’t pass a slice of carrot cake or banana bread, right?
Also, imagine how mind-blown I was when I realised that some or even all of the fat, eggs, or sugar in a dessert can be replaced with vegetables! Who knew?!
In fact, some of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten used aquafaba (the liquid in canned chickpeas) as a vegan replacement for eggs, which saved me from extra fat and cholesterol too!
My Tips and Tricks and Ways I Utilise Fruits and Vegetables!
So now you want to start hiding vegetables in your child’s meals too!
But how do you do it? Fruits are easy to hide in both sweet and savoury dishes.
But veggies are where it gets hard.
So how do you do it?
Which Veggies Are The Easiest To Hide?
Carrots are the easiest because they’re already sweet.
But you can mash any vegetable that doesn’t have a strong flavour, like beans, zucchini, eggplants, and even tofu, and add them to any dessert.
But it’s not just about flavour and texture.
How easily they can camouflage into the dish matters too! So pick your vegetables of choice wisely.
Don’t try to hide blended spinach in a white vanilla cake or carrots in a chocolate chip cookie!
Not only will it be obvious, but your gig is up.
You might as well get your partner to start cooking the kids’ meals because they might not trust eating anything you make any more!
How Do I Know Which Vegetables to Use For Which Dish?
It depends on two things.
One, how easily they can camouflage into your dish. Match colour to colour. Black beans in brownies and eggplant in muffins.
Secondly, flavour-wise, keep in mind that “If they grow together, they go together.”
Now, this tip takes a bit of pondering to get. But once you do, figuring out which vegetable to use will be a breeze.
If you’re making a pumpkin soup, pumpkins are seasonal in autumn. What else grows during autumn? Apples and pears! So include an apple and pear or two to fortify your soup!
How Do You Hide Them?
The easiest way is to steam or roast them first. This way, most of the vitamins will still be in the vegetable itself.
Then you can either mash or blend them up and add them straight into your muffins.
The vegetables will be undetectable! This way, your child won’t be able to tell that there are three different veggies in their pasta sauce!
Alternatively, you can grate them in if you’ve decided that your child is old enough to know the truth, like this recipe for zucchini bread! This adds extra fibre too!
Chocolate Is Your Best Friend!
It’s easy to hide anything in chocolate. And which kid doesn’t like chocolate???
The almost black-dark brown colour of cocoa can hide any vegetable! From blended carrots, spinach, and beans, and even crimson beetroot!
And here’s a fun fact: Did you know that regular cocoa powder contains many minerals that are great for heart and brain health? Yes! Regular cocoa powder!
What Dishes Are The Best For Hiding Veggies?
Anything that can or will be blended is the best.
So you might find soups, sauces, pasta, muffins, and cakes to be on rotation in the upcoming months.
Conclusion
I hate to break it to you, and at the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, don’t rely on hiding veggies in your kids’ food to get them to eat vegetables.
It’s great as a short-term solution to get more vegetables, fibre, minerals, and vitamins in their body. But you still want them to be able to eat and enjoy vegetables in their whole form, right?
Experts say it takes up to 10 times to try a new vegetable before your child will learn to like it.
So besides hiding veggies, slowly introduce your child to more veggies
If you’re always blending the vegetables in their chicken soup, keep some of them whole and increase the number as time passes by!
Lastly, stay cool about the idea of their food having veggies. Don’t trick them, and don’t deny it.
Getting your child to love vegetables is a long journey. Stay strong and stay patient. It’ll be worth it for your child in the long run!
If your child needs help in school, contact SmileTutor today to get connected to one of our 50,000 tutors today!
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