Sneaking Vegetables into Your Child's Diet

Vegetables are an irreplaceable part of a healthy, balanced diet, providing fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Every parent knows this. What most parents also know is that kids generally don't like vegetables! This doesn't mean kids won't eat them, however, especially if they don't know they're eating them. Try hiding vegetables in foods they will eat. In this case, what your kids don't know won't hurt them. In fact, it'll be good for them.

Soup is an excellent way to provide a variety of nutrients in one bowl. Adding vegetables such as broccoli, zucchini, and cauliflower to soups and stews increases their nutritional value. Pureeing vegetables to a soupy consistency in a blender is a good way to "hide" vegetables from picky eaters and add color and texture to soups.

Another way to hide vegetables is to include them in familiar favorites such as meatloaf and hamburgers. Your kids may complain that it isn't McDonald's, but they'll probably still eat it. You can layer yams, beets, or green beans into casseroles and lasagna. Finally, serve vegetable sticks with crackers, cheeses, and fruit. Your kids may not be eating only vegetables, but getting a picky eater to eat some vegetables is better than watching him eat none at all.

More on: Healthy Meals for Families

Excerpted from:

From Raising Healthy Eaters: 100 Tips for Parents by Henry Legere, M.D. Copyright © 2004. Used by arrangement with The Perseus Books Group.

To order this book visit perseusbooksgroup.com.