How to Sneak Veggies into Your Kids’ Diet

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Afraid your kids are gonna get scurvy if they don't start eating some veggies? Try sneaking the stuff into foods they love.

Step 1: Put beans in cookies
Puree white beans and substitute them for half the butter in your cookie recipes. Voila! Less fat and more fiber.

Step 2: Mix veggies with meat
The next time you make kid-friendly meatloaf, throw whatever vegetables you have on hand into the food processor and mix them in with the chopped meat. Do the same with hamburgers and spaghetti sauce.

Tip
Research proves that kids don’t notice when steamed broccoli and cauliflower are blended into pasta sauce.

Step 3: Add kick to cake
Add pureed spinach, beets, or prunes to a brownie or chocolate cake mix. For white and yellow cakes, use pureed carrots or apples.

Step 4: Make squash mac ‘n’ cheese
Bake a whole squash, mash it, and stir it into your favorite mac ‘n’ cheese dish.

Step 5: Add crunch to salads
Add crunch to salad favorites like tuna and chicken by mixing in shredded cabbage.

Step 6: Swap avocado for mayo
Mash and whip a ripe avocado until smooth and use it in place of mayonnaise.

Tip
Don’t give up on trying to get your kids to eat their vegetables voluntarily. One study showed that children often have to be shown a vegetable 10 to 15 times before they’ll try it.

Step 7: Fortify your potatoes
Fortify mashed potatoes by blending in some pureed cauliflower.

Step 8: Make pumpkin pancakes
Fold pumpkin into your morning pancakes.

Step 9: Punch up a smoothie
Sneak pureed carrots into a fruit smoothie.

Step 10: Make veggie muffins
Make muffins more nutritious by adding grated zucchini and carrots.

Did You Know?
Mothers who eat fruits and vegetables when they’re pregnant and then breastfeed boost their children’s chances of liking those foods.