Today’s children are noble foodies and fastidious at the same time. Food for them should be appetizing, beautiful, fascinating, like 3D movies. A mountain of unadorned buckwheat porridge and a prize compote at the end of dinner impress only a minority. What to say about vegetables, at which many tomboys look with absolute indifference! You can, of course, come up with something, but not always and not all parents are in the mood and time to create edible cartoon characters on plates of cucumbers, peppers and parsley. What to do?
Hide vegetables in a tasty hot dish that your child will always eat
The easiest way is to hide vegetables in some kind of hot dish. I’m sure everyone will vote for zucchini pancakes right now – is there anything easier and more desirable in the world? And even with jam or sour cream … But all kinds of pastries, even with the most useful vegetables, should not dominate the children’s diet. But zucchini, tomatoes, fresh or dried aromatic greens, a pinch of grated ginger, try adding to the stuffing for meatballs and meatballs – they, by Carlson’s patronage, the children’s audience respects. As a plus, this dish can also be stewed and baked, and it can be made at once for a couple of days.
Make a brightly colored cream soup out of vegetables, which for children is not a soup at all
The juiciest colored cream soups for children are cooked from vegetables. Carrots, pumpkin, the same s’mores tomato, spinach and sorrel. Really, what to do if the young gourmet is bored with them? Meatballs again, as a side dish to the soup, only now purely meat or fish. There is an alternative: tiny florets of pre-fried cauliflower – personal for girls. And for the boys – small shrimp. The main thing is that the fishing for lunch is not too long… The important thing is that the soup in this case should not be too thick.
Children eat everything with pasta… and even vegetables
Kids love pasta. But let’s not sprinkle them with sugar, let the child comprehend real Italian cuisine. Let’s choose long zucchini and carrots and cut the vegetables into very thin straws, almost threads (there are even special devices for this). Boil regular spaghetti in salted water, and two minutes before the end, add zucchini and carrots to them. Ready pasta with vegetables is not bad to lightly fry in a frying pan with olive oil. A little basil or oregano wouldn’t hurt. Don’t eat it all, leave it for the kids.
Vivid colors are the way out for cranky kids
However, it is not necessary to hide the vegetables. You can make your child interested in them. Does your child already know the taste of citrus lemonade with mint and fresh cucumber rings? Or here are strawberries… Cut them into slices, add crunchy cucumbers and lemon dressing. Perhaps the bright combination of berries and vegetables will attract the attention of a fussy eater. There is another way to feed cucumbers to children, called zajiki, but without the garlic. Grate the cucumber and mix it with natural yogurt. You can dip long breadcrumbs or carrots in our sauce. It’s a fantasy, but what if your child is interested in green celery?
The famous chef-restaurateur Jamie Oliver invented a lunch for vegetarians – he baked cherry tomatoes with spices in the halves of sweet bell peppers. Can you imagine how many different brightly colored blossoms there are! This is an idea for you if peppers stuffed with rice or meat don’t impress your child. Multi Colored tomatoes will flash like traffic lights, waking up the imagination and appetite.
Jam, jam and confit of vegetables with bread will be eaten by any child
And finally, a jar of thick jam made of sweet carrots or pumpkin and orange. The job, of course, is fiddly, but how are we going to leave the little sweet tooth unattended? In a moderately thick dish you need to put grated vegetables and orange pulp, season the mixture with cinnamon and cook over high heat. Sometimes ground walnuts are also added. The jam should be layered on a biscuit roll and garnished with those nation’s favorite pancakes – without them, a Sunday brunch will not happen…
