How to Sneak Veggies Into Kid Food

Kids are not always super willing to go for the green stuff at the table, but I have perfected one thing about being a parent….I can always sneak veggies into kid food.

I actually am blessed with a toddler who actually likes veggies, but I am always looking for more ways to turn treats into something healthy. Even though she likes veggies she also likes things like chocolate too so if I can substitute them out or hide veggies into something sweet I usually do.

How to Sneak Veggies Into Kid Food

Smoothies

This is one of the most common ways I do it. My daughter LOVES fruit smoothies and you can guarantee if she is drinking one that there are some veggies disguised as fruits in there. One of my favorite veggies to blend into a smoothie is kale.

If you have a decent blender (we use the Ninja blender) then it should blend the kale so well that no one will be able to tell it is there…and no, you cannot taste it in the smoothie!

My daughter loves smoothies so much that she thinks they are dessert so I got pretty lucky there! Here are some links to some of my favorite smoothie recipes, not all of them had veggies but you can add whatever you want to them:

Morning Smoothie Recipe

Post Workout Smoothie Recipe

Banana Berry Smoothie Recipe

Healthy Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie – for kids I skip the protein powder and use cocoa powder to make it chocolate!

Garden Lites Muffins

Okay y’all….these are the best thing to ever hit store shelves for parents. Like THE BEST. Garden Lites muffins are made with 33% veggies and you can’t taste it at all. You don’t even have to do the work yourself the veggies are just already in there when you buy them from the store.

Did you know only 1 in 10 Americans eat the recommended servings of veggies per day? 1 in 10! That is not enough and I am a firm believer that if you instill these habits in your kids at a young age they will continue them throughout their lifetime.

I was actually pretty weirded out the first time I bought these muffins because the first ingredients listed in them were zucchini and carrots (not that I don’t like those, but in my muffins? Eh…) and they were located in the freezer section which was super strange to me too. But I bought them anyways because I wanted to try them out for my daughter.

Let me tell you, the chocolate muffins are to die for. I eat them just as much, if not more, than my daughter does now. SO DELICIOUS. They are perfect for a quick snack when you are running short on time since all they require is 10-20 seconds in the microwave.

Sneaking veggies into a chocolate snack? Yes, please!

Casseroles or Soups

Casseroles are one of my favorite things to cook. Especially the kind where you throw everything into the pan and just stick it in the oven…easy and delicious. They are also a pretty efficient way to sneak veggies into your kids food. 

Soups are the same as casseroles. Just sneak a little chopped vegetable into the dish and they will never know.

If your kids are super picky and they can pick a veggie out of any dish you give them then try pureeing the veggies before you put them into the soup or casserole. My mom used to do this with tomatoes for my brother and he never knew.

It is really important for us as parents to set the tone for our kids diets. We were put here to make the decisions about their lives that they can’t and lead them down the right path. Eating healthy at a young age is incredibly important for how our kids live the rest of their lives and if that means I have to sneak veggies into kid food then that is what I will do.