Any devious ideas for hiding veggies?

whatatwit

elly, you could always throw in a few chunky bits of veg and say to DD, ok, I've got rid of most of the veg onto mine...

Dinah93

I make a mash out of half potato and half sweet potato, boiled together, drained, mashed, a generous helping of cheese spread/soft cheese mashed into it instead of milk and butter, bit of pepper, and then the sneaky bit to hide the dreaded veggies from my OH (yep, he's fully grown and still won't won't eat his greens!) is i put in a small tin of sweetcorn which i wizz in the microwave for 2 mins before adding it to the pan just to heat it through. For further disguise, grate a little cheese or mozerella on the top and bung in the oven for 15mins till it's nice and golden.

Trinny

I Make the sainsbury's secret soup - which has stacks of veges pureed up - veg is unrecognisable when served.

Otherwise - grating carrot into mince and recently grating courgette into bolognaise - can get away with it as courgette tastes pretty innoccuous.

My family "dont like" courgettes - yet they eat secret soup and grated courgette in other things - and are oblivious.

As others have said - puree is the best way to add things - although i did get caught out adding broccoli to leek and potato soup. OH could taste the broccoli - (thought i would get away with it as the green colour would blend in).

Good Luck

Trin

Trinny

I recommend "Secret Soup" from Sainsburys - has loads of veg pureed in - and my family eat it happily. Otherwise grating courgette and carrot into mince dishes works well. In Curry, Casserole - most stuff can be added as long as its very finely chopped and "dissappears" into the sauce and is therefore unrecognisable.

Watch strong flavoured veg though - i got caught out adding broccoli to leek and potato soup - OH could taste the broccoli.

Trin

SunnyGirl

I grate and chop veg in the food processor for almost every meal It's for 2 reasons - to stretch the meat and to get veg into the children. I add carrots (best grated), peppers, courgettes, green beans, parsnip, celery, mushrooms etc to things like bolognese, sweet & sour, curry, casseroles, pasta bakes & chilli. I also make 'Mystery Veg' soup which is half a bag if frozen farmhouse style veg, carrots, onions, lentils, a tin of toms & stock. Cook until the veg is tender & blitz with either a stick blender or food processor. Add salt & pepper & a tiny amount of sugar (to counteract the tomatoes acidity) and serve with whatever. My lot love it with naan bread followed by a pudding

DS1 & DS2 particulalry say that they don't like veg apart from peas & carrots :rotfl: They eat the soup because they like the taste & I keep what's in it a closely guarded secret!

vatic

So here's the background. My partner and I are looking after our niece for about 12 hours and she's 3 years old.

She wasn't much of a picky eater when she was younger and couldn't request what she wanted for meals. She would eat curry (which she turned her nose up at the other week), satay dishes, lasagne, all kinds of Chinese food, spaghetti with meatballs, carrots, etc.

Her diet is really lacking of veggies (Mum/sis in law really doesn't eat healthy herself either) and most meals consist of these few things and nothing else: sausages, hot dog sausages, pasties, fried chicken, chips, smilies, burgers, fish fingers. She eats a ton of chocolate and sweets for snacks. She used to eat peas but is never offered them anymore from what I've seen.

Our thought was to make sure she had a healthy tea and give it to her under the guise of "we're all eating the same thing" and we honestly don't have any of the above food she normally eats in either.

As a fun challenge, I figure I would pick your brains for meal ideas that maximise veg but are nice and kid-friendly. I have a feeling we might have to go for "looks" as well. We would like to get three portions of veg in her for tea if at all possible. And I obviously would want to come up with something she'll actually eat, so she isn't just wanting to eat junk later on.

One idea I had was making spaghetti and meatballs with peas in there and red split lentils whizzed into the pasta sauce. Still missing out some veg on that though.

Looking forward to your ideas to hide some veg so it'll go into her belly!

freyasmum

Is she not eating it because she doesn't like it or is it purely because she's not offered it? I remember my cousin being offered her dinner when she was at our house and she asked my mum "what is pork?"... :eek:

Cook down some veg - whatever you have in - and blend. Add this into any tomato sauces you're making, like your meatball sauce

Does she eat fruit? Make it look appealing to her - arrange it on little kebab sticks, cut it into slices for her - it'll be easier for her to get started on eating it rather than being faced with a full piece of fruit. Make it into little smiley faces on her plate (clutching at straws, but if it helps ).

Just keep offering it to her. Start her off gently and she'll be away before you know it :T

hot.chick

I don't like veggies very much and I'm 32!!!

Probably because my mum pandered to my fussyness...

But have just made a lasagna with celery, onion and carrots sweated off and whizzed up into the sauce, if I hadn't made it myself I'd have no idea they are in there and it's delish!!!

Just not telling hubby it's quorn mince and half fat cheese - we'll both have been tricked into eating a healthy meal

:T

ravylesley

I whizz allsorts of veg up in our mini food processor until its in really tiny bits and then stick it in curries,spag bol,chillis etc and the kids never comment and eat the lot so must taste good

Lesleyxx

tandraig

Cauli can be hidden in mash and you can put carrots in too and tell her its special sunshine mash......broccoli.............are fairy trees if you cut stalks quite short and stand them upright. make pictures with the food on her plate! faces are easy so is making green fields from mushed up peas mash can be put in teaspoonfuls as sheep and the sun is - sweetcorn in ring mould! I had to do this with DS1 as he was sooooooooooo picky! brussel sprouts - I used to mash them in with potatoes for him and tell him it was snotty mash (dont think that would work with girls though!! if all that doesnt work - dont worry too much - she isnt going to starve!!!!