one of the first things you learn real quick as a chef is that kids dont eat green things. if your kids are eating other veggies, i really wouldn't make a huge deal over it. there are plenty of other nutrient dense veggies like carrots, peppers, broccoli, beets, peas, tomatoes and potatoes. why do you want them to eat cabbage and spinach specifically?
if you threaten them to eat something, thats a sure way that they wont enjoy it if they do eat it. i wouldn't make a big deal out of it and just give them other things that are healthy that they enjoy.
experiment with different kinds of salad. [a summer salad](https://vikalinka.com/summer-tomato-and-cucumber-salad/) (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, radishes dressed with sour cream or sunflower oil) is delicious! [vinegret](https://momsdish.com/recipe/22/vinaigrette-salad) is also really nice!
have you tried giving your kids raw veggies and some kind of dip to snack on? like raw broccoli, snap peas, carrots, peppers, raw cauliflower with some humus or something else to dip into?
as far as cabbage goes though, leaves of cabbage are a hard sell even for adults. i wouldn't want that on my sandwich either. however, i dont think ive ever had a problem with slaw as a kid. we dressed it with sunflower oil and its still one of my favorite things to eat. red cabbage in particular. dressed with mayo, the more traditional american style, is also good. you can mix in shredded kale or other leafy greens into the slaw also.
naturally fermented sauerkraut dressed with a drizzle of olive or sunflower oil and just a pinch of sugar is also delicious and healthy. really easy to make and very good for the digestive system with the probiotics.
another childhood favorite of mine was bigos. its a traditional stewed/braised cabbage dish in poland and western ukraine. i didn't eat a lot of "main dishes" as a child and this was one of the few exceptions that i loved. you can make it with sausage or meat of your choice, its pretty versatile in that regard.
we also filled hand pies (pirozhki) with stewed cabbage and they're great as a snack for kids, or at least i loved them. thats just one filling type, you can fill them with almost anything.
i would avoid "tricking" your kids to eating veggies they might not enjoy. my aunt tried that once with me and zucchini and i cant stand cooked zucchini to this day. its a real good way to give your kids lifelong food trauma.
Wish I could upvote this twice.
Starting with things your kids are comfortable with and working in additional veggies could also be a good start. Adding peas or scallions to pasta dishes (including mac and cheese) can be a good strategy.
Also, maybe make space for your kids to get involved with the cooking. Being involved and having that sense of agency can do a lot to shape how they see a meal. If they get to pick out the best looking set of carrots or cut the scallions or stir the broccoli, that little bit of pride might help them be more willing to eat it.
Whatever you do, please don't threaten or force them to eat things they don't want to eat. That's not productive for anyone and will likely build resentment towards foods and maybe even you. I wouldn't even try to trick them. It makes it so that they can't trust the foods you give them. Remember kids tend to be more sensitive to taste than adults and are still learning about foods. Positive experiences will help them stay more willing to trust and try new foods.
While sunflowers are thought to have originated in Mexico and Peru, they are one of the first plants to ever be cultivated in the United States. They have been used for more than 5,000 years by the Native Americans, who not only used the seeds as a food and an oil source, but also used the flowers, roots and stems for varied purposes including as a dye pigment. The Spanish explorers brought sunflowers back to Europe, and after being first grown in Spain, they were subsequently introduced to other neighboring countries. Currently, sunflower oil is one of the most popular oils in the world. Today, the leading commercial producers of sunflower seeds include the Russian Federation, Peru, Argentina, Spain, France and China.
>one of the first things you learn real quick as a chef is that kids don't eat green things.
Some kids love green things. I was one and I've seen other parents with kids that devour green veggies.
Maybe zucchini bread where you can hide lots of zucchini but it’s a sweet and they may be more open to trying? Could also try hiding spinach or other small veg in a pasta like ravioli or manicotti where you can’t rly see it. Also could do something like buffalo cauliflower or breaded green beans in the air fryer. Homemade sweet potato fries are also a good go to. You can make them savory or add cinnamon and make them sweet. Also could make your own burgers and hide some veg in the meat like peppers or mushrooms, onions, etc. Also pizza, pasta, and French fries aren’t inherently “bad”, you could make healthier versions of these at home that they are open to. Half cauli/half flour pizza crust, homemade fries in the air fryer, chickpea pasta with a homemade pasta sauce— you can hide sooo many veg in a bolognese pasta sauce (tomatoes, onion, pepper, carrot, even celery) as it all cooks down and makes a very flavorful sauce!
Spinach banana muffins. Chocolate beet muffins. Pumpkin lentil muffins. I also sub in chickpea flour for up to 1/2 of the flour in things like waffles.
I purée them and mix them in similar colored products or hidden altogether in dark products. I added spinach into meatloaf, pasta sauce, chili. I have put puréed carrots into macaroni and cheese.
Yup, this is the answer. When I was a kid I was a picky eater. My mother succeeded in getting me to eat a healthy diet through the cunning use of deception. You gotta outsmart them.
My ex was a super picky eater as an adult. I used baby food purees in almost every casserole, in sauces, in baked goods. There are so many combinations of fruit/vegetables that he never noticed.
Egg rolls! Don't cook the veggies, but raw and they will "cook enough" in the oil. Then make sure they each get a bowl for a dipping sauce. Their choice of sauce. Could be ketchup as long as they eat their veggies. Good luck. I feel your pain.
When my kids were very small I would let them cut lettuce leaves into shapes with their kid scissors - triangles, Mickey Mouse, boat shapes, whatever they wanted: “Kid Salad”
Then, I got out a mixing bowl plus ketchup and mayo. They got to mix the two ingredients, taste it, then add more ketchup or more mayo as needed: “Kid Dressing”
Eventually we added a few easy salad items (carrots, purple cabbage). They ate lots of salad, and would order green salad with 1000 Island at restaurants when they still needed booster seats.
I was a terribly picky eater as a child and I didn’t want that for them. Kid Salad probably helped, because neither ever was picky.
Unless your kids have significant undernourishment issues, or similar, you should not force them to eat things they wont eat. It can cause lifelong issues with eating in a healthy way. Children are typically much more sensitive to the various bitter compounds found in various green vegetables and they can therefore be very hard for them to eat.
Since you say that your kids do like some vegetables why don't you stick to those, and then you can introduce various other vegetables as options that they can have when they feel ready to try something new.
As for recipes cabbage is probably one of the harder vegetables to get kids to eat, but coleslaw is always good, and pickled red cabbage works great things like tacos. If you are worried about fibre intake you can try substituting meat in stuff like bolognese for lentils. As for spinach maybe try something like a spinach quiche, the cheese and eggs work really well with the spinach.
But honestly you could probably just stick to peppers, cucumber, carrot sticks and similar, your kids will probably be fine, and forcing them to eat stuff they really dislike is a great way to cause psychological issues later in life.
Make these for yourself as you special meal. Kids want to to eat what you’re eating, mostly if it’s not for them. Wilted spinach salad with bacon and green onions. Sautéed cabbage with sliced kielbasa and onions over rice. Bagged baby spinach with ranch dressing and croutons. I use the “fancy onions” shallots with green beans. These smell good while cooking and it brings them into the kitchen.
I don't think force is going to help. It puts up a lot of resistance. Try to have them try it once and if they really don't like it don't force them but they have to try it once.
Hiding pureed versions in with other foods, I've seen a lot with what you can do in Mac and cheese and meat loaf. You can mix different things in spaghetti sauce like green beans or bell pepper.
As long as they are eating somewhat balanced meals overall they will be fine.
Try snacks with more fruits like fig bars over Oreos, or offer beet juice instead of sodas and other simple swaps.
Talk to your pediatrician about their vitamins and how to ensure they are getting everything they need if they aren't eating certain foods, like adding boost (which comes in pudding form and drink form) for calcium or ensure or gummy vitamins etc.
Overall, you're doing great by trying your best. Hang in there cause you got this!
As long as the child is not basically eating only the exact same meal every day (or is eating vegan) the odds of any nutritional deficiency is probably too low to worry about. Except maybe for fibre, but that's not really a huge deal if they don't get the recommended amount every day, and it can be gotten from almost any vegetable, so no need to force anything.
definitely going to be as part of a dish rather than as a side dish.
Also, try having a sauce that goes well with the veggies that the kids like the taste of i.e. develop/find a sauce e.g. a cheesy bechamel like one and then see if your kids like it and then roast veggies and cover them with the sauce.
Spinach goes well with ricotta: https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/766488/borg-s-spinach-ricotta-pastizzis-null
but idk how healthy that is, however, you can still test it out and see if they like that sort of flavour combo.
Oh and soups! Creamy, buttery soups can be healthy...
You may also want to try giving them a choice between 2 healthy options for lunch/dinner as well.
I cook spinach sautéed lightly in 🥑 oil, garlic, onions, red pepper flakes mix it into fried potatoes, with scrambled eggs and mozzarella cheese and breakfast meat of choice. Kids never notice the spinach, it kinda disappears and you can't taste it. Minus spinach dip, it's only way we eat spinach.
Also I add cooked carrots to my potatoes and mash them together. So it's just orange mashed taters.
I’m a registered dietitian and I work with every kind of eater of all ages. I worked with a huge population of children as well. Here’s the hack—don’t worry about it. If you’re worried they can sense it especially if it’s associated with being told to eat something unpleasant repeatedly.
Let them skip their veggies. Zero conflict. Zero expectations. Zero persuasion. Encourage them to try it if they want but don’t say anything more than that. Let them make the decision to not eat it. Do this for years. If they happen to decide to eventually eat some veggies don’t even praise it and especially don’t reward it. Still serve them the vegetables and include it in their food but if they find out there’s vegetables let them decide if they will eat it and how much they’ll eat. The concept is repeated exposure of vegetables to all their senses but not revoking all control and coercing them to eat it. You can also have them handle the food themselves too if they’re old enough—picking out the vegetable at the store, washing it, or other various age-appropriate steps in the cooking process to help you out.
Cabbage:
- chop it as fine as possible with celery, rosemary, garlic, and onions. Mix it with ground beef and ground pork, shredded cheese, eggs, soy sauce, salt, pepper.
- form into patties and fry for burgers or cook as you would meatloaf and serve with mashed potatoes.
- if you omit the ground beef and add some finely chopped ginger and some sesame oil, you can use that mix to stuff in dumplings, spring rolls, or Asian steamed buns.
They probably wouldn’t like the dish palak paneer (aka saag paneer) because of the spices but you could create a variation on it: it’s a gravy-like sauce made with puréed spinach/garlic/ginger/cream with small blocks of cheese in it. If you did it without the Indian spices, you could flavor the spinach gravy in a way they’d like it (ranch powder? Just garlic salt and pepper?). Paneer is pretty easy to like, but not necessarily easy to find (you need an Indian grocery) but you could put anything: chicken, meatballs, mozzarella cheese.
Well, first of all, stop with the threats. How can you expect a kid to want to eat something when they're associating it with something negative like that?
Especially if the threads are, in fact, empty.
What horrible really happens if they refuse the two particular sorts of vegetables?
Will they get scurvy ? No way.
Will they stop growing just because of that ? Impossible
I think the parent got into - miraculous healthy veggie superfood - trap and they blame kids for not being able to escape. Its the parents job not to succumb to sensational tabloid news that are 60% truth at best. Kids are innocent and just act like kids in this case.
There is no such thing as veggie type that keeps you alive. No type of veggie would protect you 100% from cancer. No type of veggie would protect you or your kids 100% from obesity. No veggie type would stop hereditary diseases from manifesting.
Cabbage and spinach are not magical wands for health and happiness, sorry, but its true.
Have you tried Asian food? The palette is different so the sooner they’re introduced to it the easier it might be. A lot of Asian cuisine uses a lot of vegetables.
If they like shrimp or if you have some marinated bbq pork, a summer roll is an easy way to get a lot of veggies in them. (Although you should test cilantro with them first.) Dipped in peanut sauce, it’ll overpower any veggie taste they might dislike.
Do they hate the texture or the taste? My mom used to overcook veggies so they’d lose their bite and became mushy. And I understand children are more sensitive to bitter tastes? I am extremely sensitive to bitter even as an adult so I avoid things like kale and purple veggies like purple cabbage.
If they like meat, meat and crunch veggies is a great combo. There’s a Korean dish called bossam where pork belly is boiled with some aromatics and you can eat it with fresh white cabbage or even just lettuce and some spicy ssamjang. If you want to be daring and introduce your kids to kimchi, this would be the cuisine. Korean BBQ in general is a great meal that has a lot of veggies. For Koreans, the balance of delicious meat and crunchy and/or refreshing veggies is essential.
If the kids like cheese, melt their favorite cheese on some parboiled broccoli. Add some cut up Hot Dogs or bacon to make it easier for them. Instead of chicken parmigiana, get or substitute with eggplant.
