Although some evenings are easier than others, getting my 4-year-old to eat her vegetables is always a challenge. The only vegetable she is willing to eat is broccoli (I am not counting tomato sauce right now).

I still make her eat her fair share by incorporating the greens in a way that she will not immediately recognize the hidden ingredients. Some parenting experts caution against hiding and pureeing the vegetables. According to research published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, children require repeated exposure to a new food in order to become familiar with it and, eventually, accept it as part of their regular diet. If a certain vegetable (say sweet potato) is hidden, kids won’t realize that the sweet and delicious food they are eating is, in fact, a vegetable and will not recognize it when you make it next time in its natural form, or when they are offered the vegetable in a school setting. Thus, they are more likely to refuse it.

I agree that hiding vegetables is not ideal (and definitely not a time saver). I try to incorporate vegetables openly, but if that does not work and she refuses to eat them, I go back to pureeing until such time that I can slowly build the “offending produce” into her diet.

Being open worked with broccoli – I cut the florets into small pieces and initially dipped them into ketchup (her favorite condiment).  She did not resist.  I slowly reduced the amount of ketchup and now its just steamed broccoli florets.  No matter how hard I tried, this tactic did not work with brussels sprouts, kale, lentils, cauliflower, or even carrots.  But I keep trying.

As for incorporating vegetable purees – here are two of my favorites.

- Macaroni & Cheese: puree steamed cauliflower and melt the cheese into the “sauce” before adding the pasta

- Penne & Tomato Sauce: puree steamed cauliflowers and red lentils, add a bit of tomato sauce and salt, then add the pasta

If you have any good recipes, do not hesitate to share.