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1. Have your child make the meal. Sometimes buying a kids cookbook and having your child help you out in the kitchen can get them excited about the meal they are about to eat. Have them pick out a veggie when you go shopping and use that as one of the kid meals.
2. Be a sneaky chef. Sometimes you can actually blend certain veggies and add them into other recipes and no one will know. I like recipes that hid the veggie into normal food items and don't change the taste. One example used at our house is adding cauliflower to mashed potatoes.
3. Mix veggies in plan sight. You can add extra veggies certain foods without your child even realizing it. One example is pasta sauce. By adding extra chunks of tomato, bell pepper, and shredded carrots you can help thicken spaghetti sauce. Add extra veggies to homemade pizza with, tomato slices, bell peppers, and yes again shredded carrots.
4. Have a Home Garden. Next year we would like to plant and grow our own veggies. Monkey is growing so fast these days that we would love to have him help out with the garden so that he can see and eat what he has grown. This would give him a sense of pride and help teach him that food comes from the ground not stores.
5. Cheese Sauce. Throw some sliced cheese over veggies and stick it in the microwave! Quick, easy and you’re good to go. You can use melted cheese as a dipping sauce as well.
6. The Big Dipper. Monkey loves to dip his food into just about anything. We use carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and his choice of dip. This is a fun, health, and simple mid-day snack. You can also try out cucumber slices with a side of hummus or ranch to go with it.
7. The Shape shifter. Monkey is really into shapes. We have tried to cut just abut anything into fun shapes. Use small cookie cutter to cut up cucumber slices. The key is to make veggies fun to eat and the little ones will gobble them all up.
8. Shopping. Have the kids help you shop for dinner and let them choose which veggie they want. When shopping teach them about the different veggies, shapes, and colors. Just like with the home garden they get to feel special that they picked out the special veggie of the day.
9. Smooth Operator. Try to use veggies in smoothies. You can add beets to berry smoothies or try adding a few spinach leafs to a fruit Smoothie. Makes it kind of fun to drink. Trust me they won't even know they're getting all their fruit and veggies in one gulp.
10. More Peas. Above all don’t force your little one to eat ALL the veggies on the plate. Just getting them to try something new is a goal. It takes baby's and toddlers about fifteen tries just to get them to like a new food item. Give them a veggie they love and then offer a different one. We usually make a big deal when Monkey tries out a new veggie like squash.
How do you get your little ones to eat their veggies?
About Peas and Thank You
Peas and Thank You is a collection of recipes and stories from a mainstream family eating a not-so-mainstream diet. It's filled with healthy and delicious versions of foods we’ve all grown up enjoying, but with a Mama Pea twist—no meat, lots of fresh ingredients and plenty of nutrition for growing Peas. From wholesome breakfasts to mouth-watering desserts, there’s plenty here to satisfy the pickiest Peas in your life. It’s easier than ever to whip up crowd-pleasing meals that will have the whole family asking for, “more, Peas.” Sarah Matheny's delicious recipes and entertaining stories draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to her blog, peasandthankyou.com each month, where she makes raising a vegetarian family easy and fun. She is the author of “Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love.”
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