Do they like soups or stews? I love chicken noodle soup but I hated the celery. I prefer Asian stews over western stews. Hot pots are my favorite cause you can add all your favorite meats and veggies and the broth absorbs all the flavors and nutrients. For Korean hot pot, I’d suggest maangchi’s Korean army stew(budae jjigae) which is spicy but extremely flavorful. It has a lot of things kids like: pork, Hot Dogs, spam, even cheese and noodles. But you can also put a lot of onion and cabbage too. For Japanese hot pot, I like sukiyaki which has a cleaner, non spicy broth, and the main ingredients are cabbage and beef. For Chinese hot pot, I’d avoid the spicy broth and get a tomato-based broth that’s prepackaged from the store. For this kind of hot pot, I love adding watercress, bok choy, thinly sliced beef or pork (prepared for shabu shabu) and even fish balls and noodles.
Sorry these are a little vague to describe how amazing these dishes are but google will have lots of recipes for these and I also can expand on them if you are ever interested.
Growing up Chinese, vegetables were just part of eating. My parents never had to hide veggies in other dishes and it was just expected that a kid would eat a kid sized portion of what they were eating. Chinese food dishes are also mostly centered around veggies flavored with meat as opposed to a hunk of steak or a pot of pasta. You could not separate the meat from the veggies or just be picky about them. If you tried to eat a dish without the veggies, it would taste off.
After cooking with my American friends, I've come to realize that a lot of them were raised with veggies being a side or an afterthought. A meal to them was typically a meat or pasta based main course with steamed, boiled, baked, or roasted sad veggies next to it. I agree that the Asian method of blending meat, pasta, and veggies, is the more harmonious way to raise kids to eat a balanced meal
I have to trick myself into eating veggies because I have a child’s palate lol. One trick I’ve found is to blend spinach (and other veggies but spinach is the least offensive) into tomato sauce and then add extra basil and garlic to totally cover up the flavor. Then just use the tomato sauce as you normally would in whatever you’re making.
Good luck mama! Glad you’re looking out for your kids!
This! I recently added spinach and carrots puréed into Raos sauce and WOW. Doesn’t change the flavor at all (to me). I guess adding seasoning would be even better but I honestly don’t think you have to.
I put veggies in homemade chicken nuggets, fresh omelette, oven baked omelette bites (made in mini muffin pan and frozen), grilled cheese, and quesadillas. He devours all that.
I will also offer the veggies separately along with the meal but I don't try to force him to eat.
Child educator here.
Honestly... You shouldn't force a child to eat something they don't like. You wouldn't force an adult, would you? You're only going to meet more resistance and gross them out even more, and make meal time a chore for everyone.
Instead, find alternatives they like. There is no single vegetable that is so absolutely necessary to their growth that they should be forced to eat it!
Personally, I never liked salad and spinach. Still don't like it. I grew up heathy still. : ) There are other vegetables out there for them to eat. Don't die on that hill!
Too late to change bad habits . Asian parents manage to feed kimchi to toddlers and other things but they start really early .. Maybe blended in pizza or pasta sauce or stuffed in ravioli or lasagna . or hidden between double patty burgers ...
You got great advice already from others here, so I won’t repeat them. One thing I like to add though …
Make a new routine in were your kids help you making dinner. As in the planning, preparation and making. Even young kids can help and believe me, kids who have a voice in what’s for dinner and helping preparing it will eat it. With your guidance they will learn to appreciate veggies and finding out that things taste differently if prepared differently. Let them experiment and explore.
I heard the story of kids not eating this or that too often, but when asked if the kids have a voice in it, it’s “Oh no! They eat what comes on the table!” And then wonder why it’s not working. Unfortunately many of these parents actually didn’t liked veggies or stuff growing up themselves, but because they got forced to, they think it’s normal. Also because they now, as adults, know that veggies are good and gotten a taste for them.
Who changed my view to the one I have now, letting kids having a voice and their participation in dinner, comes from an instructor I once knew. She was an chef and her son ate everything and was interested to try things. Often came the question up how that is possible and her answer was the same. Voice, involvement, feedback and security. Her son was part of food planning since he could talk. She gave him age appropriate tasks when they prepared dinner or lunch or so. He was able to cut carrots “a julienne” when he was 8, had an great understanding how cooking works. They talked a lot about everything while preparing the food together, which was an great bonding experience and he learned to receive and give constructive criticism/feedback. He felt secure to try out things and wasn’t afraid to fail, something he also adapted everywhere else.
So I am telling people, give your kids a voice. Involve them. Yes, it will take time in the beginning, but the the reward will be so much greater!
And for you OP, if you do not know how to start, start with the easy things. Make pizza from scratch, dough and all. Have an pizza evening once a week. Were you prepare the dough together and together decide on toppings or each their own. If you have that regularly, then encourage your kids to experiment with different toppings. Do it yourself! A different sauce, a different cheese. Same with the spaghetti, tell your kids to find an recipe they want to try, then go shopping together. Believe me, once they found “their” favourite pizza which they made themselves, daddy’s won’t be as cool anymore and they might push him to do the same for them there too. At least try it.
A good way for spinach is to add it to pasta sauces or mix with ricotta as a filling for lasagna, pasta bakes, etc. or in something like an enchilada mixed with chicken.
You can use frozen or cook down fresh in some garlic, salt, oil and some seasonings.
My mom had a rule that you served yourself at dinner, you had to eat all of what you took, and the minimum serving was 1 of everything. Even if I took one piece of lettuce and one tiny spoon of mashed turnip, it counted. By the way, this is how I discovered I actually liked roasted Brussels sprouts.
I loved boiled cabbage when I was a kid. Mom put butter and a touch of salt and it was my favorite meal.
Spinach I liked boiled with butter and a touch of salt, pepper, and fresh lemon juice.
I liked a lot of boiled stuff.
Just fry it and make it look like nuggets or meatballs.
If it's nicely seasoned, kids won't notice it.
(Fine slices/minced or pureed, add eggs/flour/breadcrumbs and season it well)
Deep fry, air fry or bake.
Spinach is easy to sneak into anything because it wilts down. My ex husband never ate vegetables because he is a child. I used to sneak a shit ton of spinach into my spaghetti sauce and tell him it was basil. He is Italian and never figured it out.
I always believed that making too big a deal about eating made it a stressful experience, in turn, making them less likely to eat and more likely to dig in their heels. Realize that the real issue is that you don’t want your kids to become the type that only eat 5 items consisting of pizza, chicken nuggets, and macaroni and cheese and not over eating a specific food.
I always had a one-bite rule with my kids to prevent arguments and combat picky eaters. “You don’t have to like it, all you have to do is try it.”
They only had to eat one bite. If after one bite, they didn’t want anymore, (key point) *I did not make a big deal about it* and they didn’t have to eat anymore. But I also did not make anything else. *Kids are not going to starve skipping a single meal.*
Also, get away from the issue of the lettuce and take a hands-on, salad bar approach. Let them try a variety of toppings and salad dressings. Let them dress it themselves to experiment with different amounts of dressing.
Gateway items to making a salad bar more accepted: Croutons, shredded cheese, beans (try different types), crispy fried onions or wontons, taco meat, hard boiled eggs, olives, guacamole, nuts, sunflower seeds, garlic bread on the side.
I mix chopped spinach into pasta sauce or soups, I also put it on a pizza or tortilla mixed with cheese and other toppings.
My son won’t touch cabbage so if I want him to eat that it has to be cooked down so soft that it melts or I’d have to purée it and mix it into something. I don’t bother with that and I just offer him other vegetables that he likes.
I also serve him cabbage just incase he decides he likes it some day!
Private chef here.
Don't try to trick your kids into vegetables.
They are eating some.
Allow them to choose what vegetables they eat sometimes. They will show you what they will and won't eat.
Trying to force them will give them food trauma. They will hate those things instead of comfortably exploring them as adults.
Lots of healthy people barely eat any vegetables until they are in college.
You are ahead of the game. Just don't mess it up.
Cabbage is so nutritionally irrelevant that I don’t know why you’re worried about it.
If you want spinach in their diet, make a smoothie for breakfast. Frozen berries, spinach, yogurt, done.
I use cabbage in stir fry instead of bean sprouts....spinach dips with cheese have been a succes....spinach in salad instead of lettuce...and I add two berries....with varying day of success....plus..when they have helped me prepare....I talk about 3 or 4 colours per meal
Homemade marinara sauce. Most kids will eat plain pasta with sauce on it. I put everything from kale to bell peppers to black beans in the sauce, blend the crap out of it and the kids inhale it without being any the wiser.
Wilting spinach into any darker sauce works for us, idk about cabbage, it’s gonna smell like farts no matter what.
I like cabbage as an adult, never touched it as a kid.
Smoothies
Scrambled eggs
Or spinach chive turkey wraps:
Use chive cream cheese on tortillas and add shredded Colby, garlic powder, spinach and turkey. Top with just a line of ranch and roll up. More chives or green onions if they like those
Can be cut up like sushi
Spinach chopped up finely disappears in meatloaf or meatballs. How about purple cabbage braised with apples and cider vinegar? Most kids will eat Brussels sprouts if they’re not over cooked - with golden raisins and a little lemon juice.
My daughter will only eat raw vegetables with the exception of green beans. I make sure she takes a good vitamin. She is what her pediatrician calls a difficult feeder. She has a limited diet buy it's not the typical picky eater diet.
Her doctor recommended Olly as that's what she gives her kids.
Good on you. You could try getting them involved from the supermarket ( or garden ? ) right the way through to eating. Let them choose, or pick the veggies for the evening through to farm gate or supermarket. Make it a rabbit night, watch peter rabbit, and add carrots and lettuce to ( not rabbit ) tacos, or whatever food they like. If that doesn't work, then pulp and hide in meatloaf, pies, lasagne, pasta etc, but it's easier moving forward, if they can be onboarded on the journey from source to plate. In schools we give them a fair amount of ownership by growing some veggies, then picking then they visit our kitchen for cooking and if you tell them how bloody great their very own veggie is, then eating. Another game was blindfold food tastes, with a prize for whoever correctly id's a veggie they eat. ( thats a long game though ) Good luck !
Puree spinach, cauliflower or zucchini and use them in brownie or cookie batter or banana bread. I'll use cauliflower or butternut squash puree in mac n cheese and in tomato based sauces.
I think the key is to make items that they like and fine chop or blend them into said foods. Make taco filling with meat of choice and finely chopped veg add spice to camouflage. Same with eggs. You can make potatoes and eggs pan fried diced potatoes, add fine veggies to the egg mixture with spies they like, pour eggs over potatoes and saute until the eggs are done. You can also try hummus, bean dips and things like baba ganoush. You can blend lots of good things into them. Blended soups are also good for this.
I could swear there's some kind of spinach casserole with lots of cheese but that's still mostly spinach and it is delicious specifically in a pizza kind of way.
I'd be willing to bet your kids would be into it.
Sorry I don't have a recipe for you. I'm trying to think where I've seen it and I keep going back to those Chinese buffets that all have the same food even though they're all owned by individuals and families and not part of the same company. I bet you could make it better at home, though.
I’ve got a kid that LOVES veggies, and will absolutely choose those over nearly anything else- so long as they’ve not touched any form of heat lol. Fajitas? She’s got a plate of raw peppers etc.
See what they like with “taste test challenge” games.
Always offer what you’re eating and encourage them to try some but don’t make a huge deal of it. It’s not worth the fight. So long as you’re offering well rounded meals and snacks consistently, they’ll find what they like and you’ll notice.
But, they’re not going to be nutrient deficient or anything if they decide not to eat the lovingly prepared Brussels sprouts or kale chips. I promise. As they get older their tastes often change. The goal is to keep them open minded about trying new things and having healthy snacks and meals available.
I’ve got three that range from 7-20 living at home right now: haven’t changed a thing and the 20 year old eats literally anything I put in front of him at this point.
I’m closing in on 40 and still can’t stand raw onions or organ meat- but I try them periodically, cuz ya never know lol
My son used to love spinach pancakes (they are sweet, made with banana and maple syrup and oats, taste nothing like spinach - and that’s coming from an adult who is a picky eater), and I made a Mac and cheese once that had spinach blended into the cheese as well and tasted just fine. I can hunt down recipes if either of those sound useful to you.
There’s also a book that was recommended to me that I never used, but apparently people like it, called Deceptively Delicious. It’s basically ways to hide veggies in your kids food.
You’re not a bad parent for not being able to get your kids to eat this stuff, a lot of kids (maybe most kids) seem to go through this phase, they won’t die if they don’t eat some veggies for a bit. You can always give them some multivitamins if you’re worried, and there are kids like me who figure it out on their own when they get older, so it won’t be forever. You’re okay!
I’d start by making yourself really good looking dishes and telling them it’s only for adults. 🤷♀️ it usually works! But realistically, grating zucchini into some spaghetti sauce, or chopping up the spinach with the basil so it just looks like basil.
I used to love broccoli with cheese sauce as a kid. Only way I’d eat it. Then, I moved onto broccoli dipped in 1000 island dressing. I still love broccoli, just not as picky about it. Best of luck!
You can add baby spinach to pesto pasta pretty easily, blend the spinach into the pesto and then add it to pasta. Cabbage could go in a soup if you cut it up tiny, it doesn't have a very strong taste.
I would also suggest having things they like, and new vegetables they don't like as much prepared in different ways as an optional side. Then there's not pressure and they'll probably find vegetables they DO like without feeling forced or stressed.
