Is there a way to get my kids to eat vegetables, and they don't know it?

[CRSunrise]

I'm probably going to get slammed for this question, but I'm going to ask anyway.

I know there are ways to disguise the vegetables, but I'm not entirely sure how to go about doing it. It's really hard to get my family to eat vegetables, outside of the norm. I'm also trying to find ways to get my husband to do the same.

Any ideas?

[JohnRi]

As a partially reformed picky eater, all I can say is good luck!  My father and mother tried to get me to eat vegetables all duing my childhood.  My father once told me I could not leave the table until I ate them.  So I stayed there all night long until it was time to go to school.  "I won" I didn't eat them.

It wasn't until my doctor said I had 10 years to live that I finally changed and started eating them.  I found many I loved, many are ok, many I hate.  But my diet is so much better now.

So many people eat crunchy snacks, chips, pretzels, etc.  I suggest starting with thinks like Broccolli with cheese.  Green giant has a broccoli with mac and cheese.  They also have a Broccoli with cheese and rice.  So you might trying sneaking them it mixed with foods they already like.  Then switch to broccoli with just cheese.  Then you can try plain steamed broccoli. 

All of these I mentioned are in the frozen section at the store.

The are a number of "kid" inspired frozen vegetables from Birds Eye.  Easy to make, just nuke in the Microwave.

Stop stocking junk food.  That's a big step.  Keep things like apple slices, carrots, etc. 

It won't be easy!  But good luck!!!

[AIAB]

Hide them in other things.  Smoothies are great because they taste like fruit, but you can hid a lot of veggies in them.  My 6 year old loves them.  I think there are recipes out there with other things, but I rely pretty much on the smoothie.  He drinks one before school/camp even though he has breakfast there.

[jehrich]

+1 for "Stop stocking junk food"

Having two small children of our own, the following often works for us:

- Let them help with the groceries. My boys are allowed to buy anything they want at the grocery store, as long as it's healthy. They enjoy having the choice and they rarely complain when presented with their option later in the week.

- I used to push veg at meals, but that frequently ended with unhappy boys and/or parents. Instead, I now often only allow veg and other healthy options as a bedtime snack (or between meals). They can skip it or take it. If they're truly hungry they will often take it. This has an added benefit of discouraging snacking out of habit. 

Good luck!

[Odyssey13]

No one should slam you for this @CRSunrise because it's an age old dilemma for any parent or spouse!

Kids like dips and maybe your husband will too. Make veggies fun with a variety of them sliced small and put on a tray with different dipping sauces. Ranch, honey mustard, even hummus (which is made with chickpeas) and of course, cheese.

Depending on the age of the child, you can get away with saying brocolli is a little tree. Be sure to cut it into small pieces and not keep it in big chunks. Kids have a tendencey to put a whole piece in their mouth and then spit it out. Small pieces are better to get them to chew and swallow.

It's the textures most kids seem to dislike. Try cauliflower and see them spit it out because it crumbles.

A few things to try:

celery: with almond butter or peanut butter

brocolli: steamed with cheese or raw with a dip

green or red peppers: cut with dip

carrots: steamed with a bit of honey or syrup

carrots raw: sliced small with dip

You'll have to experiment and see what works best for your family. Why not ask the kids, if they are old enough, to plan a few meals. Let them pick out the veggies and dips.

Introduce them to salads. If there is a farmer's market, let them talk to the sellers about some tips on how to eat different veggies.

Have them grow bean sprouts. It's easy to do in a jar and the seeds don't cost much. Have a small garden. You can use a small bucket or trashcan to plant a few seeds. Radishes, lettuce, carrots are good. The kids can have fun watching them grow and eating them.

Now about your husband, maybe he will see the kids enjoying things and join in .

[Stinkyfish97]

Found out my son requested a salad even though there was plenty of pizza around at a recent party he attended, he is 10. The kicker is it had bacon bits in it. 

I think I will work on this idea. Maybe start getting him used to having a salad with dinner, and slowly decreasing the amount of bacon bits that I put in the salad. If his mind thinks their is bacon in their he will eat it, I dont know why but bacon is his favorite thing right now. It may not be the healthiest but sometimes you have to familiarize them with what you want to eat. Like you said disguise it. Even if they do not eat the veggies on the plate make sure to always serve them veggies for dinner. They will get used to it being a part of dinner. When they are really hungry they will eat them. 

