Imagine this…

Your kids wake up every morning requesting a fresh fruit smoothie or a hearty omelet loaded with broccoli, spinach and kale. They beg for whole grains and a vibrant garden salad for lunch, and dinner ends with a resounding “whoo-hoo for veggies” rather than “how much of this do I need to eat to get my dessert?”

Okay, back to reality.

In the real world, getting your kids to eat healthy can be an epic battle rather than the peaceful process depicted here. But you really can train your childrens’ palates to appreciate, and actually crave, vegetables as long as you expose your children to this food group every day.

Easier said than done? Possibly. But why not give it a try with the help of The Five Sneaky Vegetables. If you stay the course with these small changes, soon your kids will be eating more veggies and will grow to like them.

The Five Sneaky Vegetables

The invisible veggie: The sight of broccoli may send your kids running, as you chase them around the house with the little nugget strategically pierced on the end of your fork. Here’s the trick…what they don’t know won’t hurt them. Grinding or chopping up veggies and putting them into kid-friendly meals are excellent ways to increase consumption.

Puree a mix of carrots, broccoli, squash or zucchini and mix it in with tomato sauce next time you prepare spaghetti and meatballs. Consider doing the same with the cheese sauce for homemade mac n’ cheese. The other night we pureed carrots and put them into our turkey burgers. Max also loved the pureed onions, carrots and celery that I added to our meatball soup the next night. He was amazed when I revealed that his least favorite vegetables were in two of his favorite meals. You can also add pureed veggies to hummus, guacamole and vegetarian re-fried beans for healthier nachos.

The undercover veggie: Switch out non-veggie products with veggie alternatives. Instead of feeding your kids fried potato chips, switch over to baked veggie chips such as the Terra brand. These taste great and will adjust their sight perception as they learn to appreciate the colors of the veggie rainbow.  You can also add sea salt or pizza seasoning to steamed edamame, or add dried veggies to popcorn to make a fun mix.

The friendly veggie: You may never get your child to eat Brussels sprouts, cabbage, or kale, but I’ll bet there are at least one or two veggies that they do like. BRAVO! Instead of fighting with your kids to eat veggies they don’t like, embrace the ones they do. Eventually their tastes buds will change to appreciate more options. Until then, focus on what’s working, not what’s missing.

The powerful veggie: Explaining to your kids that eating vegetables is good for them rarely works unless they can see immediate results.  Here’s a fun trick that works best for 4-8 year-olds. Extend your arm in front of you and ask your children to lift it up before they eat their veggies. After an unsuccessful trial, tell them that if they eat their veggies on the plate, they might have the new found strength to lift your arm. After they eat all their veggies, have them try it again. This time, allow them to lift your arm and succeed! I know it sounds silly, but it works ~ they really do believe that the veggies made the difference.

The fun veggie: Kids love to do fun activities. If you can incorporate veggies into these activities, then they are more likely to at least give it a try. This is not new information. We’ve all heard of ants on a log, and most kids love the combo of celery, peanut butter and raisins. So get your kids involved and start there. Check out the recipe section on this blog for more kid-friendly recipes.  Having fun in the kitchen take your kids’ minds off the ‘task’ of eating veggies, and more on the fun.

If you’re still having a tough time incorporating produce into your family’s diets, talk to me about whole food concentrates that pack a nutrition wallop without all the drama.

Also, if you have more ideas, I’d love to hear them! Please comment below and share your sneaky veggie secrets with the MaxLife community.

Have a wonderful day!