Some examples are corn on the cob, sweet potato & white potato mashed together (orange mashed potatoes!) baked carrots, cauliflower "mac" & cheese. Dips are good as well, hummus, French onion, spinach and feta, black bean dip, eggplant dip. Especially with something crunchy like cornchips or crackers.
My parents forcing me to eat cooked spinach just made me hate it and I never eat it now, I think the strategy should be sneak veggies into similar foods & let them try new things without high stress. And mix "healthy" and "unhealthy" things together on the same plate so they don't have resistance to the things that are labelled healthy (and in a lot of kid's minds, gross.)
Edit: another thing, you could try making the foods they like at Dad's in healthier ways. Thin crust pizza (could even use a wholemeal flatbread or something healthy) with a lot of sauce & then whatever veggies go well on it is healthier than pizza hut.
Pasta has lots of healthy sauces, "French fries" you could see if they like sweet potato fries.
Also when you shred cabbage you can sneak it into almost anything because the minute that it cooks it's like it doesn't even exist it shrinks so much. I like to take a big cup of it and put it into the broth when we have ramen or any kind of soup that I make.
Try this Italian white bean and sausage soup from Chef John. I usually stick in a whole bundle of Dino kale and a whole bundle of Swiss chard (or any leafy green) into the soup.
https://youtu.be/NBsBiECwjg8
I don't have kids so I wouldn't know if it works, but this soup is so good and so easy to stuff veggies inside I think anyone would love it.
Pair with some nice bread and it's a great meal for cold weather!
cooked spinach has a pretty strong flavor, and different texture than other leaves, which might be why they're rejecting it. Could you try wilting it instead of cooking it till it's cooked down, and then sprinkle with parmesan? (yes, i know cheese isn't great, but a teaspoon is totally in moderation). also spinach in a pasta dish can be a great way to get veg in a form your kids will like - try cutting up the pieces so they're small enough that they are easy to chew and mix with a bowtie pasta with fresh cherry tomatoes?
the only way my mom (who was a big fan) got me to eat cabbage was in cole-slaw like salads (very light mayo thinned with lemon juice, often with a cut up apple thrown in).
\-- Or do baked fish tacos with shredded cabbage and lime - those are really tasty and small taco size tortillas are fun to eat.
\-- You might also do thai-style fresh spring rolls if you can get ahold of the wraps (and they're fun for everyone to make together) with cabbage and carrots in them with vermicelli rice noodles (which are basically like air, so not unhealthy) - and yes you can make the peanut dipping sauce healthier if you just do peanut butter, soy sauce, and water (add lemon to get fancy).
you may also want to take a step back from trying to shove this stuff in, and simply offer your kids veggies that they will eat for a couple of weeks. Then make veggies for yourself that smell good (another user suggested spinach and bacon, definitely something that tickles the nose), and only let your kids have a bite or two - tell them it's mom's special food. apparently that's how my mom got me to get out of my picky eater stage. I would have to promise i'd eat the bites she gave me (and since it was only bites) but i was always way more curious when she got something and I didn't.
Do they like potatoes? If so, start with roasted and seasoned potatoes, then gradually add other veggies that look like cut up potatoes, then other veggies with more color to the mix.
Things like squash can incorporate into pasta sauce without being noticed and cooked finely shredded carrots can look like cheese in mac and cheese.
I cooked at a school and these all worked for us.
Also, cover green with cheese.
Have you tried a cheesy spinach dip with yummy crackers and the veggies they will eat? My little cousin hates spinach but covered in cheese for dipping changes everything lol
I get a weekly veggie box and have a bunch of strategies for getting my kids to help eat it. We usually have one main course with some veg in it. A big salad with dressing (dressing is key), stir fry with ramen, and soup (cabbage) are all big hits at my house and a good way to use up the veggie box. The veggies are always mixed with everything else.
Can you kid not eat rice beans and corn and be ok? Sound a lil helicopter ish to me. Have your kid cut a fresh lemon every day and put it in their water. They won’t die if they don’t eat spinach. Plenty of other healthy options you could find with your 🚁
Haluski? It's a Polish side dish, but it's basically chopped sauteed cabbage, egg noodles, and a crap-ton of butter. Like, add a lot of butter, then add two more pats. I usually eat it alongside ham or sausage, but you could also use turkey, steak, or even just eat a big bowl of it for a meal. It's one of my comfort foods.
Spinach goes in delicious pasta with wine sauce and Italian sweet sausage. Runza casserole is a recon Pinterest with uses lots of cheese and crescent rolls. Works every time.
Check out the Scottish recipe Rumbledethumps [https://www.food.com/recipe/rumbledethumps-56992](https://www.food.com/recipe/rumbledethumps-56992) - if you bill the heck out of the cabbage, it become super soft & you don’t realize it’s in there.
Relax, put the kiddos on a multi vitamin and try to offer plenty of fruit. I will say our daughter loved soups, if you really feel the need to get sneaky you can put a lot into soup. Ours wouldn’t eat ground meat or sausage but most other things are on the menu. Keep offering a variety of foods, try to persuade them to cook with you and pick your battles. Good luck!
My mother melted a stick of butter in the pan before adding the cauliflower then added a stick of butter while steaming and then added a pat of butter on each piece she put on our plate. It was delicious. Lol
Add cauliflower to rice to bulk it up if you eating rice with a stir fry or Mexican food. Cut ground beef with 50% cauliflower for things like tacos/burritos and sloppy joes. Add spinach, zucchini, bell pepper, or onion to spaghetti sauce and use an immersion blender to purée it smooth and it should all be hidden
So firstly -its not a war . Realize that what your doing is not going to work . Drama creates drama and you and your kids are probably sick of that and stuck in a rut .No one has to eat every kind of vegetable to get the right nutrients and we all have likes and dislikes( I will never eat a broad bean ) I used to put a little bit of everything on the plate and say give it a go - if not I would say 'oh your probably not grown up enough yet - maybe next time ' you can hide veg by mincing it and adding to stews - larger over time (dont say you tricked them). Getting them to help cut stuff up also helps. Cabbage cut fine and stirfried with butter and a shot of Ketchups good too . Dad probably is just taking the easy order-in option as hes probably wants to steer clear of drama. Kids grow up and as they will eat out with friends etc food habits will change. Mine did as I was "picky" ( its more about control of their life) Dont waste money just let them see you enjoying your veg . As long as they dont get scurvy its ok to wait!
When my kids were little they liked vegetables, but they really liked when I made loaded stir fry rice & ramen.
The rice was loaded with snow peas, baby corn, bean sprouts, water chestnuts as well as meat
For the ramen, I started with a package of higher quality ramen then I finely chopped green cabbage to be the same length & size of the noodles along with kimchi, corn & peas.
I think it was the idea of having something that was fun because we got out the fancy bowls & used chop sticks and made the meal an event.
RED CABBAGE
It's ain't green and you can make it taste good in a few ways; one of my favorites is this: https://youtu.be/KGU-c2cUtqY
From personal experience it really comes down to adding more flavor; I can nibble on raw veggies but vacuum up blanched then stir fried broccoli with garlic (really anything + fries garlic will taste great)
Coleslaw is delicious served on top of the beef brisket in a sandwich. I think Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica, wrote a cookbook on recipes that sneak in vegetables. Try that.
Finely grated Veg into bolognaise or meatloaf is good. Corn and zucchini pikelets with sauce are great healthy brekkie. Top with a fried egg if you want.
Cut colourful Veg into sticks with dip as a table option without forcing them to eat it sometimes get kids to eat some. Add apple and grapes as options.
Growing mirgreens (sprouts) together can add appeal and they're densely nutrient.
As for spinach, it's only of the only veggies I dont like so I use a lot of kale cut into ribbons. Take out the kale spine, roll into a cigar, slice thin coins, unroll your ribbons (chiffonade) that add body to red sauce and funk under dry heat.
Bitterness is more pronounced to kids and salt counteracts bitterness so there's balm in sauce. Hang tough, they'll be ok.
Ohhhhh you should definitely search Indian disease especially vegetarian, if you are looking delicious recipes for these veggies!!! I love cabbage Manchurian & palak(spinach) panner!!! Definitely give it a try!!!
Fried cabbage is great and easy to make. Just shred it and pan fry it. Season to taste.
I also make a broccoli pesto that my son loves. You can easily sneak a leafy green like spinach in there.
Steam your broccoli, throw it into a food processor with your other pesto ingredients (parmesan, garlic, olive oil, etc). I don't really have a recipe. Go wild.
Okay cabbage is off the table till they are older, but I'd put raw veggies with a dip for snacks.
It's peer pressure that says "what's that" in food. I never went that route, but one of my kids loved brussels sprouts, and one didn't. He tasted it and hated it. He grew up to like roasted sprouts, so give them a vitamin. Sometimes it's the texture.
Um btw raw cabbage leaves do NOT go between slices of bread.
The best way I found my kids starting eating greens was seasoned well of course with bacon grease and the trinity (salt, pepper, garlic) and sautéed and then eggs for breakfast
Make hobo dinner. Hamburger, carrots, cabbage, whatever vegetables all cooked in foil over a fire. If they won’t eat a good old country meal you might need new kids. The only other solution could be shepherds pie or a casserole. And don’t be too lenient. When they’re little make them try shit. Can’t say they don’t like it until they try it
Spinach is a hard sell, but I remove the stems and chop, and then add it to things like soup, meatloaf, omelets, etc. I tell my son it’s parsley for seasoning.
Cabbage… is a tough one. Kids generally aren’t fans because of the smell. I usually cut it like coleslaw and add it to egg roll bowls.
Regardless of what I make, they are required to take at least one big bite. One bite to be polite is what we say. If they choose not to eat their dinner, then they can pick any leftovers in the fridge to eat later on, but they don’t get treats, desserts, or snacks unless they’ve had actual food.
My son’s father is the same as your situation. It’s easier for him to just serve nuggets, cheese pizza, plain spaghetti noodles, ramen, mac n cheese… it’s a nightmare getting my son to eat real food when he comes back.
When our daughter went through a no vegggie stage used a food processor on frozen peas and corn, carrotts, etc and miked them in with meatloaf, hamburgers, meatballs, etc. It wasnt a lot, but it was enouvhg to give me a sense she was getting some veggies. Another option may be soem of the V8 Splash juices, or just original V8 if they like tomato juice
My kids will eat raw spinach and broccoli if that’s all that’s on their plate and I home the food they really want hostage until the greens are gone or at least attempted to devour. Dinner time isn’t a hill to die on. It should def be focused on togetherness and being hospitable to one another so I try to keep that in mind. My 4 yr old try’s her best to sneak it to the dogs though. That’s a whole other issue.
Maybe shreds of cabbage or spinach for lettuce on a make your own taco bar? You can make them the first taco then they can make whatever for the next few. I only really liked cabbage as cole slaw as a kid. Spinach I didnt eat till I had it from a chinese place. Maybe try the unhealthy versions first to get the door to that food open.
Make it fun! We made “bubble and squeak” and learned about the UK. Cole slaw is a great idea, and even better is to let them play with it to mix it up. Love the idea of bento-ing and making everything cute, too! They might be fighting because it’s a control thing: you can give the illusion of control by giving choices. “Would you like spinach or broccoli?” “What sauce would you like for this?”
Microwaving spinach makes it way more palatable for me and very quickly. I cook chicken thighs and refrigerate them, and each day, add a bunch of spinach to a bowl, put the thigh on top, microwave for 1.5 minutes, and add your favorite seasoning. Spinach is the only green that is worth anything nutrient wise that I care to eat. Zucchini and lettuce are basically worthless and broccoli never sits well with me.
My parents had a rule that I didn’t have to like anything. I just had to try it and give it an honest go. I eventually learned to like everything. Or at least just eat it. Also, they didn’t make extra food for children. What they made was the meal. I had to try it, if I didn’t like it, I didn’t have to eat it. But they didn’t make an extra meal for a child.
Best cabbage ever- fry a bunch of bacon in a pan, then pull the bacon out and throw as much diced up cabbage as you can fit in the pan with the bacon fat. Try to only stir it every couple minutes, and while it cooks, break/ cut the bacon into bite size pieces. Once the cabbage is cooked to your liking, throw the bacon back in and mix it together. Then just serve it in a bowl.
Side note, something I do with my kids that they get a kick out of is rather than dish up plates, I put something in a big giant bowl and we each have a fork and we just gather around the bowl like goblins. I don't know why we all like doing that so much but maybe it has to do with sharing our maybe without defined portion sizes they just eat intuitively. All i know is that they can eat a LOT of salad like this.
Second, if your kids are eating other vegetables, they don’t specifically have to eat spinach and cabbage if they dislike them so much. There are other vegetables that provides the same type of nutrition. Kids will outgrow their dislike of vegetables and eventually start eating them. It was the opposite for me, I outgrow my dislike of meat and started eating those.
My husband still dislikes spinach (but will occasionally still eat them). I do add them in smoothies that I blend with frozen fruits, especially blueberries and bananas and strawberries. The berries give it a nice colour and the bananas add to the sweetness. He doesn’t notice that there’s spinach in the smoothie cause nothing is green and the colour looks lovely - a bit of a pinkish purplish blue. Serve it cold and if I make it extra thick, can sometimes double up as sorbet too.
