Strategies to Get Kids to Eat More Vegetables + Spinach Smoothie Recipe (That Your Kids Will Like!)

Did you know that the CDC said that 93% of kids do not get enough vegetables on a daily basis?

Why is it that kids are always against eating vegetables?  What is it about them (the veggies not the kids, LOL)?  Kids seem to be able to spot vegetables at a drop of a dime and they meticulously navigate throughout their plate to eat everything BUT those vegetables. 

I honestly thought that by making my own baby food for the kids that I would avoid this exact scenario, but magically when they turned 3ish they became picky eaters! Imagine that! My kids only eat broccoli (this sounds great, but try eating broccoli day in and day out for every week).

I've tested several strategies to get the kids to eat more vegetables and was successful with most of them.  I am going to share them with all of you with the hopes that you can use them to make some headway in this department : ) (see below)

These strategies work in my house I hope that they will work for you and your little ones!

In addition to the strategies I wanted to provide information regarding the recommended intake for kids by age from the CDC, please see below:

   

Source: www.cdc.gov

                                         

Now for the recipe.  The easiest way to get them to eat their veggies is rule #5 above - HIDE THEM! I have hidden the vegetables in lasagna, tomato sauce, potatoes, stir fries and countless other dishes (check back soon for some of these recipes and others will definitely be featured in my upcoming cookbook).  

With that said, the easiest (no fuss) recipe for this is a smoothie.  Below please find my 4 ingredient smoothie recipe.

4 Ingredient Spinach Smoothie

Serving Size: 2-3 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients: 

10 Frozen Strawberries

1 Banana (cut into pieces and frozen)

1 cup of orange juice

1 cup of spinach

Optional:

Chia Seeds

½ cup of yogurt (no sugar added)

Instructions:

1.Combine all of the ingredients in a blender

2.Pulse to desired consistency (add water as needed to ensure desired consistency)

Baby Food Recipe: Baby Chili

With the start of Fall this week, now is as good of a time as any to introduce filling comfort meals. Chili is a hearty american classic which with a couple of modifications can also be a good whole meal for babies.

For this recipe you can use ground beef, ground turkey or omit the ground meat altogether and just use beans (skip steps 3 and 4 in the instructions below). Recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of ground meat (chicken, turkey or beef)

1 cup of diced tomatoes with the juice

1/2 cup canned kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1/4 cup diced onions

1/4 cup of diced green peppers

1/4 cup of corn

Chili powder (if the baby is over 12 months)

Cooking spray

Instructions:

1. Spray cooking spray in the bottom of a medium sauce pan and heat the pan on medium-high heat
2. Add green peppers and onions to the pan and sauté for 1-2 minutes 
3. Add the ground meat and brown the meat while also breaking  meat into tiny pieces with a spatula. 
4. Drain the meat and return to pan
5. Add tomatoes with juice and kidney beans (drained and rinsed) and corn to the pan (optional: add a 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder to the mix if the baby is over 12 months old)
6. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend
7. Let the chili cool for 5 minutes then transfer to blender or food processor and purée to desired consistency

Storage:

Option 1: Store the chili in air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days

Option 2: Separate the chili  into 4 ounce portions and place in a freezer-safe container. Freeze overnight and save for up to 3 months 

Baby Food Recipe: Lentils with Brown Rice and Carrots

Lentils, Carrots and Brown Rice

Lentils are quick and easy meal saver in my house.  Both of my kids are on the borderline for anemia so we are always searching for foods that are high in iron.  In addition to being high in iron these legumes are also high in fiber, protein, maganese, folic acid and potassium. Combining lentils with rice (brown rice in this case) enhances the nutritional value of both foods.

This is a good first whole meal to offer to your little one since the taste is not overbearing and rice is still incorporated.  Recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

1 cup of low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of dried red lentils, rinsed 

1/2 cup of brown rice

1/2 cup chopped carrots

Instructions:

1. Add the water and low-sodium chicken stock to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil
2. Once the water and low-sodium chicken stock come to a boil add the remaining ingredients
3. After one minute, cover the sauce pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer until lentils, rice and carrots are tender
4. Place lentil mixture into a food processor/blender and puree to desired consistency (If additional liquid is needed to puree alternate between water and low-sodium stock until ideal consistency is reached)

Storage:

Option 1: Store the lentil mixture in air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days

Option 2: Separate the mixture into 4 ounce portions and place in a freezer-safe container. Freeze overnight and save for up to 3 months 

Breakfast Today: Frittata with Turkey Bacon, Onions & Colby Jack Cheese

This morning I needed breakfast in pinch, but we wanted a variation from our normal go-to breakfasts. When in doubt make a frittata! It goes down in history as being one of the quickest crowd pleasers there is - and people with think you spent more time than you did on the "quiche sans the crust."

Here was my quick recipe:

Ingredients:

6 large eggs

1/4 cup chopped large onion

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

3 pieces of turkey bacon (or your favorite bacon chopped* -- if using pork or beef bacon cook first in a separate pan then drain it and add to step 2)

2/3 cup colby jack cheese

1 teaspoon of unsalted butter

Pepper to taste

*For babies ensure that the bacon is chopped in very small portions smaller than a pea to avoid a choking hazard

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

In a warm oven-safe skillet place melt the butter then sauté the bacon, onion and pepper until onions and peppers begin to soften

Combine the eggs, pepper and cheese in a separate bowl and beat then add to the pan

Once eggs begin to set up on the bottom transfer to the oven and cook until eggs are firm (about 10 minutes)

Transfer frittata onto a plate and serve

Serving size is 1/6 of the frittata

** For babies chop the frittata portion into bite-sized potions about the size of a pea

Dinner Tonight :: Stir Fry Chicken and Veggies Over Jasmine Rice

Full day at work + fussy kids = I need a quick dinner before I lose my mind

In my pantry I had just the right combo for a quick semi-homemade meal - STIR FRY
(chicken, pre-cut veggie mix from TJ's, stir fry sauce (sans the high fructose corn syrup) and some jasmine rice)

This first picture is before the sauce was added - I'm thinking I can do his same mix with pasta or another sauce! It's pretty isn't it?

The picture below is of the finished product (in the pan) - I just added the sauce

For my baby girl I cut the veggies and chicken into bite-sized pieces (smaller than a pea) and served I with the rice. [Note: for a creamier texture for babies between 10 and 12 month place in a mini food processor, then blend and add water until desired consistency is reached]

A yummy dinner in just 25 minutes start to finish! Although I prefer meals made from scratch the truth is that as a working mom I have to plan for times like this and that always trumps most fast-food/takeout options.