Tip #3

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend and is ready for the week they have ahead of them. I hope that someone was able to squeeze a family dinner or breakfast in over the weekend and share some quality time with those that you love. It's always worth it.

Is anyone reading this? I keep typing this as if I am talking to the masses... but am I really just talking to myself? Well, either way...

Skinny kid fat world tip #3 is great for picky eaters:

Hide the vegis!

Ok. Some parents find this to be a little deceptive, but if you can't get your kids to eat the vegis you need to get creative. I also think that after you have slipped an extra squash into their spaghetti sauce, you should tell them. Always let them know, even after the fact, that the vegi was added so that they can start to realize that the things they might think they "hate" really can be tasty if cooked right or made differently. It will open them up to trying more new things.

Spaghetti sauce is my favorite "hide all" dish. If you like a chunky sauce, I find that adding fresh tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms can add texture and blend well with the sauce. It adds a nice flavor, but doesn't change the flavor enough to cause a child to turn down a bowl of noodles and sauce. Make sure you chop it small enough that it doesn't stick out too much. If using a jar sauce, just brown the hamburger, drain, then add the chopped vegis for a few minutes to soften before adding the jar of sauce. Really, it's that simple.

This is also a very good idea when certain produce is on sale. During certain times of the year you can find yellow squash and zucchini extremely cheap. Later it might be bell peppers or carrots. Sometimes we either pass by the sale because we don't have any idea what we would do with an extra 3 pounds of zucchini... or we stock ourselves so full of it that our entire family swears they will never look at one again. It doesn't have to be this way! Stock up on the vegis that are on sale. Hide some in spaghetti sauce one night. Chop small and add to meatloaf. You can roast carrots, squash, zucchini, onions, and bell pepper in the oven. Either serve as a side dish, or puree in the blender with a little chicken stock to make a delicious roasted vegi soup. Make omelets and stuff them with vegis and cheese.

If your child loves mashed potatoes, try to mix in cauliflower. When boiling the potatoes, use half potatoes and throw in a head of cauliflower. Boil until both are tender, then mash together as usual. It adds a serving of vegis right into their potatoes and they will probably never know.

Another thing you can try, if your brave, is to switch out their regular chicken nuggets for vegan chicken nuggets. They will not taste the same, but they do taste very good and pack a lot of good protein and nutrition. I'm not saying to toss the chicken nuggets all together, but if on occasion you switch it up, it is something new and different but in a familiar shape that kids already know they love. It's another way to substitute something not so good for them with something better. And besides, what kid wouldn't be happy if mom or dad made chicken nuggets at home for dinner once in a while, right!?

So, tip #3 is:

Get creative and hide the vegis! You might even discover that the new recipes are better than the old ones.