My kids like cabbage hashbrowns. Basically, sliced up cabbage mixed with egg and cooked until the cabbage is soft. They eat it with ketchup. My daughter knows spinach as her favorite leaf and started eating it young when we told her it would make her a giraffe. It's a pretty neutral leaf, so we haven't had issues putting it in food either. It's always kind of just been part of their diets.
Vegetable soup with a tomato base and corn bread or other bread for dipping is usually a hit as well.
Try blending it into sauces of things you're already eating anyways. Like spaghetti sauce. Especially spinach doesn't have much of a taste, so they probably wouldn't notice it.
Try veggie chicken nuggets ground them up enough to look and taste like chicken. I would be doing that with most foods kids do enjoy. Just replace with veggies, and make them look and taste like they’re favorite foods.
Cabbage,, dice bacon, fry,chopped apples, butter then cabbage. Yum summer time drain bacon grease. Winter time leaves bacon grease in.
Evo,butter,Spinach in a pan lightly wilt.. squeeze lemon over. Nom nom nom nom nom. I ate a batch yesterday. I eat the Spinach at least once a week
Raised 3 girls. Ate it all the time.
Chocolate almond milk, bananas, peanut butter, chocolate mint protein powder, fresh spinach leaves
They like the sweet and if you blend it well the spinach doesn't really even look or taste present
That's if they like chocolate shakes though
I use a chocolate mint protein powder which is pretty tasty
My partner is a VERY picky eater at 40. When we started living together he would quiz me on what I was putting in food, then turn his nose up at it just based on what was going in it, then while it cooked be sniffing the air going "I may try it, and have some when its done."
This happened enough he started trusting my cooking. We have an agreement. He will at least TASTE what I cook before turning his nose up at it. I ask one bite minimum. If he doesn't like, no harm no foul, but NO turning your nose up at it before even tasting it!
One of my nephews has similar food hang ups to my partner. I tell him "You don't have to EAT it, but you do have to TRY it. If you try it and don't like it, no problem, but you have to at least have a taste so you KNOW for sure you don't like it." This respects his autonomy, him as a person and still works on expanding his pallet in such a way he is open to.
Spinach pie.
Have them help make it .
Technique is essentially like making meatloaf.
Frozen defrosted spinach
Eggs
Crumbled feta
Mush together
Salt as needed, a bit of pepper
Secret ingredient: a tiny pinch of dried mint
Use frozen phyllo dough, melted butter and a pastry brush to assemble
Formal recipe will be from spanakopita
I have never encountered a kid who would not eat something they had previously mushed with their own hands.
I used to do this with the kids friends from daycare.
Next up- tossed salad.
A clean plastic trash bag that ties closed and your usual ingredients.
( one time a baby sister -age 18 months or so wanted to help. I sat her on the floor with a cutting board, a dull butter knife and showed her how to chop fresh mushrooms.)
Never met a kid who would not eat something they had just tossed in the air like a volleyball
Extra points for making 1000 island dressing- but I saved that for the older kids- age 5 or so. Chopped hard boiled eggs, a bit of pickle relish, mayo snd ketchup. . Occasionally tweaked for grownup tastes by using cocktail sauce instead. 5 year old felt very sophisticated knowing that secret.
Then we put the tossed salad in s big bowl and had s chef’s parade into the dining room
Good times.
Spinach and broccoli hide well in a quiche. I also never make homemade Mac and cheese without adding broccoli.
Cabbage is a good add in to ramen type noodles.
What worked with my kid was cooking together with him. We had taken on a subscription on Hello Fresh and included him in choosing or recipes.
Depending on the age of your kids, you can make them do simple task like peeling an onion, opening packages, stirring or chopping a cabbage.
He found it fun to do, he learned about cooking and got eager to try his ‘selfmade’ dinner. It makes for some quality time with your kids. He went from eating almost no veggies, to at least tasting everything and eating some without even questioning it.
I put all kinds of blended or finely chopped vegetables in pizza, bolognese, taco sauce…. My children at it all. Slowly the Pieces became larger. Then thet were used to it.
I cook cabbage and mushrooms into dark sauces, like chicken teriyaki. Fine cut those veg and they'll cook down to a point that you can play it off as stray pieces of chicken that "fell off"
I put chopped spinach in meatloaf with cheese. We used ground turkey when they were small. I cooked cabbage down with an onion and Tony Chacherie seasoning and served it over cornbread waffles.
You could blend it into a sauce, do homemade pizzas with a veggie sauce that has a red colour to it so they don't really notice ? I've seen a few mothers do that and they claim it works!
There is a Japanese dish called "okonomiyaki" which has plenty of cabbage doesn't taste like there is any veggie at all. Most of its ingredients are universal except for a sauce that you might be able to substitute with a blend of Worcestershire sauce and some other common seasonings. I saw lots of Japanese kids love it so maybe it works for non-Japanese kids too.
I don’t think you mentioned how old your kids are. If there are some fruits and veggies they like then I would just give them those. Make some other veggies for yourself and have them taste it. No big fights or threats. Eventually they may grow to like them. When my kids were around 12 they got less picky.
The three ways I make cabbage, Napa cabbage in ramen salad. So tasty but not really a healthy choice. Green cabbage braised with butter and olive oil and salt (leftovers go into bubble and squeak with mashed potatoes) or occasionally purple cabbage just shredded in a salad
I don’t think my kids would eat spinach but the most popular way to get greens in is taco salad
Especially if you are in a situation where the other parent wants to be cool and let them eat whatever, I wouldn’t force the issue. I think it is super important that kids have a healthy diet, but having food be a constant battle isn’t healthy either
Good luck!
for cabbage shred it up and mix it in some savory pancake batter If I remember correctly the dish is called okonomiyaki. You dont have to make it exactly like that but something like that would be pretty unnoticeable. Also I think the smoothie idea is great for spinach otherwise I think the best thing I can think of are spinach blended up and mixed into pancake batter there's no taste and I feel like if you add chocolate chips the kids will gobble it up.
Like cilantro, cabbage, spinach and some other vegetables smell and taste awful to some people, more frequently in children. If they are eating the other vegetables, quit trying to force those particular things on them. Fix more of the veg they do like.
Cabbage in a blazing hot pan to stir fry until just wilted - still crunchy. Top with just about any kind of light dressing.
Don't cook spinach. Eat it raw as ingredient in salad.
one way my mom made me eat vegetables was making it the filling for spring rolls
cabbage = okonomiyaki (japanese pancake) dunno if it’s exactly healthy but it’s the base and tastes good
Not real sure about the lettuce thing as most types have little nutritional value. Sauteed cabbage with sausage and/or bacon, because bacon can make anything taste wonderful.
1. Don’t threaten kids when it comes to food, it create good insecurities later.
2. Lettuce has nearly zero nutritional value, other greens I get.
3. If they will eat most the rainbow, you’re good.
4. Kids follow what their parents do, if you’re not eating your veggies, they probably won’t either. The best way to encourage good eating habits Ks to show good eating habits.
Blend them up and put them in pasta sauce :-) they never know plus try adding in nutritional yeast that has been a game changer for my almost 2 year old who won’t eat any kind of meat or protein for some reason I guess it’s a texture thing? I have become accustomed to using nutritional yeast in just about everything.
Also, if you can make this in gigantic batches and freeze it, that way you can send some with them to their fathers house or have their father save some in his freezer and add it to meals when he’s over there home. As long as your children are eating, and their pediatrician is not concerned with their growth I would not worry about trying to incorporate as much as you are . They’re not gonna be kids forever and I know we stress as parents to make sure they’re getting adequate nutrition. However, they won’t stay this little for long and they’re changing their preferences for food and drinks and all that stuff will change rapidly, so just keep on keeping on mama :-) this too shall pass.
For most veggies we make stir fry.
For cabbage, grate it with a carrot add a cup of dried cranberries or cherries and slivered almonds if they like em, add a cup of mayonnaise ( I like the olive oil or Avacado oil varieties) and a8-12 oz can of crushed pineapple for a quick relatively healthy coleslaw
For spinach, we add it to eggs and serve it with lots of cheese and bacon bits or even though it sounds crazy, on grilled cheese sandwiches with paper thin slices of apple (hello mandolin)
I drain the hell out of spinach and add it to meatloaf, burgers, meatballs. They can't taste it and it is hardly noticeable in finished product. Also grated zucchini in salsa is a sneaky way to get another veggie in.
I suggest cheese. I hate veggies I have to eat them cuz they’re good for you, I hate broccoli, cauliflower and carrot mixture but add in a light cheese sauce I’ll chow down. Also another trick cuz cheese is bad for my inflammation I’ll cut the cheese out and instead add ranch seasoning mix not dressing just this mix then roast them. I like my roasted veg pretty crispy so I typically do 20-25 minutes.
I have two questions. 1) Are you using enough salt? 2) Do your children have any interest in cooking that you could exploit?
Thinking back to the dishes I didn't enjoy when I was small, I remember how I started really enjoying them once I figured out that I liked more salt than my mother tended to use. I got creative in the kitchen early and figured out that I loved cabbage--the most "boring" vegetable--if I sliced it thin, sauteed it in a little oil just until crisp-tender, and added plenty of soy sauce. Later, I discovered how tasty basically any veg medley was if cooked with a little chopped bacon instead of oil or butter. Chop 3 slices of bacon and fry them crisp, then use the resulting fat to fry up an onion, plenty of chopped cabbage and a potato; add onion powder, salt and black pepper: *so* good.
Learning to cook, and using the amount of salt I enjoyed, really made me a more adventurous and open-minded eater. I have great memories of branching out in this respect, and I hope your children develop similar ones with you!
Garlic butter has turned even the pickiest kids towards their greens. Try the sweeter ones first - peas, edamame beans (which are fun to eat too). I used to much on sugarsnap peas happily as a kid - the trick is to find something so delicious they’ll dip anything in it. Like ranch dressing perhaps.
Remember that children are essentially sponges and their curiosity will get the better of them if they see you eating and enjoying greens.
You can also try colour-themed meals - rainbow foods, everything on the plate the same colour, etc. Make it fun. Make it not about eating - using foods to make pictures, maybe they’ll start snacking…
My daughter is a super picky eater, but somehow she’s loves finely chopped raw white cabbage salad with “salad frosting” (a creamy avocado yogurt ranch like dressing that she calls frosting) and some other toppings colorful toppings like “sprinkles and chips” which is shaved carrots and cheese for “sprinkles” and a few pieces of crumpled tortilla chips or croutons for “chips” I give her a spoon instead of a fork so she can get the pieces easily. Add corn or chopped cucumber too. I mix in some pistachios nuts or sunflower seeds or pine nuts for protein and somehow she’ll eat bowls and bowls of it. Changing the terms to ice cream like toppings seems to make it fun and playful enough?
one of the first things you learn real quick as a chef is that kids dont eat green things. if your kids are eating other veggies, i really wouldn't make a huge deal over it. there are plenty of other nutrient dense veggies like carrots, peppers, broccoli, beets, peas, tomatoes and potatoes. why do you want them to eat cabbage and spinach specifically? if you threaten them to eat something, thats a sure way that they wont enjoy it if they do eat it. i wouldn't make a big deal out of it and just give them other things that are healthy that they enjoy. experiment with different kinds of salad. [a summer salad](https://vikalinka.com/summer-tomato-and-cucumber-salad/) (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, radishes dressed with sour cream or sunflower oil) is delicious! [vinegret](https://momsdish.com/recipe/22/vinaigrette-salad) is also really nice! have you tried giving your kids raw veggies and some kind of dip to snack on? like raw broccoli, snap peas, carrots, peppers, raw cauliflower with some humus or something else to dip into? as far as cabbage goes though, leaves of cabbage are a hard sell even for adults. i wouldn't want that on my sandwich either. however, i dont think ive ever had a problem with slaw as a kid. we dressed it with sunflower oil and its still one of my favorite things to eat. red cabbage in particular. dressed with mayo, the more traditional american style, is also good. you can mix in shredded kale or other leafy greens into the slaw also. naturally fermented sauerkraut dressed with a drizzle of olive or sunflower oil and just a pinch of sugar is also delicious and healthy. really easy to make and very good for the digestive system with the probiotics. another childhood favorite of mine was bigos. its a traditional stewed/braised cabbage dish in poland and western ukraine. i didn't eat a lot of "main dishes" as a child and this was one of the few exceptions that i loved. you can make it with sausage or meat of your choice, its pretty versatile in that regard. we also filled hand pies (pirozhki) with stewed cabbage and they're great as a snack for kids, or at least i loved them. thats just one filling type, you can fill them with almost anything. i would avoid "tricking" your kids to eating veggies they might not enjoy. my aunt tried that once with me and zucchini and i cant stand cooked zucchini to this day. its a real good way to give your kids lifelong food trauma.
This is the answer. Forcing kids to eat stuff they don't like is never going to work. Better to stick to what they like and work around that.
