6 Recipes That Will Help Your Child Eat Vegetables

Children generally don’t like vegetables. However, it is necessary for them to eat it in order to have a healthy diet as well as adequate development and growth. Here we present you 5 creative recipes that will allow you to incorporate vegetables into your family diet.

Vegetables are great sources of nutrients for children. However, we have to admit that they are not always on the list of their favorite dishes. However, with a little creativity, it is possible to make preparations that help children eat vegetables.

We have all been children. Certainly we have all, in this period, hated a particular vegetable that our parents made us eat at home. But with the recipes that we offer you in this article, we hope that your child will like to eat vegetables.

Delicious Recipes to Help Your Child Eat Vegetables

The best way to be successful in making children enjoy eating vegetables is to practice “the art of camouflage”. Probably no child will resist pizza or burgers. You can also incorporate the vegetables into juices or desserts that your children will eat for breakfast or as a snack.

1. Steaks with lentils and eggplant to help children eat vegetables

Ingredients

• 500g raw eggplants, peeled and cut into cubes
• 500g of raw lentils
• 40g oatmeal
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• A finely chopped celery
• 30g of cornstarch or cornstarch
• 30g of wheat flour
• Freshly chopped parsley to your liking
• Salt, pepper and oil to your liking

Preparation

• Soak the lentils for at least 3 hours. If you can do it the day before, it is better, because then the preparation will be even better.
• Boil a large amount of water in a saucepan. Once the boiling point is reached, add the lentils (previously drained). Leave to cook for at least 15 minutes.
• Drain well and keep this broth to make soups or to pour it over vermicelli.
• Sauté the onion, eggplant, garlic and celery stalk in oil for about 10 minutes over medium heat.
• In a food processor or with a fork, crush the lentils. Add them to the fried vegetables.
• Season with salt and pepper, and add the parsley as well as the oats and cornstarch to give texture to your preparation. You can also reserve a portion of unmixed lentils.
• In a hot pan, pour a drizzle of oil and add a few spoons of the preparation, which you will shape to give them the shape of a steak.
• Then serve this steak with a traditional hamburger bun or with rice.

2. Steaks made with meat, carrots and spinach

Ingredients

• 500g of minced meat of your choice (beef, lamb, veal, or even turkey or chicken)
• 250g finely grated carrots
• 250g finely chopped spinach
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 5g cumin
• 20g finely grated turmeric
• 30g of grated bread
• Salt and pepper to your liking

Preparation

• Mix all the ingredients together.
• If you prefer a gluten-free version, skip the grated bread.
• Form steaks and cook them.
• Serve them with traditional hamburger bread or serve with rice.
• You can also replace the carrots with broccoli, which you finely grate and incorporate raw into the meat.

3. Squash dips to serve with bread

Ingredients

• 300g squash
• 5g freshly grated ginger
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• Olive oil, salt and pepper to your liking
• Roasted chia, flax or sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation

• This dip is ideal to spread on bread when making sandwiches for your children.
• Cut the squash into slices that you will bake in the oven.
• Let them cook until they are tender.
• Take them out of the oven and peel them. You can grill the skin a little longer, then salt it and serve it as a snack.
• Place the squash, ginger and garlic in a food processor or blender.
• After obtaining a very homogeneous mixture, add the oil, salt and seeds of your choice. Book.

4. Pizza with raw tomato and vegetable sauce

Ingredients

• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 1 squash
• 1/2 red pepper
• 2 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 10g chopped capers
• 20g pitted black olives, cut into slices
• 250g grated mozzarella
• Thyme or basil at your convenience (dehydrated or fresh)
• Salt and pepper to your liking
• 400g of wheat flour
• 200mL of lukewarm water
• 50mL of olive or corn oil

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 180 ° C.
• In a bowl, combine the flour, water and half the oil. Salt. You can also add a little thyme or basil.
• When everything starts to take on a little texture, continue to mix on a surface covered with flour and knead for about 5 minutes.
• Form a ball. Cover this dough with a tea towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
• Remove the stems from the tomatoes, peel them and grate them.
• Add the tomatoes, remaining oil, chopped garlic, chopped capers, finely chopped herb of your choice, salt and pepper.
• Chop the onion and pepper into rings. Remove the ends of the squash and cut it in half, then into half-moon-shaped slices.
• Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it completely covers the pan or dish where you plan to prepare your pizza.
• Cover the dough with the raw tomato and vegetable sauce. Finally, add the cheese and olives.
• Bake for about 15 minutes.
• You can use another cheese of your choice, or even leave it out if you prefer to make a vegetarian pizza.

5. Beet, strawberry and orange juice

Ingredients

• 2 medium beets
• 10 strawberries
• 500mL of freshly squeezed orange juice
• Honey or cane sugar at your convenience
• Water at your convenience

Preparation

• In a blender or food processor, mix the beets cut into cubes with the orange juice and strawberries.
• Add the desired amount of honey or cane sugar.
• You can also add a little water if the mixture is too thick, or if the orange juice is acidic.
• It is best to drink this juice with all its fibers, but if your children don’t like it, then you can strain it.

6. Black bean brownies (gluten free)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups black beans
• 30g bitter cocoa powder
• 125g oats, in the form of flakes or flour
• 62.5g cane sugar or black sugar
• 20mL of vanilla extract
• 2.5g of baking powder
• 125g chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation

• The day before, soak the black beans.
• Cook them without salt until they soften.
• Preheat the oven to 180 ° C.
• In a food processor or blender, add all the ingredients except the chocolate chips. The mixture should remain thick, homogeneous and free from lumps.
• Pour the mixture onto a square dish and add the chocolate chips.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
• Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
• You can also add 2 ripe bananas to the mixture to replace the sugar.

To finish

To make children enjoy eating vegetables, all you need to do is offer them different options and vary the preparations. Usually what turns children off eating vegetables is the fact that we always present them to them in the same form. In this sense, creativity is fundamental for children to dare to taste new foods.