Veggies - Arlington,TX

Have you made "ants on a log" with celery sections with cream cheese and raisins on top?

My son LOVES asparagus (I never cook it but he always wants it when we go out), and onions, and peppers.

Saute onions and red, yellow, green pepper slices in sauce and make a homemade pizza--they might like that! It's sweet.

My girls love asparagus. I stir fry it lightly with a little seseme oil, garlic, ginger and last minute a splash of soy sauce. They aren't big on tomatoes either but I do put chopped toms in pasta and since it's small pieces cooked a bit they like it. I get a lot of veggies under the radar in pasta dishes. You can add zuccini, tomatoes, corn, peppers, muchrooms, onions in any combination and when they are tossed with pasta a little asiago cheese they look more appetizing then just alone on the plate. I wonder a bit about "tricking" kids into eating veggies like others mentioned. It seems Ok once in a while but part of the point of introducing lots of different foods is that they get used to eating healthy stuff and develop a more mature palate. Sneaking veggies in gets them to eat it but not develop a taste for different foods. It also seems like a lot of work, I mean does the whole family eat the mac and cheese or is it a different meal for the adults?

Our kids really don't have an option - they have to eat what's on their plate. I try to do my best to offer as much variety as possible. I keep the veggies around that I know they like best. My husband hates most vegetables, but even he's agreed to eat them for the sake of our kids.

I've heard of people having a small garden and letting their kids be part of the growing process. Your kids are the same age as mine, and I think they'd really enjoy it.

We've been making a Buffalo Chicken dip lately served with veggies (broccoli, carrots, celery, cucumber, peppers), and they love to "dip" it in there.

Raw veggies have the best nutritional value, but letting the kids help experiment with different recipes may be a good way of getting them involved.
Or, maybe even go to the produce section of the grocery store and ask them to pick something different once/week to try. My son hates canteloupe - even the amazingly succulent ones from the farmer's market.....that may be another great way to get them interested, too. Take them to a local farmer's market and let them explore with some of the offerings.

Good luck!

My son is pretty limited on the veggies he will eat now too, but I keep trying. The ones he likes are: Celery: I put a very thin layer of strawberry cream cheese on it, or peanut butter, but he like the cream cheese better. Peas: They have to be frozen Birdseye Baby Sweet Peas. There are a million brands and they all sell some version of baby peas, or sweet peas. But the best ones are those, and they have to be both Baby and Sweet. I hated peas until I tried those. Now I can put them in all kinds of dishes that I will eat too. My son just eats them like finger food too though. Salsa: anything my son can "dip-dip" he loves. So salsa is a really healthy dip as long as you look at the label and don't get one with junk in it. Most salsas are pretty natural though. So I do quesadillas with chicken, cheese and I will put some finely diced bell peppers in there or sometimes even spinach. Then the salsa for dipping. About the spinach: in the organic frozen section you can get bagged spinach that is easy to pull out just a little bit at a time, it isn't the brick in the box like regular spinach. I use that spinach in anything I can stick it in. For bell peppers: I also do a homemade pizza. I let him help too. I get a premade pizza dough, pat it into a cookie sheet, I do the pizza sauce and cheese, then I let him sprinkle the toppings. I cut up peppers and onions very small, and also use either sausage or the mini pepperonis in a bag. He loves this. And now he eats the peppers raw while we are making it. I haven't done them in a while but he did love sweet potatoes too. Add some milk and brown sugar to mashed sweet potatoes. My son will also eat other veggies than his usual if they are in cold pasta salad. I cut up veggies very small and instead of mixing them in raw, I blanch them for a bit in the water as the pasta is boiling. It will depend on how small you cut them and what they are, but like 30 seconds to a minute probably. I just put them in a wire strainer all chopped, dip it down in the water until they are slightly softer, not so strong, but not mushy and soggy. I also decided not to disguise veggies. Cutting them small so they aren't so overpowering I have no problem with, but I think the tricking isn't really what I want to accomplish. Can't wait to see what other suggestions you get to give me ideas!

I cut up asparagus, broccoli, and cauliflower and mix it with rice, pasta or beans. Most of the time they eat it all. Sometimes I don't cut it up small enough (asparagus) and my son figures it out and eats around them. =) They also love cucumbers and sugar snap peas. My son won't go near green beans! Daughter loves them.

As far as tomatos go, it could take a long time. I have always liked salsa as a kid and katsup of course! But I didn't like the gritty slimy texture of tomatos. I was around 20 when I finally started eating tomatoes on burgers and sandwiches. As silly as it is, people make fun of me when I make a salad, I still cut out the slimy seeds and toss them. I then cut up the rest of the tomato for salad. =) It was around the same time I finally started liking sour cream and guacamole. You can't keep my son out of the guacamole, he loves it and eats salsa too if I don't make it to hot. I leave the seeds in for the salsa.

Puree them and blend them into foods. For example, puree cauliflower and add to mac n cheese. Kids will never know.

If you don't want to puree, buy baby food and mix it in.

Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry's wife) wrote a book on this called "Deceptively Delicious" with tried and true ideas. I'm sure you could google the concept and get ideas for free. I found her book at TJ MAXX for $5 so I'm sure you can find it on Amazon or ebay for cheap.

Hi there. Wallmart sells individual container/cups of soft veggies like carrots, green beans, corn, and peas (they are sold for $1.00 for a 4 pack). I started my 2 kids out with these since I wasn't opening up can after can and then wasting the un-eated veggies. Plus they both got to choose what veggie they wanted with again not having to open up two different cans of veggies.

Also, since they are older now and LOVE veggies I have switched over to the small cans of veggies vs the large cans. My kids typically stick to the basics of the corn, peas, carrots, and green beans for canned veggies, but they do eat a serving at lunch and dinner.

And ours are the same; for snacks they will eat cucumbers, hard carrots ( and fortunately mine LOVE tomatoes).

Maybe grow your own tomatoes this year and have them help. Maybe they will want to eat something they grew??

Good Luck!

first, be patient. I've heard it takes 10-15 exposures to a new food before you'll like it. So keep insisting on one bite of everything.
Something I've done for years (mine are now 6 and 8) is that they get to pick one fruit or veggie I would not normally buy when they're with me at the grocery store. then, they have to try 3 bites at home (assuming the adults can choke it down). if they don't take 3 bites, they don't get to pick the next time. when we started it was two bites but they were 2 and 4. we've found some surprises with this (namely beets, parsnips, and turnips - definitely not my favorites). when in doubt, I slice thinly and saute in olive oil and garlic salt - makes just about everything edible. my other is to mix with something they like. for example, I do one part beets to 3 parts potatoes and make hash browns. as they've gotten older, I've also been able to sneak in lessons about buying local and in season (my oldest asked for watermelon last week and we live in CO - not a good time to find a tasty melon!)
good luck!

There are veggies I do not like, and that is ok. I do not like brussel sprouts, or cauliflower, but my husband loves them. I love cooked broccoli, but hate raw broccoli. One of my kids only likes the raw broccoli.

Maybe go to a store that has different types of exotic fruits/veggies and have the kids pick a new one each week.