Persnickety Palate: Trick Your Toddler
These days getting Boo to eat anything that isn't hotdogs or mac'n'cheese is basically a miracle. He's pretty resistant to eat anything vegetable related…so I trick him. I hide veggies in everything. Is it just us? I mean, I feel like I hear other people saying that their kid will eat anything… I want to slap them. I have worried myself sick in the past thinking that my child will end up unhealthy, but the fact is feeding them a balanced diet is possible. Here are my top tricks for sneaking in nutrients into your toddlers otherwise crap diet:
- Replace lasagna noodles with zucchini ribbons, or make "pasta" with this handy little tool. My kiddo will eat anything with a pasta sauce on it, so this is always a great options for replacing gluten and carb loaded foods with a veggie.
- Add frozen spinach to meatballs.
- Reduce ground beef, chicken or turkey portions and add ground mushroom. This is a great boost of vitamins and minerals.
- Try adding a bit of pureed pumpkin or butternut squash to tomato sauces.
- Add steamed and pureed cauliflower to cheese sauces. This can lighten your alfredo and mac'n'cheese considerably.
- Always add spinach or baby kale to your smoothies.
- This Airfryer is amazing. We make a ton or sweet potato fries, zucchini fries, tater tots, etc. with little to no oil.
- If you have a juicer making carrot juice or beet juice to add to fruit juices and freezing into popsicles makes kiddos happy and cools them off.
- Add whipped avocado to puddings and brownie mix.
- When in doubt look for store bought items that add veg to the old standbys (just be ware of added preservatives, dyes and sugars!!)