Any fellow Dads/husbands out there have advice on this? My kids aren’t terribly picky with fruits, but getting them and my wife to eat or even try new vegetables is an exercise in futility it seems.
The slow cooker method worked wonders for my kids. I started with minced beef (literally minced steak) and added all the vegetables they couldn’t stomach (broccoli, cauliflower…) alongside passable ones (potatoes and diced tomatoes).
Gradually I’ve reduced the amount of meat (eating protein was never a problem for my kids) and increased the amount/variety of vegetables. Now they’re so accustomed to it that they can eat a vegetarian chili with black beans and a huge variety of vegetables which they’d never touch in any other form.
Tip: Use a Slow Cooker To Make Muscle-Building Meals | T NATION (t-nation.com)
4 Likes
What green vegetables can they eat without much resistance?
Do you also have trouble with the yellow vegetables too?
I second @loppar’s chili suggestion. Great way to get veggies in. Also, stir fry and soups. My kids love peas and corn in general, so bags of frozen peas and corn are key, and when we cook them chicken or beef or whatever, we just make sure to set out a bowl of steamed frozen veggies and they can have their meat only once the veggies are eaten.
2 Likes
I have tried green beans, peas, carrots, cucumbers, greens, peppers, nothing. I can sneak onion in if I chop it up into something but that’s about it.
Would they opposed to fruit smoothies or homemade popsicles (lots of recipes online, can’t post)
You could easily sneak in a serving or two of spinach in without changing the flavour one bit
@cyclonengineer I whip up a vege/egg slice weekly for my breakfasts now. My wife often sneaks a slice of it. And I tend to just load it up with whatever the our local grocery store (we have pretty good veg range there). Brocolli, cauliflower, capsicum, tomato, leek/onion (brown these off first), mushrooms, eggplant, pumpkin, beans, peas, corn, etc. I did a post in the food porn thread a month or so ago on it.
Can’t comment on kiddo’s as our toddler is a fussy one and we just get whatever we can into her. But it can be all systems go on one food then all of a sudden it changes…
I use the thermomix to dice up all the veg, get a good balance of spices
1 Like
Have you tried some of the veggies raw and let the kids pick them themselves from a share plate on the table. My kids love raw veggies especially in taco’s or wraps.
The other option is to put a little of the new veggies on their plates but dont talk about them or care if they leave them. You may find if they are there often enough they will try without you needed to prompt. I find the more I tell my kids they have to eat something the more they dont like it.
2 Likes
I food processor it and put it in something saucy. For example, my meat sauce for spaghetti goes like this:
1 onion, 1 bell pepper, 1 courgette/zucchini, 1 garlic clove, 2 carrots*
Completely obliterate this. At the same time, cook off your ground beef.
When beef is done, take it out of your pan. Fry off your veggie goup.
Add a big bottle of passata and some beef stock. Add dried herbs, Worchester sauce and bring back the meat.
Cook away for 30-60 minutes. Top up with water if it gets thick. Throw it onto some spaghetti. If your kids don’t eat it, I will eat my hat.
This is easier prep and IMO produces a better, richer sauce.
*I grate the carrot because I believe the carrot will kill the processor
2 Likes