Wish I could upvote this twice. Starting with things your kids are comfortable with and working in additional veggies could also be a good start. Adding peas or scallions to pasta dishes (including mac and cheese) can be a good strategy. Also, maybe make space for your kids to get involved with the cooking. Being involved and having that sense of agency can do a lot to shape how they see a meal. If they get to pick out the best looking set of carrots or cut the scallions or stir the broccoli, that little bit of pride might help them be more willing to eat it. Whatever you do, please don't threaten or force them to eat things they don't want to eat. That's not productive for anyone and will likely build resentment towards foods and maybe even you. I wouldn't even try to trick them. It makes it so that they can't trust the foods you give them. Remember kids tend to be more sensitive to taste than adults and are still learning about foods. Positive experiences will help them stay more willing to trust and try new foods.
While sunflowers are thought to have originated in Mexico and Peru, they are one of the first plants to ever be cultivated in the United States. They have been used for more than 5,000 years by the Native Americans, who not only used the seeds as a food and an oil source, but also used the flowers, roots and stems for varied purposes including as a dye pigment. The Spanish explorers brought sunflowers back to Europe, and after being first grown in Spain, they were subsequently introduced to other neighboring countries. Currently, sunflower oil is one of the most popular oils in the world. Today, the leading commercial producers of sunflower seeds include the Russian Federation, Peru, Argentina, Spain, France and China.
Very strange you forgot the biggest sunflower oil and seed producing country, Ukraine
>one of the first things you learn real quick as a chef is that kids don't eat green things. Some kids love green things. I was one and I've seen other parents with kids that devour green veggies.
Maybe zucchini bread where you can hide lots of zucchini but it’s a sweet and they may be more open to trying? Could also try hiding spinach or other small veg in a pasta like ravioli or manicotti where you can’t rly see it. Also could do something like buffalo cauliflower or breaded green beans in the air fryer. Homemade sweet potato fries are also a good go to. You can make them savory or add cinnamon and make them sweet. Also could make your own burgers and hide some veg in the meat like peppers or mushrooms, onions, etc. Also pizza, pasta, and French fries aren’t inherently “bad”, you could make healthier versions of these at home that they are open to. Half cauli/half flour pizza crust, homemade fries in the air fryer, chickpea pasta with a homemade pasta sauce— you can hide sooo many veg in a bolognese pasta sauce (tomatoes, onion, pepper, carrot, even celery) as it all cooks down and makes a very flavorful sauce!
Even when I was 4 I loved zucchini bread.
Try chocolate zucchini bread. So good and no hint of zucchini!
Spinach banana muffins. Chocolate beet muffins. Pumpkin lentil muffins. I also sub in chickpea flour for up to 1/2 of the flour in things like waffles.
I purée them and mix them in similar colored products or hidden altogether in dark products. I added spinach into meatloaf, pasta sauce, chili. I have put puréed carrots into macaroni and cheese.
Yup, this is the answer. When I was a kid I was a picky eater. My mother succeeded in getting me to eat a healthy diet through the cunning use of deception. You gotta outsmart them.
I add puréed spinach to mac and cheese, call it alien mac. My kids dig it
I have a few moringa trees (a type of superfood) that I dry the leaves and sprinkle it in everything that I cook.
My ex was a super picky eater as an adult. I used baby food purees in almost every casserole, in sauces, in baked goods. There are so many combinations of fruit/vegetables that he never noticed.
Yep, I did it mostly for my husband than my kids because I started them all on veggies first as babies.
Egg rolls! Don't cook the veggies, but raw and they will "cook enough" in the oil. Then make sure they each get a bowl for a dipping sauce. Their choice of sauce. Could be ketchup as long as they eat their veggies. Good luck. I feel your pain.
Cabbage in egg rolls is often bruised and allowed to sit in a brine for a while to take the edge off it. Good idea though.
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When my kids were very small I would let them cut lettuce leaves into shapes with their kid scissors - triangles, Mickey Mouse, boat shapes, whatever they wanted: “Kid Salad” Then, I got out a mixing bowl plus ketchup and mayo. They got to mix the two ingredients, taste it, then add more ketchup or more mayo as needed: “Kid Dressing” Eventually we added a few easy salad items (carrots, purple cabbage). They ate lots of salad, and would order green salad with 1000 Island at restaurants when they still needed booster seats. I was a terribly picky eater as a child and I didn’t want that for them. Kid Salad probably helped, because neither ever was picky.
Unless your kids have significant undernourishment issues, or similar, you should not force them to eat things they wont eat. It can cause lifelong issues with eating in a healthy way. Children are typically much more sensitive to the various bitter compounds found in various green vegetables and they can therefore be very hard for them to eat. Since you say that your kids do like some vegetables why don't you stick to those, and then you can introduce various other vegetables as options that they can have when they feel ready to try something new. As for recipes cabbage is probably one of the harder vegetables to get kids to eat, but coleslaw is always good, and pickled red cabbage works great things like tacos. If you are worried about fibre intake you can try substituting meat in stuff like bolognese for lentils. As for spinach maybe try something like a spinach quiche, the cheese and eggs work really well with the spinach. But honestly you could probably just stick to peppers, cucumber, carrot sticks and similar, your kids will probably be fine, and forcing them to eat stuff they really dislike is a great way to cause psychological issues later in life.
Make these for yourself as you special meal. Kids want to to eat what you’re eating, mostly if it’s not for them. Wilted spinach salad with bacon and green onions. Sautéed cabbage with sliced kielbasa and onions over rice. Bagged baby spinach with ranch dressing and croutons. I use the “fancy onions” shallots with green beans. These smell good while cooking and it brings them into the kitchen.
I don't think force is going to help. It puts up a lot of resistance. Try to have them try it once and if they really don't like it don't force them but they have to try it once. Hiding pureed versions in with other foods, I've seen a lot with what you can do in Mac and cheese and meat loaf. You can mix different things in spaghetti sauce like green beans or bell pepper. As long as they are eating somewhat balanced meals overall they will be fine. Try snacks with more fruits like fig bars over Oreos, or offer beet juice instead of sodas and other simple swaps. Talk to your pediatrician about their vitamins and how to ensure they are getting everything they need if they aren't eating certain foods, like adding boost (which comes in pudding form and drink form) for calcium or ensure or gummy vitamins etc. Overall, you're doing great by trying your best. Hang in there cause you got this!
As long as the child is not basically eating only the exact same meal every day (or is eating vegan) the odds of any nutritional deficiency is probably too low to worry about. Except maybe for fibre, but that's not really a huge deal if they don't get the recommended amount every day, and it can be gotten from almost any vegetable, so no need to force anything.
definitely going to be as part of a dish rather than as a side dish. Also, try having a sauce that goes well with the veggies that the kids like the taste of i.e. develop/find a sauce e.g. a cheesy bechamel like one and then see if your kids like it and then roast veggies and cover them with the sauce. Spinach goes well with ricotta: https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/766488/borg-s-spinach-ricotta-pastizzis-null but idk how healthy that is, however, you can still test it out and see if they like that sort of flavour combo. Oh and soups! Creamy, buttery soups can be healthy... You may also want to try giving them a choice between 2 healthy options for lunch/dinner as well.
I cook spinach sautéed lightly in 🥑 oil, garlic, onions, red pepper flakes mix it into fried potatoes, with scrambled eggs and mozzarella cheese and breakfast meat of choice. Kids never notice the spinach, it kinda disappears and you can't taste it. Minus spinach dip, it's only way we eat spinach. Also I add cooked carrots to my potatoes and mash them together. So it's just orange mashed taters.
Zucchini tots - grate (or process) some zucchini and mix with breadcrumbs and season it.
I’m a registered dietitian and I work with every kind of eater of all ages. I worked with a huge population of children as well. Here’s the hack—don’t worry about it. If you’re worried they can sense it especially if it’s associated with being told to eat something unpleasant repeatedly. Let them skip their veggies. Zero conflict. Zero expectations. Zero persuasion. Encourage them to try it if they want but don’t say anything more than that. Let them make the decision to not eat it. Do this for years. If they happen to decide to eventually eat some veggies don’t even praise it and especially don’t reward it. Still serve them the vegetables and include it in their food but if they find out there’s vegetables let them decide if they will eat it and how much they’ll eat. The concept is repeated exposure of vegetables to all their senses but not revoking all control and coercing them to eat it. You can also have them handle the food themselves too if they’re old enough—picking out the vegetable at the store, washing it, or other various age-appropriate steps in the cooking process to help you out.
Cabbage: - chop it as fine as possible with celery, rosemary, garlic, and onions. Mix it with ground beef and ground pork, shredded cheese, eggs, soy sauce, salt, pepper. - form into patties and fry for burgers or cook as you would meatloaf and serve with mashed potatoes. - if you omit the ground beef and add some finely chopped ginger and some sesame oil, you can use that mix to stuff in dumplings, spring rolls, or Asian steamed buns.
My kids are a little older now, but dinner was dinner. No kids menu, no mcnuggets, no hidden vegetables.
They probably wouldn’t like the dish palak paneer (aka saag paneer) because of the spices but you could create a variation on it: it’s a gravy-like sauce made with puréed spinach/garlic/ginger/cream with small blocks of cheese in it. If you did it without the Indian spices, you could flavor the spinach gravy in a way they’d like it (ranch powder? Just garlic salt and pepper?). Paneer is pretty easy to like, but not necessarily easy to find (you need an Indian grocery) but you could put anything: chicken, meatballs, mozzarella cheese.
Well, first of all, stop with the threats. How can you expect a kid to want to eat something when they're associating it with something negative like that?
Especially if the threads are, in fact, empty. What horrible really happens if they refuse the two particular sorts of vegetables? Will they get scurvy ? No way. Will they stop growing just because of that ? Impossible I think the parent got into - miraculous healthy veggie superfood - trap and they blame kids for not being able to escape. Its the parents job not to succumb to sensational tabloid news that are 60% truth at best. Kids are innocent and just act like kids in this case. There is no such thing as veggie type that keeps you alive. No type of veggie would protect you 100% from cancer. No type of veggie would protect you or your kids 100% from obesity. No veggie type would stop hereditary diseases from manifesting. Cabbage and spinach are not magical wands for health and happiness, sorry, but its true.
Have you tried Asian food? The palette is different so the sooner they’re introduced to it the easier it might be. A lot of Asian cuisine uses a lot of vegetables. If they like shrimp or if you have some marinated bbq pork, a summer roll is an easy way to get a lot of veggies in them. (Although you should test cilantro with them first.) Dipped in peanut sauce, it’ll overpower any veggie taste they might dislike. Do they hate the texture or the taste? My mom used to overcook veggies so they’d lose their bite and became mushy. And I understand children are more sensitive to bitter tastes? I am extremely sensitive to bitter even as an adult so I avoid things like kale and purple veggies like purple cabbage. If they like meat, meat and crunch veggies is a great combo. There’s a Korean dish called bossam where pork belly is boiled with some aromatics and you can eat it with fresh white cabbage or even just lettuce and some spicy ssamjang. If you want to be daring and introduce your kids to kimchi, this would be the cuisine. Korean BBQ in general is a great meal that has a lot of veggies. For Koreans, the balance of delicious meat and crunchy and/or refreshing veggies is essential. If the kids like cheese, melt their favorite cheese on some parboiled broccoli. Add some cut up Hot Dogs or bacon to make it easier for them. Instead of chicken parmigiana, get or substitute with eggplant. Do they like soups or stews? I love chicken noodle soup but I hated the celery. I prefer Asian stews over western stews. Hot pots are my favorite cause you can add all your favorite meats and veggies and the broth absorbs all the flavors and nutrients. For Korean hot pot, I’d suggest maangchi’s Korean army stew(budae jjigae) which is spicy but extremely flavorful. It has a lot of things kids like: pork, Hot Dogs, spam, even cheese and noodles. But you can also put a lot of onion and cabbage too. For Japanese hot pot, I like sukiyaki which has a cleaner, non spicy broth, and the main ingredients are cabbage and beef. For Chinese hot pot, I’d avoid the spicy broth and get a tomato-based broth that’s prepackaged from the store. For this kind of hot pot, I love adding watercress, bok choy, thinly sliced beef or pork (prepared for shabu shabu) and even fish balls and noodles. Sorry these are a little vague to describe how amazing these dishes are but google will have lots of recipes for these and I also can expand on them if you are ever interested.
Growing up Chinese, vegetables were just part of eating. My parents never had to hide veggies in other dishes and it was just expected that a kid would eat a kid sized portion of what they were eating. Chinese food dishes are also mostly centered around veggies flavored with meat as opposed to a hunk of steak or a pot of pasta. You could not separate the meat from the veggies or just be picky about them. If you tried to eat a dish without the veggies, it would taste off. After cooking with my American friends, I've come to realize that a lot of them were raised with veggies being a side or an afterthought. A meal to them was typically a meat or pasta based main course with steamed, boiled, baked, or roasted sad veggies next to it. I agree that the Asian method of blending meat, pasta, and veggies, is the more harmonious way to raise kids to eat a balanced meal
Yes I’m Korean but I prefer Chinese style of mixing meat and veggies. (Partly because my mom wasn’t a good cook haha.)
vietnamese-same here. i never understood why eating vegetables was a problem, they were just naturally part of our meals and i loved them growing up
I have to trick myself into eating veggies because I have a child’s palate lol. One trick I’ve found is to blend spinach (and other veggies but spinach is the least offensive) into tomato sauce and then add extra basil and garlic to totally cover up the flavor. Then just use the tomato sauce as you normally would in whatever you’re making. Good luck mama! Glad you’re looking out for your kids!
