Tips to Hide the Healthy from Your Kids

Before going too far into this post, let me just say that it's best to continue to introduce your kids to fruits and vegetables with the hope that one day they will like at least some of them. But sometimes you just get tired fighting, and you need them to get the nutrients.

Mac & cheese with carrots, celery,
onion, nutritional yeast hidden
;

Smoothies are probably the easiest way to hide vegetables and extra fruits, but you have many more options.

Cooking at home is the best way to ensure your kids get a balanced diet, and it's much easier to hide healthy foods inside home-cooked meals rather than packaged meals. Everything listed here is quick and easy to make. Things like macaroni and cheese, applesauce, chili, even burgers and meatloaf, you can make in large batches and freeze for later. All you really need is a blender or small food processor.

Tips to Hide Veggies 

Meal/Food	Veggies	Tips
Ground beef meals (meatloaf, burgers, chili, sloppy joes, meatballs)	Carrots, celery, squash, mushrooms, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, your favorites	Saute and dice or puree the veggies. Mix them in before you pat out the loaf or patties
Mac and cheese	Carrots, onions, celery Spinach (if your kids don’t care about color)	Stick to sweet vegetables with little color or add a dash of paprika and turmeric to turn everything a cheesy looking orange. Saute, puree, and add to homemade cheese sauce.
Spaghetti	Spinach, onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, olives, and more	Saute and puree to hide the best and mix in with homemade or premade sauce
Brownies	Avocado, pumpkin, sweet potato	Replace egg and oil with 2/3 cup pureed avocado and 1/3 cup water.
Scrambled eggs	Cauliflower Carrots, spinach, mushrooms	Puree the cauliflower and blend in to hide. Add other cooked, chopped veggies if your child doesn’t mind.
Grilled cheese & quesadillas	Carrots, squash, sweet potato, pumpkin	Puree and add to grated cheese, then melt.
Baked goods	Zucchini, carrots, avocado	Mash, chop or puree and add to batter.
Applesauce	Carrots, berries	Cook and puree

 

Want more ideas? Check out these chefs:

The Sneaky Chef
Deceptively Delicious

What else can you add to this list?