Some great and easy ways to sneak vegetables into your toddler's diet

      I have been blessed with the most amazing and goofy toddler. I constantly find that it can be a struggle to get him to eat healthier foods. He's quick to accept chicken nugget and mac n' cheese, but those aren't always the best options for him. I'm not going to lie, there are days where that's the quickest and easiest meals for me to prepare him (and most of the time I end up eating the same things too). It took at little research of recipes on Pinterest, but here are some ideas I have found that tend to work for us.

Flavor Is Key

       The first thing I would like to note, with my son, flavor is key. I try to be mindful of salt intake for my entire family. That is not the "flavor" I'm talking about. He loves to eat green beans, but they must have either a little garlic powder mixed in them; or, if I am cooking them stove top, I sometimes add 1 beef bullion cube to flavor the green beans. I use this "flavorful"  trick with several other vegetables too, like broccoli and asparagus.

Hide Them
       The second tip I've learned, is to hide them. I know many people suggest this as a solution, but if done well enough, it really works. One thing my son loves is my Cheesy Spinach Quiche. He can almost devour an entire slice by himself. Spinach is not only a wonderful vegetable for adults, but such a power food for toddlers too. I also make foods like spaghetti, which already have tomatoes in it, but sometime sneak in ground vegetables like carrots (throw them into the food processor really quick or grate them directly into the sauce). You can also just add some chopped spinach to the sauce, and they think it's basil, never knowing the difference.

Soup or Stews

      The final suggestion I have is making soup  or stews. This may not work for every child, but I know it does for my son. I think it's similar to the "flavor" suggestion from earlier, since the vegetables are flavored by the broth of the soup or the "gravy" from the stew. When I fix my son's bowl of soup or stew, I make sure the vegetables are cut up small enough to prevent choking and that is cool enough to prevent burning his mouth. He seems to forget he's eating vegetable when he is having soup or stew, which is always a win!

      It has taken a lot of patience and "trial and error" to get to the point my toddler and I are at with eating his vegetables. I am sure once he becomes a little more aware of what he's eating, I will have to work on getting even more creative. I truly hope this can help some of you mom's out there struggling with picky-eating toddlers. Below are a couple of recipes for some of the food mentioned in this blog today.

Quick Cheesy Spinach Quiche:

1 frozen pie crust (pre-baked at 350 for 10 mins)
           I normally either poke holes in the crust prior to placing in the oven to prevent it from puffing
           up too much or put aluminum foil down inside the crust with dry beans on top of that to weigh
           down the crust.

1 onion, diced (sautéed in a little butter and set aside to cool)
6 eggs (whisked together thoroughly)
1 cup of shredded cheese (I use Colby jack)
1 package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste (about 1 teaspoon of each)
-Mix all ingredients together and pour in the pie crust
-Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes or until firm when giggled
-Let set for about 10 minutes, serve warm

                                                Image from: ascrumptiouslife.com


Beef Stew:

1 chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
         Toss beef in AP flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, and garlic powder
         Brown on all sides in 2 tablespoons of oil, set aside
2 cans of beef broth
1 can of tomato paste
         Deglaze pan with beef broth, then add can of tomato paste, whisk until thoroughly mixed and
         all pieces are off the bottom of pan, let boil for about 5 minutes
1 bag (or 2) of baby carrots
3 celery stalks, chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

1 onion chopped into about 1 in pieces
1 bag of frozen peas
2 sprigs of rosemary
2sprigs of thyme
2 leaves of sage finely chopped
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
-Mix all ingredients except the bag of peas together (add peas within the last 15 minutes)
-Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours
-Remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes
-Within the last 15 minutes add the peas