hiding veggies!

djdd4

Hey guys,

Just wondering if anyone on this board hides veggie purees in your meals. I am currently reading books with different recipes. Can you really not taste the difference?  I hate veggies so its hard for me to get the kiddos to try them if I wont eat them.  Wondering if I can trick myself too!! TIA!

Go_Dawgs

I do green smoothies for the family, and my two year old likes them.  I've put raw veggies like tomato, spinach, and kale in them.

I don't put purees in food because I want my LO to learn to eat vegetables.  We prepare veggies in different ways, and have the best luck when they are mixed up with other foods.  For example, I can get a ton of spinach into my kid by putting frozen spinach in scrambled eggs with cheese.  Also, casserole type dishes with a lot of veggies mixed with meat and other items are always a big hit.  

I do occasionally put powdered veggies into foods (I dehydrate my own and then grind them up).  For example, I might put powdered tomato into mac & cheese.  However, I don't do this as the main way to get veggies into us.  I still serve veggies, but just do this for an extra boost of nutrition. 

Oh, and bacon always makes a veggie a big hit in our house.  Our son has always been in the 5th percentile for weight, so I don't worry about adding a little bit of fat for flavor it it means he'll eat nutritious food.  He will gobble up collard greens cooked with bacon.  Same with green beans. 

I think it's really important to just keep offering vegetables cooked in different ways.  If you try to always use purees and other ways to hide them, your kid may very well grow up to be a picky eater, and as an adult will probably not put the effort into meals to puree and hide the vegetables for the nutrition. 

lococo

I use cauliflower, broccoli, spinach and zuchinni (or other squash) in a lot of dishes - pasta, cassarole, enchilladas, etc.  I dont think you can tell all that much, but I love veggies.