Fruits and vegetables are essential for healthy growth in children of all ages, and we have to make sure our kids are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need to grow up having healthy lives.
If you’re worried your toddler is missing out on nutrients, it’s ok to use some smoke and mirrors to get vegetables on your child’s plate during development. To that end, here are four sneaky ways to get your toddler eating vegetables:
Sneak veggies in purees: Pureed vegetables can slide easily under a toddler’s taste radar if you add them into mainstay meals. Try any of these:
● Mix cauliflower or yellow squash puree into mac-n-cheese or mashed potatoes
● Add vegetable juice to soups
● Blend any veggies into spaghetti and pizza sauces or tuck them between lasagna layers
● Shred zucchini, beets, or carrots and mix them into meatloaf, meatballs, and burgers
● Scramble pureed broccoli into eggs for some “green eggs” with ham
Switch it up: you can always switch proteins for vegetarian substitutes. Instead of noodles, serve up spaghetti squash and then smother with sauce. You could also switch taco meat for packaged veggie crumbles. No one will be able to tell the difference.
Bury veggies in baked goods: You can come up with many different concoctions for a veggie-friendly meal. Try these examples:
● Substitute white-bean puree for some of the butter in cookie recipes;
● Bake a package of frozen spinach into brownie mix (honestly, it takes good!);
● Add shredded zucchini or carrots to sweet muffins and bread;
● Hide beets in chocolate cake or pureed carrots and squash in yellow cakes;
● Mix pumpkin into pancake batter.
Make a veggie juice cocktail: There are different ways to go about this. Add carrot juice to apple juice and serve it as is or blend the mixture with ice to make a shake. For a veggie-fruit smoothie, just add yogurt. Here’s a fun snack to try: pour the juices into ice-pop trays and freeze your own popsicles. Your children will love this healthy, icy treat.
Do you have any special tips you’d like to share with our community? Leave your comment below.
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