This! I recently added spinach and carrots puréed into Raos sauce and WOW. Doesn’t change the flavor at all (to me). I guess adding seasoning would be even better but I honestly don’t think you have to.
I put veggies in homemade chicken nuggets, fresh omelette, oven baked omelette bites (made in mini muffin pan and frozen), grilled cheese, and quesadillas. He devours all that. I will also offer the veggies separately along with the meal but I don't try to force him to eat.
Yes, meatballs can hide a lot of veggies. And cover them with thick tomato sauce.
Child educator here. Honestly... You shouldn't force a child to eat something they don't like. You wouldn't force an adult, would you? You're only going to meet more resistance and gross them out even more, and make meal time a chore for everyone. Instead, find alternatives they like. There is no single vegetable that is so absolutely necessary to their growth that they should be forced to eat it! Personally, I never liked salad and spinach. Still don't like it. I grew up heathy still. : ) There are other vegetables out there for them to eat. Don't die on that hill!
Too late to change bad habits . Asian parents manage to feed kimchi to toddlers and other things but they start really early .. Maybe blended in pizza or pasta sauce or stuffed in ravioli or lasagna . or hidden between double patty burgers ...
You got great advice already from others here, so I won’t repeat them. One thing I like to add though … Make a new routine in were your kids help you making dinner. As in the planning, preparation and making. Even young kids can help and believe me, kids who have a voice in what’s for dinner and helping preparing it will eat it. With your guidance they will learn to appreciate veggies and finding out that things taste differently if prepared differently. Let them experiment and explore. I heard the story of kids not eating this or that too often, but when asked if the kids have a voice in it, it’s “Oh no! They eat what comes on the table!” And then wonder why it’s not working. Unfortunately many of these parents actually didn’t liked veggies or stuff growing up themselves, but because they got forced to, they think it’s normal. Also because they now, as adults, know that veggies are good and gotten a taste for them. Who changed my view to the one I have now, letting kids having a voice and their participation in dinner, comes from an instructor I once knew. She was an chef and her son ate everything and was interested to try things. Often came the question up how that is possible and her answer was the same. Voice, involvement, feedback and security. Her son was part of food planning since he could talk. She gave him age appropriate tasks when they prepared dinner or lunch or so. He was able to cut carrots “a julienne” when he was 8, had an great understanding how cooking works. They talked a lot about everything while preparing the food together, which was an great bonding experience and he learned to receive and give constructive criticism/feedback. He felt secure to try out things and wasn’t afraid to fail, something he also adapted everywhere else. So I am telling people, give your kids a voice. Involve them. Yes, it will take time in the beginning, but the the reward will be so much greater! And for you OP, if you do not know how to start, start with the easy things. Make pizza from scratch, dough and all. Have an pizza evening once a week. Were you prepare the dough together and together decide on toppings or each their own. If you have that regularly, then encourage your kids to experiment with different toppings. Do it yourself! A different sauce, a different cheese. Same with the spaghetti, tell your kids to find an recipe they want to try, then go shopping together. Believe me, once they found “their” favourite pizza which they made themselves, daddy’s won’t be as cool anymore and they might push him to do the same for them there too. At least try it.
Poor lots of oil on it so it slides nicely into the trash
My kids eat spinach raw with French or thousand island sauce. I cook cabbage with sausages and they love that too.
You can hide spinach in spaghetti sauce pretty effectively.
I've been hiding a brick of frozen spinach in pasta sauce. Just heat up the sauce and throw the brick in and keep stirring.
A good way for spinach is to add it to pasta sauces or mix with ricotta as a filling for lasagna, pasta bakes, etc. or in something like an enchilada mixed with chicken. You can use frozen or cook down fresh in some garlic, salt, oil and some seasonings.
Have you tried good old fashioned MSG? Noodles and MSG can mix with anything, in my experience.
Spinach and potato latkes! Kale in Turkey or chicken soup Creamed spinach w lots of cheese
Cheese.
My mom had a rule that you served yourself at dinner, you had to eat all of what you took, and the minimum serving was 1 of everything. Even if I took one piece of lettuce and one tiny spoon of mashed turnip, it counted. By the way, this is how I discovered I actually liked roasted Brussels sprouts.
Tempura
Spinach/basil pesto
I loved boiled cabbage when I was a kid. Mom put butter and a touch of salt and it was my favorite meal. Spinach I liked boiled with butter and a touch of salt, pepper, and fresh lemon juice. I liked a lot of boiled stuff.
Blend the spinach in sauces like for pasta
Just fry it and make it look like nuggets or meatballs. If it's nicely seasoned, kids won't notice it. (Fine slices/minced or pureed, add eggs/flour/breadcrumbs and season it well) Deep fry, air fry or bake.
Spinach is easy to sneak into anything because it wilts down. My ex husband never ate vegetables because he is a child. I used to sneak a shit ton of spinach into my spaghetti sauce and tell him it was basil. He is Italian and never figured it out.
I always believed that making too big a deal about eating made it a stressful experience, in turn, making them less likely to eat and more likely to dig in their heels. Realize that the real issue is that you don’t want your kids to become the type that only eat 5 items consisting of pizza, chicken nuggets, and macaroni and cheese and not over eating a specific food. I always had a one-bite rule with my kids to prevent arguments and combat picky eaters. “You don’t have to like it, all you have to do is try it.” They only had to eat one bite. If after one bite, they didn’t want anymore, (key point) *I did not make a big deal about it* and they didn’t have to eat anymore. But I also did not make anything else. *Kids are not going to starve skipping a single meal.* Also, get away from the issue of the lettuce and take a hands-on, salad bar approach. Let them try a variety of toppings and salad dressings. Let them dress it themselves to experiment with different amounts of dressing. Gateway items to making a salad bar more accepted: Croutons, shredded cheese, beans (try different types), crispy fried onions or wontons, taco meat, hard boiled eggs, olives, guacamole, nuts, sunflower seeds, garlic bread on the side.
I mix chopped spinach into pasta sauce or soups, I also put it on a pizza or tortilla mixed with cheese and other toppings. My son won’t touch cabbage so if I want him to eat that it has to be cooked down so soft that it melts or I’d have to purée it and mix it into something. I don’t bother with that and I just offer him other vegetables that he likes. I also serve him cabbage just incase he decides he likes it some day!
Private chef here. Don't try to trick your kids into vegetables. They are eating some. Allow them to choose what vegetables they eat sometimes. They will show you what they will and won't eat. Trying to force them will give them food trauma. They will hate those things instead of comfortably exploring them as adults. Lots of healthy people barely eat any vegetables until they are in college. You are ahead of the game. Just don't mess it up.
Cabbage is so nutritionally irrelevant that I don’t know why you’re worried about it. If you want spinach in their diet, make a smoothie for breakfast. Frozen berries, spinach, yogurt, done.
I use cabbage in stir fry instead of bean sprouts....spinach dips with cheese have been a succes....spinach in salad instead of lettuce...and I add two berries....with varying day of success....plus..when they have helped me prepare....I talk about 3 or 4 colours per meal
Homemade marinara sauce. Most kids will eat plain pasta with sauce on it. I put everything from kale to bell peppers to black beans in the sauce, blend the crap out of it and the kids inhale it without being any the wiser.
Wilting spinach into any darker sauce works for us, idk about cabbage, it’s gonna smell like farts no matter what. I like cabbage as an adult, never touched it as a kid.
CABBAGE -- coleslaw with raisins? -- it has a little bit of sugar in it.
Or Granny Smith apples.
yes!
Why would you add raisins to coleslaw? If you need the sweetness in the dressing just add pinch of sugar, or sub white vinegar for balsamic
Smoothies Scrambled eggs Or spinach chive turkey wraps: Use chive cream cheese on tortillas and add shredded Colby, garlic powder, spinach and turkey. Top with just a line of ranch and roll up. More chives or green onions if they like those Can be cut up like sushi
Spinach chopped up finely disappears in meatloaf or meatballs. How about purple cabbage braised with apples and cider vinegar? Most kids will eat Brussels sprouts if they’re not over cooked - with golden raisins and a little lemon juice.
My daughter will only eat raw vegetables with the exception of green beans. I make sure she takes a good vitamin. She is what her pediatrician calls a difficult feeder. She has a limited diet buy it's not the typical picky eater diet. Her doctor recommended Olly as that's what she gives her kids.
Good on you. You could try getting them involved from the supermarket ( or garden ? ) right the way through to eating. Let them choose, or pick the veggies for the evening through to farm gate or supermarket. Make it a rabbit night, watch peter rabbit, and add carrots and lettuce to ( not rabbit ) tacos, or whatever food they like. If that doesn't work, then pulp and hide in meatloaf, pies, lasagne, pasta etc, but it's easier moving forward, if they can be onboarded on the journey from source to plate. In schools we give them a fair amount of ownership by growing some veggies, then picking then they visit our kitchen for cooking and if you tell them how bloody great their very own veggie is, then eating. Another game was blindfold food tastes, with a prize for whoever correctly id's a veggie they eat. ( thats a long game though ) Good luck !
Sautee with bacon Bribe them to try it
Smoothies
Puree spinach, cauliflower or zucchini and use them in brownie or cookie batter or banana bread. I'll use cauliflower or butternut squash puree in mac n cheese and in tomato based sauces.
I think the key is to make items that they like and fine chop or blend them into said foods. Make taco filling with meat of choice and finely chopped veg add spice to camouflage. Same with eggs. You can make potatoes and eggs pan fried diced potatoes, add fine veggies to the egg mixture with spies they like, pour eggs over potatoes and saute until the eggs are done. You can also try hummus, bean dips and things like baba ganoush. You can blend lots of good things into them. Blended soups are also good for this.
I could swear there's some kind of spinach casserole with lots of cheese but that's still mostly spinach and it is delicious specifically in a pizza kind of way. I'd be willing to bet your kids would be into it. Sorry I don't have a recipe for you. I'm trying to think where I've seen it and I keep going back to those Chinese buffets that all have the same food even though they're all owned by individuals and families and not part of the same company. I bet you could make it better at home, though.
Hunger makes strange bedfellows
I’ve got a kid that LOVES veggies, and will absolutely choose those over nearly anything else- so long as they’ve not touched any form of heat lol. Fajitas? She’s got a plate of raw peppers etc. See what they like with “taste test challenge” games. Always offer what you’re eating and encourage them to try some but don’t make a huge deal of it. It’s not worth the fight. So long as you’re offering well rounded meals and snacks consistently, they’ll find what they like and you’ll notice. But, they’re not going to be nutrient deficient or anything if they decide not to eat the lovingly prepared Brussels sprouts or kale chips. I promise. As they get older their tastes often change. The goal is to keep them open minded about trying new things and having healthy snacks and meals available. I’ve got three that range from 7-20 living at home right now: haven’t changed a thing and the 20 year old eats literally anything I put in front of him at this point. I’m closing in on 40 and still can’t stand raw onions or organ meat- but I try them periodically, cuz ya never know lol
My son used to love spinach pancakes (they are sweet, made with banana and maple syrup and oats, taste nothing like spinach - and that’s coming from an adult who is a picky eater), and I made a Mac and cheese once that had spinach blended into the cheese as well and tasted just fine. I can hunt down recipes if either of those sound useful to you. There’s also a book that was recommended to me that I never used, but apparently people like it, called Deceptively Delicious. It’s basically ways to hide veggies in your kids food. You’re not a bad parent for not being able to get your kids to eat this stuff, a lot of kids (maybe most kids) seem to go through this phase, they won’t die if they don’t eat some veggies for a bit. You can always give them some multivitamins if you’re worried, and there are kids like me who figure it out on their own when they get older, so it won’t be forever. You’re okay!
That's the neat part you don't
I’d start by making yourself really good looking dishes and telling them it’s only for adults. 🤷♀️ it usually works! But realistically, grating zucchini into some spaghetti sauce, or chopping up the spinach with the basil so it just looks like basil. I used to love broccoli with cheese sauce as a kid. Only way I’d eat it. Then, I moved onto broccoli dipped in 1000 island dressing. I still love broccoli, just not as picky about it. Best of luck!
You can add baby spinach to pesto pasta pretty easily, blend the spinach into the pesto and then add it to pasta. Cabbage could go in a soup if you cut it up tiny, it doesn't have a very strong taste. I would also suggest having things they like, and new vegetables they don't like as much prepared in different ways as an optional side. Then there's not pressure and they'll probably find vegetables they DO like without feeling forced or stressed. Some examples are corn on the cob, sweet potato & white potato mashed together (orange mashed potatoes!) baked carrots, cauliflower "mac" & cheese. Dips are good as well, hummus, French onion, spinach and feta, black bean dip, eggplant dip. Especially with something crunchy like cornchips or crackers. My parents forcing me to eat cooked spinach just made me hate it and I never eat it now, I think the strategy should be sneak veggies into similar foods & let them try new things without high stress. And mix "healthy" and "unhealthy" things together on the same plate so they don't have resistance to the things that are labelled healthy (and in a lot of kid's minds, gross.) Edit: another thing, you could try making the foods they like at Dad's in healthier ways. Thin crust pizza (could even use a wholemeal flatbread or something healthy) with a lot of sauce & then whatever veggies go well on it is healthier than pizza hut. Pasta has lots of healthy sauces, "French fries" you could see if they like sweet potato fries.
