Lentils! Help me get my kids to eat them.

[Anonymous]

DId everyone see the WaPo article about the many nutritional and environmental benefits of lentils? I love them but am really having a hard time getting my kids to eat them. One will eat lentil enchiladas (I mix the cooked black lentils with some grated cheddar and some of the enchilada sauce before stuffing it into the tortillas).

They've rejected lentil soup in the past. (Sacrilege!) And I didn't have much luck with the time-intensive veggie burgers I made. Anyone have anything better?

[Anonymous]

I get these roasted lentils from Mom's organic market and my kids love them. You can also get them from Amazon, but Mom's has lower prices:

https://www.amazon.com/Seapoint-Farms-Lentils-Gluten-Free-Verified/dp/B098TZLFHK/ref=sr_1_2?crid=HFK7S68JOLPJ&keywords=mighty+lil+lentils+pink+himalayan+salt&qid=1679424472&sprefix=lentils+with+pink%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-2

[Anonymous]

When I was a kid, my dad made a mix of half rice/half lentils and served it with a saucy protein - quite often, pork medallions in peanut sauce.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried just cooking them like beans and serving with rice? Also make sure you serve them kind of mushy, my picky eater will reject them if there is any firmness at all because she doesn't like the texture (same with beans, actually, she likes them really really soft).

[Anonymous]

There are veggie burgers called No Bull at WF and idk why but my toddler is obsessed with them. They have lentils.

[Anonymous]

Dal and rice, lentil bolognese, lentil shepherd's pie

[Anonymous]

Here are some ways that I've had success getting kids to eat them (note: Not all of these for any one kid, I have 3 of my own and regularly watch my siblings' kids, so I've got a bigger sample size than most! Also, I really like lentils)

Mixed 25/75 and then working up to 50/50 with ground beef for something like bolognese sauce, meatballs, taco meat, filling for gemista (stuffed vegetables). In my experience, if there's a lot of cheese they are less likely to notice. So, putting the taco meat in quesadillas, or using it as a topping for nachos is an easy win.

Lentil soup with a lot of sausage, again gradually decreasing.

Lentils mixed with a rice for the base of a grain bowl with flavors that they like (think Cava, we actually call this "fake Cava" in our house)

Some variation on this salsa with black lentils instead of black beans. https://www.savorynothings.com/avocado-mango-and-black-bean-salsa/. I'll do just lentils, mango, red pepper, and the dressing. Some kids like onions, some don't, some kids want jalapenos, others REALLY don't. Adding avocado is good, but I am very bad at timing when avocados will be ripe.

Lentil shepherd's pie This recipe is good: https://rainbowplantlife.com/healthy-vegan-lentil-shepherds-pie/. except then I add a bunch of cheddar cheese on top since we're actually not vegan (in case the "mix it with ground beef" strategy didn't clue you in to that) and cheese is a huge motivator for my kids.

These crispy lentils as a topping for various things: https://rainbowplantlife.com/butternut-squash-soup-with-crispy-lentils/. My kids probably wouldn't have eaten them at first on that soup, but on a familiar soup that they already liked like roasted red pepper (popular because it's sweet) these lentils were a hit.

Mix with pico de gallo, or bruschetta topping as a dip. Basically this: https://smittenkitchen.com/2022/01/my-favorite-lentil-salad/. except I usually just used store bought pico. Again, start with a ratio that's low on the lentils.

[Anonymous]

Lentil sloppy joes.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried the precooked French ones they have at Trader Joe’s?

My kids like them in bolognese, on nachos or in tacos/burritos and in grain bowls.

[Anonymous]

I make lentil sloppy joes.

[Anonymous]

We love lentils. I get the small green ones (lentilles du Puy), cook until tender, with onions and sausage. It's a common dish in my country.

[Anonymous]

Would they eat Indian food? My kids LOVE curried lentils - there are tons of instant pot recipes for these with all kinds of lentils and spices.

They are also really good as a side dish. Green lentils with salmon is delicious.

I also just made this soup. The lentils basically dissolve and thicken the soup. It was really good.
https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/smoky-chickpea-red-lentil-vegetable-soup.html

[Anonymous]

If in the dmv, go to Fava Pot. They have a lentils dish with pasta in it. My kids love it.

[Anonymous]

Lentil tacos
Mujaddarah

[Anonymous]

I make a vegetable chili and usually use lentils instead of beans.