How to sneak veggies into food without compromising flavor

As a lifelong vegetarian myself, I know that vegetables are an important part of the vegetarian diet. And yet, when I was a kid, I absolutely despised veggies, as all kids do. So—how do you deal with picky vegetarian eaters?

Well, go ahead and try out our little hacks below.

1. Mash them up in your child’s favorite foods

One easy way to get kids to eat their veggies is to change their texture to resemble foods they love. For example, can you imagine your little picky eater eating cauliflower, potato, and butternut squash in one sitting and then asking for more? Well, your imagination might come to life with this vegan mac and cheese recipe. The three veggies combine to make a creamy but dairy-free sauce that looks a lot like regular old mac and cheese. After all, half the problem with picky eaters is that they don’t like how the food looks. Your little one won’t even detect the difference.

Carrot-Mango-and-Raspberry-Popsicles-3

2. Juice them and sneak them in

Juicing or pureeing veggies so they’re in liquid form is a very sneaky way of getting your kid to eat veggies. Think about it—no kid is going to turn down a popsicle on a summer day. With this hack, though, you can rest assured that they’re getting a good serving of vegetables with their frozen treat. When making your popsicles, add vegetable juice or puree to the base of before sticking them in the freezer-super easy to do and it’s gonna be super easy to say yes when your kid asks for a second helping. This blog here has a bunch of different ideas, but feel free to try your own!

3. Bake them into sweet treats

Every kid loves cake. Take advantage of a kid’s love for baked goods and conceal carrots, zucchini, and other veggies in their sweet treats. These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies will slide right under your child’s radar!

Of course, at The New Luncher, we cook many different veggies in many different ways for our lunchboxes, so your child can expand and explore their palate!  

You want more tips from our nutritionist Georgine on how to deal with a fussy eater at home, go read our article!

Hopefully these little tips help you out on your kid’s journey to healthy eating. Do let us know if you try out our hacks by tagging us on Instagram (@thenewluncher), Facebook, or Linkedin! Happy eating!