Sneaking Healthy Foods to Children

Let’s face it; the old airplane trick with trying to get our toddlers to eat veggies just doesn’t work.  I don’t know if our kids are way more intelligent than we ever were but they seem to be a step ahead of us on knowing when the forbidden veggies are on their way.   So,  I have conquered the modern toddler system and have found ways to sneak those fruits and veggies into his diet.

Make lots of smoothies.

Our toddler seems to drink anything we  run through the blender, especially if it looks pink in color.  Our favorite smoothie is made with soy milk, strawberries, banana and a little peanut butter.  This smoothie is full of protein, vitamins and minerals to give a boost to our little guy in the middle of the day.

Dried fruit.

We buy dried fruit and call it candy – he loves it.  He has no idea that it’s good for him.  The trick is to buy dried fruit with nothing else added – no oils or sugar.  Even buying 100% fruit leathers are a great option.  They’re kind of like a fruit roll up, but they are 100% fruit, nothing else.

Mix veggie juice with fruit juice.

If you can’t get them to eat it, get them to drink it.  The best combination is carrot juice with apple juice.  Both are sweet in nature so it goes down real easy.  Another way to get those veggies in is to buy the green stuff powdered additive.  You can find it at any health or vitamin store.  It’s a powdered mix of spinach, barley, broccoli, and a lot of other “greens” that you can add to any juice.  Again, it goes down quickly because of the sweetness of the fruit juice.

Get them while they’re hungry.

 If you notice your child is really hungry, they’ll eat anything.  Put them in their highchair and don’t show them anything else before they eat their veggies.  We give our toddler peas or corn and he loves it.  Once he finishes then we’ll give him the other stuff.  It’s kind of cruel, but what’s a parent to do? 

Each child is different so you may have to modify these ideas to meet your kids craftiness, but hopefully this gives you some ideas of beating them  at the avoidance game when it comes to eating their fruits and veggies.