Monday, October 6, 2008

Operation Veggie Smuggle

I am becoming the Queen Smuggler, of veggies that is. I am on a new mission, to keep away (and keep Angel Starr away) from as many processed foods as possible. The problem is that she hates vegetables and refuses to eat them. She's very strong willed and it turns into a huge, HUGE fight. It's terrible to sit down to every meal with a child whining about how she doesn't eat this and that and picking it all off her plate and heaving (yes, she actually gags just looking at the vegetables!). So I've decided that it's all completely psychological and I will pump her full of goodness, no matter what. The solution, to disguise everything. She eats soup happily (because I put croutons in - OK so a little bit of processed crap in order to get her to eat loads of goodness. I think it's worth it!) so I decided to puree sauces too. I've come up with a great tomato sauce that she just loves and she has no idea how healthy it is. I make it with onions, tomatoes, courgettes, red capsicum peppers and carrots. Then I take my hand blender and blast the hell out of it, so that she can't detect any of the veggies. It just looks like red, chunky, sauce. Which I refer to as.......bolognaise sauce. You see if I called it tomato sauce she'd freak out and boom, in one second her veggie walls would go up. She loves this sauce and I put it with meatballs (which I have made myself with mince meat, onion, carrot and apple - yay more veggies!) or just by itself on pasta or with chicken and couscous (which she just adores). So far so good. She's happy and I'm happy, feeling that I'm giving my child healthy, nutritious food.

3 thoughts for today:

Allison said...

That is a great idea! I have the same kind of picky eater! She will refuse to eat lunch at school if she eats next to someone that has something "gross". She will then come home very hungry! I will have to look for some sneaky ways to get goodies in her too!

savvysuzie said...

Hey - do what you have to! I'm lucky that the Boy Wonder will eat pretty much anything I put under his nose...but I am ready with my food processor if he decides to get picky!

Anonymous said...

I have the same tactic with my kids. I grate carrots and courgette and put them in everything they eat - from meatballs and burgers (I make my own meatballs and burger patties) to spaghetti and sandwiches (I also prepare our sandwiches (egg, tuna, chicken, whatever). Even the spaghetti sauce has grated carrots. Mashed squash is also great in soups. I stir fry broccoli or just about any veg in oyster sauce (used moderately), soy sauce and honey. Try these as well. Hope they work with your little angel.