Making veggies a big part of your daily diet is a must because they're low in calories, high in fiber, and contain so many beneficial nutrients. Unfortunately, we don't crave broccoli like we do a big bowl of ice cream, so here are some suggestions from FitSugar readers on ways to sneak veggies into your foods without your taste buds knowing.
- UrbanBohemian says, "I like to put my own veggies in marinara sauce when I eat pasta. Also, if I have a frozen pizza, I'll do the same for that. I like to put on frozen spinach or some mushrooms."
- "Sneak them in sandwiches." — fleurdelispink
- "I've added pureed beets and/or spinach to muffin batter or I bet you could to cake batter too — totally unnoticeable. I know someone who added pureed spinach to brownies, same deal." — Anonymous
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- Spectra says, "Make omelets or frittatas with veggies in them."
- "My husband and I love mac n' cheese as our guilty pleasure, but I always put fresh broccoli in it." — TinaDenali
- "I like using vegetables instead of noodles in pasta dishes. My son eats them without complaint. Eggplant lasagna and squash spaghetti have been big hits!" — crystalvillage06
- Yogaforlife suggests chopping up spinach and adding it to rice.
- "I sneak veggies like pumpkin into pancakes and biscuits. I blend them up in a blender and stir in. I also like using thinly sliced zucchini or squash in place of pasta noodles in homemade lasagnas." — DivaDivine
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I've read quite a bit on this topic and don't think that it's the best idea to "sneak" or "hide" vegetables into food; especially for children. Sure, they're eating them, but they're not learning to eat them. Just suck it up and learn how to make them taste good instead of pureeing them into everything, making vegetables look even less appetizing.
Broccoli in mac and cheese is delicious! I never would have considered that "sneaking" in a vegetable. It's just a really good dish!
1if you've ever dealt with a kid who will not touch anything green, sneaking veggies is a perfectly normal way to get nutritious food into your kid. my sister was a hugely picky eater as a child and our mom used to make her "Turbo Muffins" -- she'd put powdered condensed milk, spinach, egg yolks, zucchinis, etc. the muffins were brownish green and probably contained hundreds to thousands of calories, but my sister loved them, and never knew there were so many veggies inside. today, she is one of the most adventurous, healthy eaters I know.
2What's the standard measurement when adding/hiding pureed vegetables into baked goods? I'd like to give this a try with my family....
3I think one of the best ways to get kids to learn to love veggies is to let them eat them raw. Lots of veggies don't taste as strong when they're raw vs. cooked. I used to DETEST spinach because the only way I'd ever eaten it was cooked until it was slimy and soft. When I tried it raw, I absolutely loved it. Same with a lot of the cruciferous veggies like brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.
4TidalWave for a lot of children it's not that they don't like vegetables; it's that they don't want to try them at all. By making "pasta noodles" out of zucchini it looks like a familiar dish that my son has had and liked before. He know's he is eating zucchini or eggplant or whatever the vegetable may be but the presentation makes him much more willing to eat it. From there it has been much easier to get him to try other things by pointing out that he has had that certain vegetable in another form. I don't think it's right to say there is an across the board way to get kids to eat healthy. It's whatever works for the family.
5I regularly eat a lot of fruit & veggies but when I'm ordering food, I always ask for extra veggies or veggies instead of starch. Also - when ordering a sandwich, add more veggies onto the sandwich instead of bacon, mayo, salami, etc. The veggies will fill you up AND do more for your body than a chunk of processed meat.
6RE: getting kids to eat vegetables. i've had a lot of luck with picky kids in the past. instead of repeatedly trying to get kids to eat broccoli and carrots that they're convinced they don't like, try new veggies. take them to a new grocery store and have them pick out new things to try that look "cool" and then research different ways of preparing them. for example, i got my 8 yr old niece to eat (and like!) brussels sprouts yesterday. she had no idea what they were, but i told her that they were like mini lettuces that you cook. she watched me wash them and cut them in half with great interest. i roasted them flat side down until crispy. seasoned well but simply with salt and pepper, they were melt-in-your-mouth delicious. by the time they were out of the oven, she was bursting with anticipation and declared that she wanted all the "baby" ones! no tricking necessary.
7That squash spaghetti idea is intriguing. Do you just cook it in sauce?
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