Everyone knows that we should all be eating more vegetables everyday, but sometimes that is easier said than done! Use these 30 recipes and ideas to get even picky kids to eat more vegetables in their daily diet!
Raise your hand if you have a picky eater in your home.
I pretty much expect that we all have at least one reluctant eater for whom we regularly prepare meals. Of course, who wears this label can be constant over the years, or change as our kids (or spouses!) go through stages and seasons. A baby who once ate anything may all of a sudden refuse any and every vegetable. A once adventurous eater unexpectedly decides that certain vegetables are now unpalatable.
It happens, and that’s okay. But we all know how important it is to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Eat the rainbow, right? Fruits and vegetables are essential for good health, a strong immune system, as well as everyday energy and brain power.
Fruits are typically more readily accepted– they have the advantage of natural sugars. Vegetables, on the other hand, can be more of a hurdle for some kids.
Which is why I am really excited to share this list of recipes and ideas with you! I have put together 30 ways you can help your kids to eat more vegetables in simple, everyday foods.
I’m no secret, sneaky chef, though. I want my kids to know that vegetables are important for them to eat AND can be tasty and delicious too!
This collection of recipes is simply a way to make eating vegetables more of a habit– to make it normal to fold a vegetable in a muffin, cook a couple into a creamy soup, mix into a pasta sauce, make a veggie into a dip, and even to add them into yummy treats!
If getting your kids to eat more vegetables seems like an insurmountable obstacle right now, don’t give up! Start small, but be consistent. Keep offering and make a note of what works now, and what you will try again in the future. I have full confidence that every palate can be trained to enjoy a variety of vegetables given time and opportunity!
30 Recipes & Ideas to Get Kids to Eat More Vegetables
Breakfast
- Green smoothies (We like to make ours with a variety of greens, carrots, celery, and a mix of fresh/frozen fruit, using a base of homemade yogurt and ice. Sometimes we also throw in coconut oil, chia seeds, and/or pitted dates. Experiment and find combinations your family likes!)
- Blender Incredible Hulk Muffins || Instant Loss
- Add to omelets/frittatas
- Add pureed vegetables (like pumpkin, spinach, or squash) to pancakes
- Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts
- Add pumpkin puree to oatmeal (would be especially delicious in spiced apple steel cut oats!)
Snacks
- Carrot Raisin Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Green Pea Hummus
- Roasted Rutabaga Hummus || Simple Bites
- Simple Garden Salsa
- Ridiculously Good Homemade Guacamole || Instant Loss
- (Naturally Sweetened) Double Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies
- Kale Chips || 100 Days of Real Food
- Clean Eating Twice Baked Sweet Potato Chips || The Gracious Pantry
- Veggie Packed Popsicles || Live Simply
- Dairy Free Fudgesicles (made with avocado) || Instant Loss
- Fruit & Vegetable Pouches (buy them premade or make and fill your own)
Blended Soups
- (Extra Green) Broccoli Cheese Soup (Instant Pot recipe)
- Honey Roasted Carrot Soup (or Instant Pot instructions here)
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup (Instant Pot freezer meal)
- Butternut Squash & Apple Soup (Instant Pot recipe)
- Easy Creamy Tomato Soup (Instant Pot recipe)
Sauces & Dinners
- 5 Minute Pesto with Super Greens (use on pasta, pizza, bread, etc)
- 5 Ingredient Pumpkin Alfredo || Pinch of Yum
- Add finely chopped vegetables to a simple marinara sauce
- Cheesy Cauliflower & Carrot Macaroni
- Roasted Beet & Garlic Pasta || Simple Bites
- Roasted Carrot Fries
- Honey Ginger Carrots (Instant Pot)
- Add shredded veggies to Easy Weeknight Meatloaf
Remember! You set the example, so be sure you’re eating your veggies too! It’s never too late to start. Trust me, I know. I didn’t enjoy vegetables until I was in college and didn’t have my first salad until I was in my twenties!
Make it a family project to try new recipes and figure out a few favorite new vegetables!
I made my favorite cauliflower broccoli cheese soup recently and I was so sad my children complained about all the veggies in it! So I realized that I could blend the whole thing instead of just the cauliflower and—voila! They love it, too! Can’t wait to try your blended soups!
I like the ideas you listed. Smoothies is loved the most by our kids.
I feel the best way for children to enjoy vegetables more is to introduce a variety of vegetables early on in their life. This goes for all foods. The more they experience different foods, the less picky they are as they grow up. When our kids were able to eat puree food, we introduced a range of vegetables into the mix. Now they don’t mind eating vegetables.