Like most parents, we always try to get veggies into our kids, and sometimes it's a fight on both sides. But my trick that works most of the time, is to make any kind of small sized pasta, rice or even a quesadilla dish for example, where I chop up all the veggies into rather small cubes. I mean much smaller than a set of dice (dobbelsteenen for the Dutch), like a 1/4 of the size of one die. Once they are sautéed and mixed into the dish, often the kids don't even notice it. AND even better, every bite your kid takes with their spoon, fork or mouth contains more veggies than those picky little monsters could possibly know. Sometimes I even add a veggie or ingredient that I know one of the kids doesn't like, just to see if they even notice it. Because sometimes that ingredient can get lost in the crowd (like we all do) and someone who wasn't even allowed into the party, effortlessly gets through the front door.
If your kid loves pesto sauce, make an orzo, riso, macaroni or tiny shell pasta dish and add whatever veggies you know for sure your kid likes. Then, later, add some new ingredients and see if they even notice. I make a standard red or green pesto pasta with zucchini, onions, bell peppers & olives and when feeling frisky, I occasionally add mushrooms, carrots, celery or broccoli and it's perfect for a school lunch or dinner at home. If they like a different kind of sauce, use that one instead, what do I care?! Make your kid happy, not me! #easypeasy.
I also make potato pancakes with green onions, finely-chopped fresh spinach, smoked salmon & frozen peas. Or any kind of normal pancake batter, be it buckwheat, tapioca or all-purpose flour and when those very finely chopped or grated veggies go in raw, they come out cooked after being sautéed for 2-3 minutes on both sides. #BAM.
When it comes to salads (if your kids dare to even go there...) I use a combination of lettuces to make sure the texture is fresh and crunchy with romaine or iceberg, but with the addition of very finely chopped arugula, spinach or even kale (if you dare) for the health. You can even set the healthy greens into food processor adn pulse until super small in size. When you make a salad that is full of fun ingredients like, tomato, corn, roasted chicken, bell peppers & cheese, they won't even notice the finely chopped healthy greens sitting inside the bowl laughing at them.
These are ideas that can work for any household, whether your picky eater is a kid or your spouse. I will add some recipes just like the one in this photo to keep the inspiration flowing for you all. In the meantime, get to thinking! It will give you a fresh wind and make you feel like there is sunshine at the end of your veggie-troubled tunnel.