It’s a new year and we’re determined to get our kids on a more nutritional meal plan than last year.
Most of the time, kids want to eat the same thing over and over - this is usually some kind of meat, cheese, pasta, or other junk food. It’s tough to get our little ones to even think about fruits and vegetables.
Let’s be honest, there are a lot of adults out there who turn their heads away at eating vegetables and leafy greens.
Sometimes it’s just easier to feed kids what they want to keep them happy in order not to damage the relationship. It’s tough being a parent.
How do we feed our kids what they want while also making sure they get the nutrition they need?
We have to get sneaky!
We’re going to share a few easy ways to sneak fruits and vegetables into your kids’ favorite dishes!
Casseroles
A boring plate of leafy green spinach or kale next to a pan of meaty, cheesy lasagna is going to lose every single time.
So, why don’t we combine the two?
You’ve got your lasagna noodles. You’ve got your cheeses, sauces, and different meats. Just add some baby spinach to the mix!
Start with a layer of pasta sauce, then a layer of noodles, a layer of cheese, a layer of meat, and a few spinach leaves sprinkled in! Repeat this step a few times and your kids will never know the difference!
Purees
Making chili tonight?
An easy way to sneak a few greens into your meal is to simply puree your veggies into the chili paste or sauce.
Just mix a few carrots or peas into your dish and you’re good to go!
Pureeing helps disguise the nutritious stuff while barely changing the taste profile.
Popsicles
It’s hard to know which popsicles to purchase at the grocery store. Which ones actually contain real fruit? Which ones could still be full of processed sugar and other artificial flavors?
We’ve got the solution!
An easy trick is to make your own!
This is also a fun activity for you and your child to make some new memories.
There are plenty of molds and shapes to be found out there but if all you’ve got is an ice tray and some popsicle sticks, that works, too!
Choose your fruits - strawberries, blueberries, oranges, bananas, etc.
Puree them into a mix with a little water or even some juice of the same flavor. You could also add chopped, bite size pieces of fruit to the mix for some texture.
Yogurt or unsweetened coconut milk can also be used if you want to make your popsicles a little creamier.
Freeze for about 4 to 6 hours and you’ve got yourself a tasty, nutritious treat!
Bilal's EasyKale®
Of course, we can’t write a blog about slipping more nutrition into your child’s diet without pointing out Bilal's EasyKale® is custom made to make it easy to do just that!
Kale is one of the most nutrient-rich vegetables on the planet, but there are even many adults who can’t stand the taste, which tends to be bitter, especially when the nutrient-dense stem is included.
Fortunately, Bilal's EasyKale® is nearly tasteless, meaning it won’t interfere with other foods. You can sprinkle it onto nearly anything—or, you can hide it in your kid’s favorite recipes. Remember: It only takes a teaspoon for the equivalent of about a cup of leafy kale goodness. Depending on how much food you’re preparing, consider adding a little more EasyKale so the kale goodness really evens out.
Mix Bilal's EasyKale® into hamburger meat and grill up a burger just like you normally would. Add it to pizza dough for homemade pizzas. Mix it with ketchup, BBQ sauce or French onion dip. And, of course, it’s easy to add to smoothies, milkshakes, scrambled eggs...pretty much anything where you’re doing a little stirring.
Corn bread batter? Kale yeah!
The possibilities are endless, and you’ll get a burst of vitamin K, vitamin C, and iron just as if you’d cooked up a big batch of the green leafy variety and somehow convinced everyone in your family to put it on their plates!
With a little creativity, increasing your child’s nutrition intake doesn’t have to be hard or unpleasant. Have some fun with it!