6 Ways to Sneak Veggies into Kids’ Food

Have you ever met a kid who will happily try a new vegetable that is offered to them? We haven’t either. We all know how fussy and picky children can be when it comes to eating healthy foods, but there are plenty of ways around this small parenting issue. Here are some ways to sneak some veggies into their daily meals:

1. Shake It Up 

As long as it tastes decent, your child will most likely prefer a shake or smoothie over having to eat plain veggies on a dinner plate. Make a fruit and vegetable smoothie for them to get those vital nutrients to your kid. Better yet, if you have an electric juicing device, you can make the most of your healthy foods by squeezing the essential vitamins and minerals out of them. 

2. Pasta Dishes 

One of the easiest ways to incorporate vegetables into a meal for children is to do so with their favorite pasta dishes. Near the end of the pasta cooking time, add some finely diced veggies to the boiling water. After you strain it and add a delicious sauce, your child will barely notice there’s anything added! 

3. Dip It 

Young children love to immerse their food in tasty dipping sauces, which can be used to your benefit. Although you may have to sacrifice the full healthy experience with your dip choices, at least they will love their vegetables for once. Cheese sauce for broccoli and sour cream and onion dip for celery and carrots are great starters. 

4. Trickery

While it’s not the best practice to trick your children into eating food, sometimes they’re only picky eaters because it’s “all in their head.” Try to slip grated or diced vegetables into some of their favorite foods. What they don’t know won’t hurt them!

5. Veggie Joes

Kids love sloppy joes, so why not try your best to add some healthy aspects to your recipe. While preparing the ground beef, you can add some finely chopped mushrooms to the mix. The consistency and texture will be nearly identical to your child’s taste buds, so they probably wouldn’t even notice what they’re eating!

6. Casseroles 

Dishes like casseroles and quiches are similar to the above sloppy joe idea because they’re easy to throw in some veggies unnoticed. Finely shred zucchini and summer squash has very mild tastes to add to a casserole. Additionally, small pieces of broccoli and onions will taste great in an egg quiche.

Also read: Healthy Snacks to Bring to Your Next Playdate by Monica K. Guthrie

Written by Stephanie Parker from SleepingBaby.com, inventors of the Zipadee-Zip

The motto for Sleeping Baby, makers of the Zipadee-Zip, is: "Inspiring Dreams One Night at A time," and that, in a nutshell, is how it all started…with one little dream that has since become the Parker family's reality. When Brett and Stephanie Parker's daughter, Charlotte, was born, the feeling that welled up inside of them was indescribable; they never realized until first looking into those baby blues of hers that they were even capable of that kind of love.

When it was time to transition baby from swaddling, the Parkers tried every sleep sack on the market and every swaddle weaning trick they could find for nearly two weeks and nothing worked to get baby Charlotte to fall and stay asleep.

Stephanie became determined to restore sleep and sanity to their household and set out to find a solution that would soothe Charlotte's startle reflex and provide her the cozy womb-like environment she loved so much but still give her the freedom to roll over and wiggle around in her crib safely. Out of sheer desperation and exhaustion, the Zipadee-Zip was born. The first Zipadee-Zip(R) Stephanie put together on her little sewing machine worked like magic!

To date tens of thousands of Zipadee-Zips have been sold and all from word-of-mouth marketing. It is so rewarding for the Parkers to see other parents and babies getting the sleep they both need and deserve!

Interested in writing a guest blog for Sleeping Baby? Send your topic idea to social@sleepingbaby.com.

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