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    Wednesday, August 26, 2009

    Hidden Veggies for the Picky Eater

    Do you have a picky eater in your house who hates vegetables? Is it a trial to make sure that your family gets all of their vitamins each day?


    Well, there's been a lot of talk of hiding vegetables in other foods, but very few people actually talk about what vegetables and how.

    That's what I'm doing today.

    Okay, run and get your Tupperware Quick Chef. Take whatever veggies you want to serve your family and chop them into a nearly unrecognizable oblivion, then add them to the food.

    Fresh veggies in small chunks in a specialty ranch dip is a delight to dip chicken fingers and other kid favorites in.

    Add a mild-flavored veggie mash (carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, etc), into any baked goods (cakes, brownies, etc.).

    Use your bolder flavors (bell peppers, cabbage, peas, green beans, dried beans, etc.) in meatloaf, and even numerous rice and pasta dishes.

    I like to use bean paste and whole grains to make flavored patties with for the grill, and the kids love them with chopped onions and a little garlic powder. Of course, they don't have to know that I've snuck in some carrots, bell peppers, and sun dried tomatoes in there too.

    Somehow, most picky eaters aren't even really that aware of how the vegetable tastes, so much as they have conditioned themselves to think "that thing that looks like that tastes bad" because they've lived so long thinking that after having tried it once. By hiding things in food, and/or serving an item without telling folks what it was, I have "cured" "allergies", and made people love things that they previously thought they had hated.

    Healthy eating to you!

    2 comments:

    Kristin said...

    You're right about chopping the foods fine. Except my dh doesn't even like "chunks". If there are going to be veggies in the food they have to be completely pureed in the food processor so he can't notice them. Have you read the Sneaky Chef books? I finally got the "How to cheat on your man (in the kitchen)" edition in the mail this week.

    TheyDHD said...

    Kristin, thanks for the tip, I'll have to check that out!

    If I need something pureed, I use my Magic Bullet. With the Magic Bullet and the Tupperware Quick Chef, I don't need any other food-processing equipment in my kitchen. *smile*

    Unless of course, I could get a Vitamix, which would replace the Magic Bullet in an instant. *chuckle*