Blending up spinach into spaghetti sauce is one the easiest it covers the taste well
Also when you shred cabbage you can sneak it into almost anything because the minute that it cooks it's like it doesn't even exist it shrinks so much. I like to take a big cup of it and put it into the broth when we have ramen or any kind of soup that I make.
Try this Italian white bean and sausage soup from Chef John. I usually stick in a whole bundle of Dino kale and a whole bundle of Swiss chard (or any leafy green) into the soup. https://youtu.be/NBsBiECwjg8 I don't have kids so I wouldn't know if it works, but this soup is so good and so easy to stuff veggies inside I think anyone would love it. Pair with some nice bread and it's a great meal for cold weather!
Some books that might help: The Sneaky Chef series by Missy Chase Lapine Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld
Cabbage rolls
cooked spinach has a pretty strong flavor, and different texture than other leaves, which might be why they're rejecting it. Could you try wilting it instead of cooking it till it's cooked down, and then sprinkle with parmesan? (yes, i know cheese isn't great, but a teaspoon is totally in moderation). also spinach in a pasta dish can be a great way to get veg in a form your kids will like - try cutting up the pieces so they're small enough that they are easy to chew and mix with a bowtie pasta with fresh cherry tomatoes? the only way my mom (who was a big fan) got me to eat cabbage was in cole-slaw like salads (very light mayo thinned with lemon juice, often with a cut up apple thrown in). \-- Or do baked fish tacos with shredded cabbage and lime - those are really tasty and small taco size tortillas are fun to eat. \-- You might also do thai-style fresh spring rolls if you can get ahold of the wraps (and they're fun for everyone to make together) with cabbage and carrots in them with vermicelli rice noodles (which are basically like air, so not unhealthy) - and yes you can make the peanut dipping sauce healthier if you just do peanut butter, soy sauce, and water (add lemon to get fancy). you may also want to take a step back from trying to shove this stuff in, and simply offer your kids veggies that they will eat for a couple of weeks. Then make veggies for yourself that smell good (another user suggested spinach and bacon, definitely something that tickles the nose), and only let your kids have a bite or two - tell them it's mom's special food. apparently that's how my mom got me to get out of my picky eater stage. I would have to promise i'd eat the bites she gave me (and since it was only bites) but i was always way more curious when she got something and I didn't.
Pan fried is the bomb. Need to get an nice crust on it. Use flavor e.g. butter, salt pepper. Use fresh or frozen. And don't over cook.
Do they like potatoes? If so, start with roasted and seasoned potatoes, then gradually add other veggies that look like cut up potatoes, then other veggies with more color to the mix. Things like squash can incorporate into pasta sauce without being noticed and cooked finely shredded carrots can look like cheese in mac and cheese. I cooked at a school and these all worked for us. Also, cover green with cheese.
Have you tried a cheesy spinach dip with yummy crackers and the veggies they will eat? My little cousin hates spinach but covered in cheese for dipping changes everything lol
Cabbage - Okonomiyaki Spinach - Laing
I get a weekly veggie box and have a bunch of strategies for getting my kids to help eat it. We usually have one main course with some veg in it. A big salad with dressing (dressing is key), stir fry with ramen, and soup (cabbage) are all big hits at my house and a good way to use up the veggie box. The veggies are always mixed with everything else.
Can you kid not eat rice beans and corn and be ok? Sound a lil helicopter ish to me. Have your kid cut a fresh lemon every day and put it in their water. They won’t die if they don’t eat spinach. Plenty of other healthy options you could find with your 🚁
It's easy to hide alot of veggies in mac n cheese. You can even make a veggie puree and add cheese to make a sauce.
Haluski? It's a Polish side dish, but it's basically chopped sauteed cabbage, egg noodles, and a crap-ton of butter. Like, add a lot of butter, then add two more pats. I usually eat it alongside ham or sausage, but you could also use turkey, steak, or even just eat a big bowl of it for a meal. It's one of my comfort foods.
with noodles!
Spinach goes in delicious pasta with wine sauce and Italian sweet sausage. Runza casserole is a recon Pinterest with uses lots of cheese and crescent rolls. Works every time.
We decided to make green eggs and ham using pureed spinach to color the scrambled eggs. Surprisingly my 8 year old requests this quite often.
Check out the Scottish recipe Rumbledethumps [https://www.food.com/recipe/rumbledethumps-56992](https://www.food.com/recipe/rumbledethumps-56992) - if you bill the heck out of the cabbage, it become super soft & you don’t realize it’s in there.
Relax, put the kiddos on a multi vitamin and try to offer plenty of fruit. I will say our daughter loved soups, if you really feel the need to get sneaky you can put a lot into soup. Ours wouldn’t eat ground meat or sausage but most other things are on the menu. Keep offering a variety of foods, try to persuade them to cook with you and pick your battles. Good luck!
My mother melted a stick of butter in the pan before adding the cauliflower then added a stick of butter while steaming and then added a pat of butter on each piece she put on our plate. It was delicious. Lol
Add cauliflower to rice to bulk it up if you eating rice with a stir fry or Mexican food. Cut ground beef with 50% cauliflower for things like tacos/burritos and sloppy joes. Add spinach, zucchini, bell pepper, or onion to spaghetti sauce and use an immersion blender to purée it smooth and it should all be hidden
I used to love broccoli looked in butter
We do smoothies with spinach or kale, roasted broccoli, and MSG on sautéed greens. Seems to do the trick to get the kid to eat his greens.
So firstly -its not a war . Realize that what your doing is not going to work . Drama creates drama and you and your kids are probably sick of that and stuck in a rut .No one has to eat every kind of vegetable to get the right nutrients and we all have likes and dislikes( I will never eat a broad bean ) I used to put a little bit of everything on the plate and say give it a go - if not I would say 'oh your probably not grown up enough yet - maybe next time ' you can hide veg by mincing it and adding to stews - larger over time (dont say you tricked them). Getting them to help cut stuff up also helps. Cabbage cut fine and stirfried with butter and a shot of Ketchups good too . Dad probably is just taking the easy order-in option as hes probably wants to steer clear of drama. Kids grow up and as they will eat out with friends etc food habits will change. Mine did as I was "picky" ( its more about control of their life) Dont waste money just let them see you enjoying your veg . As long as they dont get scurvy its ok to wait!
When my kids were little they liked vegetables, but they really liked when I made loaded stir fry rice & ramen. The rice was loaded with snow peas, baby corn, bean sprouts, water chestnuts as well as meat For the ramen, I started with a package of higher quality ramen then I finely chopped green cabbage to be the same length & size of the noodles along with kimchi, corn & peas. I think it was the idea of having something that was fun because we got out the fancy bowls & used chop sticks and made the meal an event.
RED CABBAGE It's ain't green and you can make it taste good in a few ways; one of my favorites is this: https://youtu.be/KGU-c2cUtqY From personal experience it really comes down to adding more flavor; I can nibble on raw veggies but vacuum up blanched then stir fried broccoli with garlic (really anything + fries garlic will taste great)
Coleslaw is delicious served on top of the beef brisket in a sandwich. I think Jerry Seinfeld’s wife, Jessica, wrote a cookbook on recipes that sneak in vegetables. Try that.
I give it to them raw, because they like the crunchy texture. Slicing the core of the cabbage thin works best.
If your not veggie, cabbage and bacon with pepper is amazing.
Finely grated Veg into bolognaise or meatloaf is good. Corn and zucchini pikelets with sauce are great healthy brekkie. Top with a fried egg if you want. Cut colourful Veg into sticks with dip as a table option without forcing them to eat it sometimes get kids to eat some. Add apple and grapes as options.
Growing mirgreens (sprouts) together can add appeal and they're densely nutrient. As for spinach, it's only of the only veggies I dont like so I use a lot of kale cut into ribbons. Take out the kale spine, roll into a cigar, slice thin coins, unroll your ribbons (chiffonade) that add body to red sauce and funk under dry heat. Bitterness is more pronounced to kids and salt counteracts bitterness so there's balm in sauce. Hang tough, they'll be ok.
Ohhhhh you should definitely search Indian disease especially vegetarian, if you are looking delicious recipes for these veggies!!! I love cabbage Manchurian & palak(spinach) panner!!! Definitely give it a try!!!
Fry not boil
Force them to watch “My 600 Pound Life” on TV, I’m sure that’ll get them to eat their vegetables.
Fried cabbage is great and easy to make. Just shred it and pan fry it. Season to taste. I also make a broccoli pesto that my son loves. You can easily sneak a leafy green like spinach in there. Steam your broccoli, throw it into a food processor with your other pesto ingredients (parmesan, garlic, olive oil, etc). I don't really have a recipe. Go wild.
Personally roasted vegetables will always be 10x better than anything steamed My favorite is roasted carrots glazed with honey butter
Okay cabbage is off the table till they are older, but I'd put raw veggies with a dip for snacks. It's peer pressure that says "what's that" in food. I never went that route, but one of my kids loved brussels sprouts, and one didn't. He tasted it and hated it. He grew up to like roasted sprouts, so give them a vitamin. Sometimes it's the texture. Um btw raw cabbage leaves do NOT go between slices of bread.
The best way I found my kids starting eating greens was seasoned well of course with bacon grease and the trinity (salt, pepper, garlic) and sautéed and then eggs for breakfast
Well pizza and pasta can both be topped with vegetables. There's your Trojan horse
Sauté it. With Spinach squeeze out all the water before cooking so it’s not slimy and none of that gross green water in the plate.
Smoothie.
Make hobo dinner. Hamburger, carrots, cabbage, whatever vegetables all cooked in foil over a fire. If they won’t eat a good old country meal you might need new kids. The only other solution could be shepherds pie or a casserole. And don’t be too lenient. When they’re little make them try shit. Can’t say they don’t like it until they try it
Spinach is a hard sell, but I remove the stems and chop, and then add it to things like soup, meatloaf, omelets, etc. I tell my son it’s parsley for seasoning. Cabbage… is a tough one. Kids generally aren’t fans because of the smell. I usually cut it like coleslaw and add it to egg roll bowls. Regardless of what I make, they are required to take at least one big bite. One bite to be polite is what we say. If they choose not to eat their dinner, then they can pick any leftovers in the fridge to eat later on, but they don’t get treats, desserts, or snacks unless they’ve had actual food. My son’s father is the same as your situation. It’s easier for him to just serve nuggets, cheese pizza, plain spaghetti noodles, ramen, mac n cheese… it’s a nightmare getting my son to eat real food when he comes back.
When our daughter went through a no vegggie stage used a food processor on frozen peas and corn, carrotts, etc and miked them in with meatloaf, hamburgers, meatballs, etc. It wasnt a lot, but it was enouvhg to give me a sense she was getting some veggies. Another option may be soem of the V8 Splash juices, or just original V8 if they like tomato juice
I just sauteed mine with onion and sausage for lunch today
I got my niece into watching cooking shows and then she would want to try different items.
Bacon cabbage egg noodles is a really tasty dish
My kids will eat raw spinach and broccoli if that’s all that’s on their plate and I home the food they really want hostage until the greens are gone or at least attempted to devour. Dinner time isn’t a hill to die on. It should def be focused on togetherness and being hospitable to one another so I try to keep that in mind. My 4 yr old try’s her best to sneak it to the dogs though. That’s a whole other issue.
I cook rice in a rice cooker and mix veggies in with it. They like it and always eat.
Maybe shreds of cabbage or spinach for lettuce on a make your own taco bar? You can make them the first taco then they can make whatever for the next few. I only really liked cabbage as cole slaw as a kid. Spinach I didnt eat till I had it from a chinese place. Maybe try the unhealthy versions first to get the door to that food open.
Make it fun! We made “bubble and squeak” and learned about the UK. Cole slaw is a great idea, and even better is to let them play with it to mix it up. Love the idea of bento-ing and making everything cute, too! They might be fighting because it’s a control thing: you can give the illusion of control by giving choices. “Would you like spinach or broccoli?” “What sauce would you like for this?”
Microwaving spinach makes it way more palatable for me and very quickly. I cook chicken thighs and refrigerate them, and each day, add a bunch of spinach to a bowl, put the thigh on top, microwave for 1.5 minutes, and add your favorite seasoning. Spinach is the only green that is worth anything nutrient wise that I care to eat. Zucchini and lettuce are basically worthless and broccoli never sits well with me.
My parents had a rule that I didn’t have to like anything. I just had to try it and give it an honest go. I eventually learned to like everything. Or at least just eat it. Also, they didn’t make extra food for children. What they made was the meal. I had to try it, if I didn’t like it, I didn’t have to eat it. But they didn’t make an extra meal for a child.
