How To Increase Your Kids' Veggie Intake! (Easy and Delicious!)
Hey y'all!
If there is one thing us moms want, it's to raise happy and healthy kids. One way to ensure that is by making sure that they are getting their daily dose of veggies. I know right?! A kid and veggies is like playing a gruesome game of tug -of- war!
I'll be the first to admit it.. growing up, I was not the poster child for health. I hated veggies and I would gag if I was within spittin' distance lol. I hated everything about them! The smell, the color, the taste, did I mention the SMELL?! Veggies were pretty non existent in my diet outside of a basic salad, green beans or a pickle lol.
When I became a mom, I knew that those bad habits would be an issue with my kids if I didn't intervene at a young age. So that is what I did! From the time that they were all able to eat food, I made sure that vegetables were at the forefront of their diet. As a baby, it can be easier to get them to eat them; but as they get older, your kids start to understand the differences between foods they like and dislike.
So, making sure they get their veggies can be a challenge.
But fear not! There are a few ways that I have been able to
1. Smoothies-
The number one and obvious choice is smoothies! I use smoothies as a way to incorporate vitamin rich spinach and broccoli into a delicious treat. One of our favorite combos are :
Greek Yogurt
Bananas
Strawberries
Spinach
Honey
Almond Milk
2. "Garden Burgers"-So, these aren't your average garden burgers or burger for that matter. My kids love a juicy burger just as much as the next person, but to make sure they are getting some healthy benefits, I like to make a hybrid "garden burger". My go to ingredients are:
Ground Turkey
Broccoli
Spinach
Onions
Garlic
S&P
3. Super Marinara- As a mom that despises pasta, I don't serve it often. But when I do, I make sure there are veggies hidden in every bite! I am no pro at making my own sauce ( yet!) so I just typically by their favorite pasta sauce and I add extra to it. I finally chop up:
MORE tomatoes
Onions
Bell Peppers
Garlic
4. Fajitas- As a Tex-Mex/ Mexican lover, tacos and fajitas are a must in our lives! So when it comes to our Tex-Mex night, I make sure that I incorporate veggies into our meat to give them ample flavor. When cooking our veggies with our meat, the flavor tends to over power the taste and smell of the peppers and onions. Plus, when they are cooked down, the texture tends to not stand out as much as a crunchy pepper would! I like to use:
Onion
Bell Peppers
Homemade sauce ( tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro)
I have been blessed enough to have one kiddo that loves veggies.. crunchy ones though, so most of these tricks are used on the other ones lol. Of course, what works for me and my family may be different for yours. These are veggies that I know I can cook with and mask when making the meals!
How do you incorporate veggies into your family's daily diet? Let me know in the comments below!
How do you incorporate veggies into your family's daily diet? Let me know in the comments below!
16 comments
Great suggestions! I sneak veggies into my kiddos smoothies often.
ReplyDeleteThank you! They never know unless I tell them... by then it's already gone lol
DeleteThese are really great suggestions! I have the opposite problem. My kid will eat fruits and veggies. Its hard to get him to eat meat!
ReplyDeleteMy youngest doesn't really care for meat either. I make sure to incorporate a lot of beans and quinoa in her diet as well.
DeleteWe do the super marinara! But i'll have to try out these other ideas, as well. My son (4) is SO DANG PICKY! My daughter (1) will eat anything and everything...even crayons.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Let me know when you try them! I would love to hear what your family thinks! My son prefered deodorant when he was younger lol
DeleteI love these ideas for encouraging healthy eating! We make a lot of green smoothies and fajitas over here. Garden burgers would be fun to try!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Let me know what your family thinks of them!
DeleteThis are great ideas! My children LOVE their veggies, made sure that was the only things I had them eat for a long time. Didn't introduce too much processed sugars until they were older than 3! Loving the garden burgers a try!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Shernette! Let me know how it goes :)!
DeleteI'm so blessed in that my kids really enjoy veggies, but these are some super ideas!
ReplyDeleteThat's great! My youngest will literally sit and eat a pack of tomatoes (she just did this yesterday lol)
DeleteThese are all great suggestions! I have been struggling with this with Mason for a while now and you sharing this gives me hope and more motivation to try again! Lets do this veggies!
ReplyDeleteAww Georgia! I am so glad I could inspire you! Let me know how it goes :)!
DeleteGreat post! Definitely great suggestions.
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
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