I like the smoothie ideas as well. To go along with the smoothie ideas there is some wonderful dips out there you can make at home. Easy go to dips ranch, hummus, or even just a little peanut butter. The thing is you cannot expect them to just eat the raw veggies because you want them too. There has to be some give and take on your end as well. It may not be as healthy as eating raw veggies without anything but its about getting them used to eating veggies as a snack. 

[LadyDee]

If your children love pasta, try blending the veggies in with your pasta sauce.  As someone else suggested, try adding them to smoothies.  A search online could provide some other great ideas as well.

I have 2 picky eaters, one loves banana, the other wouldn't touch it.  Do whatever you can to get to eat as much as possible, they would thank you for it later.  As the parent of a child who has food allergies and has become a picky eater, (she became allergice to foods she once enjoyed - lentils, chick pea and soya beans), it could be very difficult, but not impossible.  All the best in your quest to better family health.

[Odyssey13]

@Stinkyfish97 there are bacon flavored salad dressings, too. Sounds like your son is learning from you.

[CRSunrise]

@Odyssey13 - It's just the last time I asked a question, where it seemed like I was trying to get around something, or look for a loophole, it felt like I got condemn by some of the posts that followed.

[Odyssey13]

@CRSunrise with a public forum, you never know what the response will be. No one means to condemn you, but to help you. It's just like real life, being on these forums. Some people blurt out their thoughts and others take a moment to say it more tactfully.

Don't worry about it. Just take care of yourself and your family.

[CRSunrise]

@Odyssey13 - I am doing the best I can, and we're all just starting out. However, right now, I wouldn't mind having a bowl of Lays Sour Cream and Onion potato chips, but either I would eat the entire bag, or I'd have to hide it because my kids like the stuff too.  It's hard to make some foods last in the house without hiding it.

[Odyssey13]

You know when you're a grown up when you realize the need to go to bed at a reasonable hour and you know that bowl of chips isn't as healthy as a salad.

Maybe this is a good time to teach your children the difference between wanting and needing. Most kids understand a car needs gas, just as their bodies need veggies.

@CRSunrise enjoy the time with the kids and make this a learning time for all of you. Try not hiding the food. Once you stop hiding it, they won't always want it.

[JaysFan]

It takes 15-20 exposures for a child to eat something like vegetables.  If you haven't read Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility then definitely make that your first stop.

Your job, as a parent, is to provide your child with healthy food at reasonable intervals. Their job, as a child, is to either eat it or not eat it. 

You need to get your husband on board with modeling healthy eating. They see everything. They know if you're not eating healthfully and will model that, too.

[Ukase]

Is there some reason you think vegetables are important? Are you sure you're not falling for some farmer propaganda? 

 As someone who does reluctantly eat vegetables, I can tell you that the best thing you can do is to make them taste good. 

What recipes are you trying? 

You say "outside the norm"  - what does that mean? 

Sweet potatoes are a very ugly food and they certainly aren't that sweet or that good, not compared to french fries, or a baked potato with cheese & bacon bits. Speaking of - what's wrong with a baked potato? 

Seriously though, 

I would start with a spaghetti squash, well seasoned with maybe some Cavendar's Greek Seasoning or perhaps some salsa. 

Steamed Broccoli with minced garlic is also pretty good. 

Carrots are also okay. 

Asparagus is just disgusting unless it's drenched in butter - so there's no motivation to suggest that. 

Zucchini and summer squash ...well, they have to be cooked properly and seasoned properly to be enjoyable. 

So - what recipes are you trying? Take a look at Whole Foods - their prices are over the top, but their website has some good recipes. 

 Oh, no question the texture of some veggies are just obnoxious - like mushrooms. I'm 50, and have never eaten one because they are so gross. I will NEVER eat one. I mean, it's a fungus. Not too far from a mold. Why would anyone eat that? Nope! Not me, not going to do it, not ever! 

[allegrajohnson]

Do they like mashed potatoes? Try mashed cauliflower. There's a billion and a half recipes on the internet, but my favorite involves cooking it, mashing it, and mixing in butter, sour cream, bacon, cheese, and chives - the plethora of "other" flavors masks the cauliflower flavor pretty well, imho. 

If they see through that, try this Fried "Rice" without the other veggies. To make it more of a meal, throw in some cubed up chicken. Even if they're not typically fond of Chinese food, I find that fried rice goes over well with kids.

Edited to add: For the mashed cauliflower, you can try doing 50/50 potatoes/cauliflower at first, and slowly decreasing the potatoes over subsequent servings.