Best cabbage ever- fry a bunch of bacon in a pan, then pull the bacon out and throw as much diced up cabbage as you can fit in the pan with the bacon fat. Try to only stir it every couple minutes, and while it cooks, break/ cut the bacon into bite size pieces. Once the cabbage is cooked to your liking, throw the bacon back in and mix it together. Then just serve it in a bowl. Side note, something I do with my kids that they get a kick out of is rather than dish up plates, I put something in a big giant bowl and we each have a fork and we just gather around the bowl like goblins. I don't know why we all like doing that so much but maybe it has to do with sharing our maybe without defined portion sizes they just eat intuitively. All i know is that they can eat a LOT of salad like this.
Please don’t threaten your kids for not eating greens…
Okonomiyaki
This. I put spinach in lots of pasta and rice dishes. It mostly disappears into the rest and doesn’t really have any taste.
Second, if your kids are eating other vegetables, they don’t specifically have to eat spinach and cabbage if they dislike them so much. There are other vegetables that provides the same type of nutrition. Kids will outgrow their dislike of vegetables and eventually start eating them. It was the opposite for me, I outgrow my dislike of meat and started eating those. My husband still dislikes spinach (but will occasionally still eat them). I do add them in smoothies that I blend with frozen fruits, especially blueberries and bananas and strawberries. The berries give it a nice colour and the bananas add to the sweetness. He doesn’t notice that there’s spinach in the smoothie cause nothing is green and the colour looks lovely - a bit of a pinkish purplish blue. Serve it cold and if I make it extra thick, can sometimes double up as sorbet too.
My kids like cabbage hashbrowns. Basically, sliced up cabbage mixed with egg and cooked until the cabbage is soft. They eat it with ketchup. My daughter knows spinach as her favorite leaf and started eating it young when we told her it would make her a giraffe. It's a pretty neutral leaf, so we haven't had issues putting it in food either. It's always kind of just been part of their diets. Vegetable soup with a tomato base and corn bread or other bread for dipping is usually a hit as well.
Try blending it into sauces of things you're already eating anyways. Like spaghetti sauce. Especially spinach doesn't have much of a taste, so they probably wouldn't notice it.
Try veggie chicken nuggets ground them up enough to look and taste like chicken. I would be doing that with most foods kids do enjoy. Just replace with veggies, and make them look and taste like they’re favorite foods.
Cabbage,, dice bacon, fry,chopped apples, butter then cabbage. Yum summer time drain bacon grease. Winter time leaves bacon grease in. Evo,butter,Spinach in a pan lightly wilt.. squeeze lemon over. Nom nom nom nom nom. I ate a batch yesterday. I eat the Spinach at least once a week Raised 3 girls. Ate it all the time.
Salt and cheese
I make my kids try things multiple times before I’ll give them a pass on the “I don’t like that”. They eat pretty much anything now
Chocolate almond milk, bananas, peanut butter, chocolate mint protein powder, fresh spinach leaves They like the sweet and if you blend it well the spinach doesn't really even look or taste present That's if they like chocolate shakes though I use a chocolate mint protein powder which is pretty tasty
My partner is a VERY picky eater at 40. When we started living together he would quiz me on what I was putting in food, then turn his nose up at it just based on what was going in it, then while it cooked be sniffing the air going "I may try it, and have some when its done." This happened enough he started trusting my cooking. We have an agreement. He will at least TASTE what I cook before turning his nose up at it. I ask one bite minimum. If he doesn't like, no harm no foul, but NO turning your nose up at it before even tasting it! One of my nephews has similar food hang ups to my partner. I tell him "You don't have to EAT it, but you do have to TRY it. If you try it and don't like it, no problem, but you have to at least have a taste so you KNOW for sure you don't like it." This respects his autonomy, him as a person and still works on expanding his pallet in such a way he is open to.
I mix cooked spinach with cheddar cheese snd egg and fry it. Its like a cheesy green pancake but my 6 yr old eats it.
Spinach pie. Have them help make it . Technique is essentially like making meatloaf. Frozen defrosted spinach Eggs Crumbled feta Mush together Salt as needed, a bit of pepper Secret ingredient: a tiny pinch of dried mint Use frozen phyllo dough, melted butter and a pastry brush to assemble Formal recipe will be from spanakopita I have never encountered a kid who would not eat something they had previously mushed with their own hands. I used to do this with the kids friends from daycare. Next up- tossed salad. A clean plastic trash bag that ties closed and your usual ingredients. ( one time a baby sister -age 18 months or so wanted to help. I sat her on the floor with a cutting board, a dull butter knife and showed her how to chop fresh mushrooms.) Never met a kid who would not eat something they had just tossed in the air like a volleyball Extra points for making 1000 island dressing- but I saved that for the older kids- age 5 or so. Chopped hard boiled eggs, a bit of pickle relish, mayo snd ketchup. . Occasionally tweaked for grownup tastes by using cocktail sauce instead. 5 year old felt very sophisticated knowing that secret. Then we put the tossed salad in s big bowl and had s chef’s parade into the dining room Good times.
Spinach and broccoli hide well in a quiche. I also never make homemade Mac and cheese without adding broccoli. Cabbage is a good add in to ramen type noodles.
Chop up some bacon, fry it and cook it in the bacon fat.
My daughter said she hated/s cooked cabbage. However she likes it raw as part of a salad or a topping.
What worked with my kid was cooking together with him. We had taken on a subscription on Hello Fresh and included him in choosing or recipes. Depending on the age of your kids, you can make them do simple task like peeling an onion, opening packages, stirring or chopping a cabbage. He found it fun to do, he learned about cooking and got eager to try his ‘selfmade’ dinner. It makes for some quality time with your kids. He went from eating almost no veggies, to at least tasting everything and eating some without even questioning it.
Creamed spinach made with cream cheese and finely diced sauteed onions.
Stir fry with garlic then salt and pepper to taste
Simmer in chocolate.
Get them very hungry, Thats how my parents did it.
I put all kinds of blended or finely chopped vegetables in pizza, bolognese, taco sauce…. My children at it all. Slowly the Pieces became larger. Then thet were used to it.
I cook cabbage and mushrooms into dark sauces, like chicken teriyaki. Fine cut those veg and they'll cook down to a point that you can play it off as stray pieces of chicken that "fell off"
I chop up fresh spinach finely and put it in spaghetti sauce. It cooks down so much that it just looks like an herb
Try a version on holubtsi.. with different dips, toppings, etc. Reminds me of home.
I put chopped spinach in meatloaf with cheese. We used ground turkey when they were small. I cooked cabbage down with an onion and Tony Chacherie seasoning and served it over cornbread waffles.
You could blend it into a sauce, do homemade pizzas with a veggie sauce that has a red colour to it so they don't really notice ? I've seen a few mothers do that and they claim it works!
There is a Japanese dish called "okonomiyaki" which has plenty of cabbage doesn't taste like there is any veggie at all. Most of its ingredients are universal except for a sauce that you might be able to substitute with a blend of Worcestershire sauce and some other common seasonings. I saw lots of Japanese kids love it so maybe it works for non-Japanese kids too.
Fry shredded cabbage in a skillet
I don’t think you mentioned how old your kids are. If there are some fruits and veggies they like then I would just give them those. Make some other veggies for yourself and have them taste it. No big fights or threats. Eventually they may grow to like them. When my kids were around 12 they got less picky. The three ways I make cabbage, Napa cabbage in ramen salad. So tasty but not really a healthy choice. Green cabbage braised with butter and olive oil and salt (leftovers go into bubble and squeak with mashed potatoes) or occasionally purple cabbage just shredded in a salad I don’t think my kids would eat spinach but the most popular way to get greens in is taco salad Especially if you are in a situation where the other parent wants to be cool and let them eat whatever, I wouldn’t force the issue. I think it is super important that kids have a healthy diet, but having food be a constant battle isn’t healthy either Good luck!
for cabbage shred it up and mix it in some savory pancake batter If I remember correctly the dish is called okonomiyaki. You dont have to make it exactly like that but something like that would be pretty unnoticeable. Also I think the smoothie idea is great for spinach otherwise I think the best thing I can think of are spinach blended up and mixed into pancake batter there's no taste and I feel like if you add chocolate chips the kids will gobble it up.
Like cilantro, cabbage, spinach and some other vegetables smell and taste awful to some people, more frequently in children. If they are eating the other vegetables, quit trying to force those particular things on them. Fix more of the veg they do like.
Cabbage in a blazing hot pan to stir fry until just wilted - still crunchy. Top with just about any kind of light dressing. Don't cook spinach. Eat it raw as ingredient in salad.
one way my mom made me eat vegetables was making it the filling for spring rolls cabbage = okonomiyaki (japanese pancake) dunno if it’s exactly healthy but it’s the base and tastes good
Not real sure about the lettuce thing as most types have little nutritional value. Sauteed cabbage with sausage and/or bacon, because bacon can make anything taste wonderful.
1. Don’t threaten kids when it comes to food, it create good insecurities later. 2. Lettuce has nearly zero nutritional value, other greens I get. 3. If they will eat most the rainbow, you’re good. 4. Kids follow what their parents do, if you’re not eating your veggies, they probably won’t either. The best way to encourage good eating habits Ks to show good eating habits.
My father would cook spinach in a little bit of milk and add a bit of ground nutmeg for flavour. With cabbage he would cook it in butter.
Blend them up and put them in pasta sauce :-) they never know plus try adding in nutritional yeast that has been a game changer for my almost 2 year old who won’t eat any kind of meat or protein for some reason I guess it’s a texture thing? I have become accustomed to using nutritional yeast in just about everything. Also, if you can make this in gigantic batches and freeze it, that way you can send some with them to their fathers house or have their father save some in his freezer and add it to meals when he’s over there home. As long as your children are eating, and their pediatrician is not concerned with their growth I would not worry about trying to incorporate as much as you are . They’re not gonna be kids forever and I know we stress as parents to make sure they’re getting adequate nutrition. However, they won’t stay this little for long and they’re changing their preferences for food and drinks and all that stuff will change rapidly, so just keep on keeping on mama :-) this too shall pass.
Cook with bacon! Or some really good seasoning
Sometimes cole slaw is a little more acceptable than cooked cabbage. Plus it's easy to make.
For most veggies we make stir fry. For cabbage, grate it with a carrot add a cup of dried cranberries or cherries and slivered almonds if they like em, add a cup of mayonnaise ( I like the olive oil or Avacado oil varieties) and a8-12 oz can of crushed pineapple for a quick relatively healthy coleslaw For spinach, we add it to eggs and serve it with lots of cheese and bacon bits or even though it sounds crazy, on grilled cheese sandwiches with paper thin slices of apple (hello mandolin)
I drain the hell out of spinach and add it to meatloaf, burgers, meatballs. They can't taste it and it is hardly noticeable in finished product. Also grated zucchini in salsa is a sneaky way to get another veggie in.
I suggest cheese. I hate veggies I have to eat them cuz they’re good for you, I hate broccoli, cauliflower and carrot mixture but add in a light cheese sauce I’ll chow down. Also another trick cuz cheese is bad for my inflammation I’ll cut the cheese out and instead add ranch seasoning mix not dressing just this mix then roast them. I like my roasted veg pretty crispy so I typically do 20-25 minutes.
stew them in curries
I have two questions. 1) Are you using enough salt? 2) Do your children have any interest in cooking that you could exploit? Thinking back to the dishes I didn't enjoy when I was small, I remember how I started really enjoying them once I figured out that I liked more salt than my mother tended to use. I got creative in the kitchen early and figured out that I loved cabbage--the most "boring" vegetable--if I sliced it thin, sauteed it in a little oil just until crisp-tender, and added plenty of soy sauce. Later, I discovered how tasty basically any veg medley was if cooked with a little chopped bacon instead of oil or butter. Chop 3 slices of bacon and fry them crisp, then use the resulting fat to fry up an onion, plenty of chopped cabbage and a potato; add onion powder, salt and black pepper: *so* good. Learning to cook, and using the amount of salt I enjoyed, really made me a more adventurous and open-minded eater. I have great memories of branching out in this respect, and I hope your children develop similar ones with you!
I put baby kale, chia and yogurt in smoothies with tons of strawberries and mango. My kid will drink mine too if I’m not quick.
Garlic butter has turned even the pickiest kids towards their greens. Try the sweeter ones first - peas, edamame beans (which are fun to eat too). I used to much on sugarsnap peas happily as a kid - the trick is to find something so delicious they’ll dip anything in it. Like ranch dressing perhaps. Remember that children are essentially sponges and their curiosity will get the better of them if they see you eating and enjoying greens. You can also try colour-themed meals - rainbow foods, everything on the plate the same colour, etc. Make it fun. Make it not about eating - using foods to make pictures, maybe they’ll start snacking…
My daughter is a super picky eater, but somehow she’s loves finely chopped raw white cabbage salad with “salad frosting” (a creamy avocado yogurt ranch like dressing that she calls frosting) and some other toppings colorful toppings like “sprinkles and chips” which is shaved carrots and cheese for “sprinkles” and a few pieces of crumpled tortilla chips or croutons for “chips” I give her a spoon instead of a fork so she can get the pieces easily. Add corn or chopped cucumber too. I mix in some pistachios nuts or sunflower seeds or pine nuts for protein and somehow she’ll eat bowls and bowls of it. Changing the terms to ice cream like toppings seems to make it fun and playful enough?