Wondering How to Get Your Kids to Eat Veggies? Here Are 10 Tricks

Here are 10 ways you can be crafty about it.

1. Add them to a smoothie:

It’s the easiest trick in the book because it’s way more convenient to make kids drink something than running after them with a spoon and plate. Juice or smoothie in their sipper will help ensure they consume their vegetables. Spinach or kale will give the green colour and carrot and beetroot the colour red. Give them fancy names like Captain America or Hulk’s fav drink, and they will love it. So many kids eagerly eat spinach because of the strength it gives Popeye, the sailor man. To make the drink a little sweet, you can add fruits or yogurt.

2. Bake them into muffins:

Though vegetables do a lot to provide nutrition for kids, they need not be boring. You can bake muffins with zucchini, carrots, peas, corn, etc. But before your little ones can call your bluff, add their favourite ingredients like blueberries, raisins, or nuts to give the muffins a more believable look. A little natural sugar is better than the artificial sugar added to store-bought muffins.

3. Serve mashed cauliflower as mashed potatoes:

If they look the same, they must taste the same. When vegetables like cauliflower, arbi (taro root), raw bananas, etc. are mashed and look the same as your kids' fav mashed potatoes, they might not be able to tell the difference and you can do it to get them to eat those vegetables. Just blend them well.

4. Make cute creations:

Kids are creative, and you need to get creative with them. Play with their imaginative power and get them to join you in creating something new. This way, you can divert their attention from the vegetable. Can you shape a fish with a cucumber or a flower with cabbage or a rainbow with multiple veggies? If yes, they will love it and forget they are eating vegetables.

5. Mix them with meat:

If your child loves chicken or mutton sandwiches or burgers, make a homemade one, but this time, add ingredients like onions, tomatoes, peppers, olives, cabbage, or even spinach. When minced and mixed in with the meat and placed between two buns, kids may not even realize the difference. If kids want fast food, you can give them a 'special' homemade one.

6. Make pancakes or waffles with butternut squash:

In the pancake batter, add some roasted and mashed butternut squash. Once you pour the pancake syrup in front of the kids, they won't suspect that their pancake and waffle have a healthy amount of vegetables and fruits in them. It will fill your heart to see them gobble it up.

7. Make avocado chocolate pudding:

Avocados are all the rage and the reason is their nutritional value. Even top food chains now have many avocado-based delicacies. Though technically a fruit, it makes up for a vegetable because of the nourishment it provides. Your homemade chocolate pudding will get healthier when you blend some avocados in it. If your kids like the dessert, they will keep asking for more.

8. Cut them finely and add to dishes:

When vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, beans, broccoli, peas, lettuce, and carrots are cut into small unrecognizable chunks, and then cooked, kids won’t be able to identify them. You can do the same with their other favourite dishes like noodles, pasta, macaroni and pizza.

9. Substitute wheat pasta with spaghetti squash or cucumber noodles:

Pureed vegetables like broccoli, zucchini, squash, and carrots will be undetectable when they are added to spaghetti sauce and served as a bowl of pasta. Sometimes, the shape of something is enough to persuade a young mind. Cucumber noodles can also become a go-to dish for the same reason.

10. Feed them casseroles:

Someday, when the kids grow up, they will order casseroles in a French restaurant. Why not give them the taste way in advance? Casseroles are great because they can include a lot of veggies. Full of goodies, they are easy to cook and offer good nutrition for kids.