Need recipes to "hide" rice in!

Jo_R_2

Help!

I have finally admitted defeat - my two-year-old DD will not eat rice. I have a feeling it is the look and texture that puts her off rather than the taste, she has never been a fan of it.

However I don't want her to be cutting off a great food source. Last month I made and froze some veggie and nut burgers, and put brown rice in them as per the recipe. I made one for her with baked beans and waffles and she ate most of it, tbh looking at it you couldn't really see there was rice in it and it didn't seem to bother her as much.

Can anyone suggest some more recipes that I can "hide" rice in? She will sometimes eat it in veggie chilli if mixed in.

She is veggie by the way.

letsgobilliejoe

funnilly enough, rice goes very well in soups and stews.

Chell

I know it doesn't answer your question but could you use cous cous as an alternative to rice. We often have cous cous with curry, chillis etc. My kids are veggie too (DS 3yrs in Jully, DD 16mths).

seraphina

I always chuck a handful of rice into the pies I make (I'm a veggie so I mean spinach and ricotta, roasted veg, whatever, rather than steak and kidney, if you see what I mean!).

It absorbs any extra liquid the veggies release during cooking so it helps prevent your pastry going soggy. It's especially good in spinach - based pies. You hardly notice it when you eat the final product.

I'm at work so I don't have any exact recipes here but shout if you'd like one!

tr3mor

How do you cook your rice?

If she doesn't like it as whole grains, add more water to it while cooking, if you carry on for long enough you'll get very sticky rice which is more akin to mashed potato.

Sharra

Do you usually use white rice? If so you could try brown as it has a more chewy texture
You could try adding just a dash of soy sauce to change the colour or egg frying it.
These are things I do to get my very fussy son to eat

Jo_R_2

letsgobilliejo - yup do that, forgot to mention!

chelletune - she won't eat cous cous either, but tbh that doesn't bother me so much as it is another wheat-based product, but obviously would be nice as an alternative!

seraphina - sounds good, if you can post a recipe when you have time that would be fab! Spinach and ricotta sounds lovely, or anything else veggie.

tr3mor - I have thought of cooking it for longer, however brown rice can only be cooked for so long before it is overcooked and loses the beneficial nutrients inside - it changes from a complex carbohydrate and breaks down. I am sure there must be a way to cook it, it might be just me!

Sharra - we only use brown rice. She might like soy sauce or even egg fried, I hadn't thought of that.

Thanks all :T

Pink.

Jo_R

I don't know if it's any consolation, but my son wouldn't touch rice...white or brown when he was smaller, but loves it now.

This may not work for you, but it worked for us. I gave up trying to get it into him because it was causing too much friction at meal times. I left it for six months before reintroducing it and he didn't remember it and just ate it with the rest of us.

Pink

Swan_2

my youngest son wouldn't eat rice & we eventually worked out it was because it was a hassle to eat. he was the same with soup. it seemed to him that the effort of getting enough of them into his mouth without food going all over the place took away any pleasure it might have had for him

he eats both happily now that he can manage them better. mind you, he is 18 now

so as Pink-winged suggested earlier, perhaps just waiting a bit is the answer

Dr.Lou

What about mixing it with other veggies, beans and sauces to fill a tomato or a pepper.

hennagirl

Which kind of rice do you use - Basmati has a very mild taste and the grain in longer and finer so not as bulky as American. Have also tried Brown Basmati and I think it produces a milder and less bulky rice - give it a try.

Alternatively, if you think that your daughter goes for sticky rice - try Jasmine rice.

Also have you tried flavoured rice? - plain is always more boring. A great one for kids is a mild Jambalaya - I used smoked sausage - Kid enticement!! - wonder if it would work with frozen veggie tivali salami. Also can get in the celery, pepper, onion witjout kids noticing if chopped fine.

It might also be the bulk of rice - adjust ratios so more saucey stuff and less rice