3 Ways to Cook Vegetables for Picky Kids

Children are notorious for trying ways of getting out of eating their vegetables. Despite our best efforts, it can be challenging to get picky kids to consume the recommended amount of veggies. Our kids are growing fast, and we owe it to them to find a way to up their intake for fruits and vegetables. Sometimes, you have to embrace clever ways and even "trick" your kids into eating healthfully. Below you will find a few suggestions on ways to cook and present vegetables for picky kids: 

The Magic of Mincing - Not only do food processors puree baby food and blend cookie dough, but also works to mince vegetables within seconds. After washing and drying greens, cabbage, broccoli, and carrots, all you have to do is place them in a food processor and let the metal blade do all the work of creating finely chopped veggies that can be added to all of your children's favorite foods.

The trick is to select meals that offer a good cover-up, such as soups, rice, mashed potatoes, spaghetti sauce, pizza, pasta dishes, sloppy Joes, chili, and pasta salads. In the end, they can hardly tell the difference. Overall, the beauty of minced vegetables is that they are easy to make, convenient, and when you wish to plan ahead – large batches easily store in the freezer for months.

The Big Dipper - Children are natural dippers and if you introduce them to the world of vegetable dipping, they may take a liking to crunchy raw carrot sticks and other steamed selections. A few vegetable options to consider include celery, bell peppers, cucumber slices, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower. Allow your children to experiment with a variety of different dips. You never know when your child will warm up to hummus, cream cheese, peanut butter, almond butter, tahini, yogurt, cottage cheese, and a variety of salad dressings.

The Great Cover Up - Sometimes, all a vegetable needs is a little cover up. Grated or shredded cheese makes broccoli and Brussel sprouts more inviting, while a little butter adds a more recognizable flavor to veggies and even increases the nutrient absorption (certainly true of carrots for example). Try preparing a crumb topping to help cover up the veggies that make your children run from the dining room table. A basic recipe includes melting two tablespoons of butter (or olive oil) and mix with ½ cup of breadcrumbs or crushed crackers, which is then crumbled over your vegetables of choice.