Veggie preparations your picky kids love

[Anonymous]

The reason most kids don’t like veggies is due to bitterness (many plants make toxins that taste bitter as a defense mechanism), adults have just gotten used to these tastes. Many veggies also make kids feel lousy.

Focusing in Whole Foods, meats, fats, some dairy and fruits will provide better nutrition to growing children versus a “balanced” standard American diet of highly processed carbs, GMO grains and veggies and seed oils. Nutritionally dense food tastes good and kids will eat it. Think about that for a moment. This challenges the norm but could vastly improve your family’s life and longevity.

[Anonymous]

Spinach balls. Cabbage pancakes. Egg roll in a bowl. Spring rolls. Spinach pie.

Sweeter and blander vegetables such as cucumbers, sweet potatoes, squash.

So, basically preparations that mean that you taste — and feel — something other than the actual raw veggies.


https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Spinach-Balls-1012532?prm-v1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I made a rule that vegetables are the only food they are allowed to eat on the couch. Everything else must be at the table. So if they are watching TV they can have a carrot, sliced peppers, cucumbers or whatever. If they want a granola bar instead they have to move to the dining table.
This works for my lazy kids.

This is awesome!

[Anonymous]

My kids won’t eat spinach on their own but will eat spinach ravioli, spanakopita, on top pizza

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spinach balls. Cabbage pancakes. Egg roll in a bowl. Spring rolls. Spinach pie.

Sweeter and blander vegetables such as cucumbers, sweet potatoes, squash.

So, basically preparations that mean that you taste — and feel — something other than the actual raw veggies.


https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Spinach-Balls-1012532?prm-v1

Yum. Spinach balls!
Corn is very sweet too. Cream-style corn is amazing.
Agree that raw veggies, especially peppers! are so bitter. Lots of grownups don't like them.

My kids didn't mind the taste of onion in soup but they didn't like the onion pieces. When you are sauteeing, add a bit of baking soda, and it causes them to "melt" together into a mush without the identifying culprit pieces. That may work with other soft vegetables? Then add in something identifiable that they like, like mini meatballs, and maybe they won't notice the mush.

[Anonymous]

All kinds of roasted vegetables- cauliflower, broccoli, okra, eggplant, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts. 400F in a single layer until the very edges get a bit caramelized.
Raw: sweet mini peppers, mini carrots, Persian cucumbers.
Steamed/ blanched and sautéed in butter: green peas, haricots verts
Steamed: edamame
Puréed: soups

The trick is to season everything well. Veggies need salt to bring out their flavors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My picky eater has gotten so much better lately— way more willing to try new things, eating better variety generally, understands eating balanced meals with different elements. But we still can’t seem to convince her to eat vegetables. At all. Curious if others with picky eaters have veggie preparations their kids like? We’ve tried all the usual stuff servings with dips, serving mashed, roasted, steamed, even fried. She sniffs out its vegetable quality and rejects. Any ideas?

For my pickies - a neighbor made some tiny British meat-veggie pasties-heavy on veggies. Tiny pieces of veggies with teeny pieces of meat in stir fry- let them make wraps. Roast veggies like baby carrots with some cinnamon and butter. Serving dish with goofy umbrella toothpicks.

If they eat taco meat- mix in some baby food peas and carrots. That is a slick move unless they see you. Same sneak infusion on ground beef for burgers.

[Anonymous]

Cut carrots into French fry shapes and bake or air fry them - my kids love carrot fries with ketchup but they’d also be good with honey and yogurt.

Good old ants on a log - celery plus peanut butter and raisins.

Make beet chips in the air fryer - So yummy.

Mashed sweet potato with cinnamon and milk and maple syrup.

Also, good old potato fries - many think it doesn’t count, but I think any enjoyment of veggies is a good thing. I love potatoes.

[Anonymous]

My youngest only liked "juicy" vegetables like broccoli or green beans, and plain. Steamed, no butter, or salt or any seasoning. "Juicy" meant a bit wet from the steam that condensed after cooling.

She also only likes roasted vegetables that are crispy. So we make a lot of kale chips, roasted brussels sprout leaves, roasted broccoli with a bit of darkened, crispy parts. Crispy potato wedges.

Then there's the raw vegetables, carrot chips, whole long peeled carrots, celery.

Frozen peas straight out of the freezer. Yes, they're technically a legume but I think of it as a vegetable.

Would any of these be pleasing to your child?

[Anonymous]

My severe selective eater ate frozen peas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My severe selective eater ate frozen peas.

I know so many kids for whom this is their favorite veggie. Both my kids, all their cousins at a certain stage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My youngest only liked "juicy" vegetables like broccoli or green beans, and plain. Steamed, no butter, or salt or any seasoning. "Juicy" meant a bit wet from the steam that condensed after cooling.

She also only likes roasted vegetables that are crispy. So we make a lot of kale chips, roasted brussels sprout leaves, roasted broccoli with a bit of darkened, crispy parts. Crispy potato wedges.

Then there's the raw vegetables, carrot chips, whole long peeled carrots, celery.

Frozen peas straight out of the freezer. Yes, they're technically a legume but I think of it as a vegetable.

Would any of these be pleasing to your child?

I posted just after you without reading. Your child and mine are similar!

He would eat green beans if they were roasted, and crispy.

And carrots, if you made them "sliders" -- just a long flat peel of carrot.

Sometimes celery or thinly sliced cucumbers, with ranch dressing for a dip.

Butter lettuce salad.

[Anonymous]

Stir fry tofu and veggies with peanut sauce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just bribed my kids with dessert. To get dessert, they had to at least try a bite of everything. Worked wonders. If I had a dollar for every time I heard “Oh! This is good!” or “this didn’t taste as bad as I thought” I would be rich. The lure of dessert overcame whatever misgivings they had about the veggies.

We also allowed veggie parts - my youngest wouldn’t eat asparagus tips for YEARS. So we just let him eat everything but the tips.

I mean I guess this works if you serve dessert every night? Does everyone do this? I didn’t grow up in a dessert-every-night house, we’d have ice cream on the weekends and popsicles more frequently in the summer I suppose. So it never dawned on me that serving dessert every night is the secret to getting kids yo eat some veggies…

[Anonymous]

Any favorite spinach ball recipes? Would like to try those for our kids.