Seasoning Vegetables

aeh72 · September 2013

DS has been basically on a vegetable strike for the past few weeks, closing in on probably a month. I can sneak them into something from time to time, but even then, he's been picking them out as best he can on most of those occasions. Last night, DH was eating canned peas (gag!). He gave DS some and DS gobbled them right up - like could not get enough of them. I'm sure it was all the sodium. It made me totally cringe because I do not want his vegetables to come loaded with sodium. So, what is my alternative? I've basically just been steaming the veggies and I add a little shake of salt but I'm sure not enough for any real flavor. For the longest time, that was okay but apparently not anymore. Do you season your veggies? If so, with what? TIA!

blu-eyedwife · September 2013

I season veggies - it's actually how I got DH to start eating veggies as an adult, since he grew up with boiled, tasteless vegetables!

I do use salt, but like you, try to use it in moderation. Some of my favorite flavorings are:

garlic, basil, and parmesan (the cheese gives it a salty flavor without having to add a lot of salt, and a little protein to boot!)

lemon juice or lemon pepper

cinnamon or Chinese 5 spice (for carrots or sweet potato)

a drizzle of flavored oils (like truffle, lemon, or walnut)

garlic and rosemary (make sure to really finely chop the rosemary, as I've found it can be a little stick-like otherwise)

cumin and cilantro

You can also try sauteeing them instead of steaming - and for this technique I like to cook up some bacon and then sautee the veggies in the bacon fat, chop up the bacon and toss with the veggie. Both my boys love brussels sprouts this way. But obviously you could also sautee in regular butter or olive oil.

And there's also roasting. Roasting vegetables with garlic and onion, herbs and spices gives them a really great flavor and you can go lighter on the salt if you want.

tbmadeamistake · September 2013

Garlic powder, onion powder, fresh herbs, cinnamon, curry powder...mine loves pretty much anything with flavor. She's a huge fan of carrots with cinnamon and peas with curry. My husband puts salt on her corn...I do not. She eats it both ways. I put a little bit of butter so the spices will stick.

aeh72 · September 2013

Thanks for the responses! Great suggestions. I actually feel kind of dumb for asking this question - everything you guys suggested is basically what we do when we make "fancy" vegetables when we're having guests over or making a nice meal. Duh! Why don't I just do that on a regular basis?! :P

preggersin2011 · September 2013

I season them with anything and everything, and once in a while i use a little sea salt. Most squashes i use cinnamon/nutmeg/spec of brown sugar. Legumes are more herbs. Root veggies i tend to roast. Carrots are anything goes from sweet to savory. However i cook mine is how LOs them served to her.

ASmallWonder · September 2013

I'm not sure the sodium made a difference. Maybe it's just me but, even though I know there's a ton in canned veggies, they don't taste salty to me. But they are definitely a lot mushier. Maybe your LO doesn't like veggies to have any "snap" left in them. Can you steam them more and then maybe store them in a bowl of water in the fridge and let them get "can mushy?" Blech but you never know

aeh72 · September 2013

LalaMama81 said:

blu-eyedwife said:

I season veggies - it's actually how I got DH to start eating veggies as an adult, since he grew up with boiled, tasteless vegetables!

I do use salt, but like you, try to use it in moderation. Some of my favorite flavorings are:

garlic, basil, and parmesan (the cheese gives it a salty flavor without having to add a lot of salt, and a little protein to boot!)

lemon juice or lemon pepper

cinnamon or Chinese 5 spice (for carrots or sweet potato)

a drizzle of flavored oils (like truffle, lemon, or walnut)

garlic and rosemary (make sure to really finely chop the rosemary, as I've found it can be a little stick-like otherwise)

cumin and cilantro

You can also try sauteeing them instead of steaming - and for this technique I like to cook up some bacon and then sautee the veggies in the bacon fat, chop up the bacon and toss with the veggie. Both my boys love brussels sprouts this way. But obviously you could also sautee in regular butter or olive oil.

And there's also roasting. Roasting vegetables with garlic and onion, herbs and spices gives them a really great flavor and you can go lighter on the salt if you want.
All good ideas. I rarely steam vegetables. They're always roasted or sauteed. I wouldn't want to eat steamed veggies w/ a shake of salt either. Blah.

I know, blah, right? I'm a total weirdo who could eat a bowl of plain steamed broccoli. I guess I thought DS wouldn't mind that either! Wrong! :-)

allardr · September 2013

Love these suggestion since my LO is on strike too from them. If I sneak them in she'll literally pull the veggie out of her mouth and eat just the rest. We don't eat many veggies (i'm a fruit girl) so I need to get up on my seasoning and cooking techniques.

julesg86 · September 2013

Dips can also be very helpful. Try dipping plain veggies in hummus, Greek yogurt or even your favorite salad dressing. This can be good for raw/cooked veggies.

chicsahm · September 2013

I toss them lightly in pasta sauce, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese, or both! DS LOVES them. Also, any veggies in stew, soup broth flavor he loves as well. Have you tried small raw pieces? DS also loves dipping those small raw veggies into hummus. I have also been known to toss very lightly in ranch if he is really being weird with them.

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