My daughter is nearing two and seems to become pickier each day when it comes to eating healthy food. “Cracker, cracker?” she will often shout at me as I try to serve her a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables. I guarantee that girl would survive off pretzel thins if I allowed it. My four year old son is more open to a variety of food but is currently in a “I don’t like green stuff” phase. Needless to say, dinner time is often a challenge in our house. I used to think I was quite clever “hiding” spinach or kale in their food. But now, they are on to me. They can spot that “green stuff” a mile away. Today, I share with you my newest way to sneak in something technically green. It all started with this:
It’s called the Veggetti Slicer. I got mine on Amazon but I have seen them at stores such as Fred Meyer too. Literally all you do is stick in vegetables like squash and carrots and then it is just a simple turning motion and viola, you have healthy pasta. Ok, we know the truth, it’s not really pasta but I promise you it will make healthy eating that much easier. A few tips:
- For zucchini, I peel off most of the “green stuff” AKA the skin. It gets rid of some of the dietary fiber but still leaves a good source of anti-oxidants and vitamin C.
- Golden zucchini (an easy way to beat the green battle!). Just as many wonderful nutrients in the different color varieties.
- Mix with some “real” pasta. Here is my confession- I will often mix ½ noodles and ½ of the veggie pasta with some milk and parmesan cheese. It throws my kids off just enough that they sometimes will think they taste vegetables but then the next bite is the “real deal” so they never battle me about it.
- Try it yourself! I often have seasoned ground turkey with zucchini noodles. It gives a nice texture so that you really do feel like you are eating something super hearty.
Do you have picky eaters like mine? What are some of your secrets when it comes to getting more vegetables in your kids?
