Ways to Hide Vegetables in Kid's Dinners

1 Use a Holiday to Make It a Special Occasion

Whether you surprise them with a lucky green smoothie for St. Patrick's Day or heart-shaped beet pancakes in honor of Valentine's Day, they'll get excited to try these special treats.

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2 Overpower With Flavor

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The trick to disguising the vegetables in this hush-hush lasagna is to puree the onion, zucchini, carrot, and red bell pepper in the tomato sauce. With all of the flavorful herbs and hearty meat, kiddos will be too distracted to wonder what else is in there.

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3 Don't Always Disclose

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If you know you have an extremely picky eater on your hands (who also happens to be a big fan of garlic mashed potatoes!), don't call out the mock recipe's new main ingredient (cauliflower) before they try it.

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4 Give Chips and Dip a Twist

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Kids just love to dunk, so whether you dress up Greek yogurt to pass as ranch dressing to get them to eat some veggies or make a fun broccoli dip for little hands, they'll have fun getting their dunk on.

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5 Start With One of Their Favorites

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Kids can barely taste the 10 ounces of chopped spinach packed into these meatballs florentine, and since their favorite meal is the vessel that's disguising the healthy ingredients, it won't be a fight to get little ones to take a taste.

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6 Don’t Count Out Dessert

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Believe it or not, these vegan brownies are packed with spinach for extra fiber, iron, and phytonutrients. The best part is no one will taste the difference!

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7 Consider the Texture

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One thing about veggies that many little ones object to is their texture. Instead of trying to force it, try getting creative with how you prepare it and have them give crispy fritters a taste.

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8 Don’t Go Over the Top

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In order to keep from startling your child and causing them to shut down when it comes time to taste, don't go rogue with a ton of new ingredients. Just adding one veggie, like peas to this creamy chicken bacon pasta, is a less intimidating way to approach new vegetables at dinner.

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9 Remember That Cheese Hides All

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When in doubt, opt for a recipe that incorporates a bunch of cheese, like these spaghetti squash lasagna boats. Not only is the fun presentation something that kiddos can get behind, but the multiple types of cheese in the dish help to mask the variety of veggies used throughout.

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10 Let Them Help With the Prep

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If you let your kids get involved with the dinner prep, not only will they be excited to try their final creation, but the meal will also seem less intimidating to taste.

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11 Start With the Mornings

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Not only are sleepyheads still waking up before school, their guard is down when it comes to being on the lookout for dreaded vegetables. Sweet potato banana pancakes will start their day off right, and you won't feel guilty about what you're serving.

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12 Play the Mind Game (but Make It Fun!)

Image Source: How Sweet It Is

If you make it fun and let your little ones feel like they have some control, dinner will go much smoother. One option is to do pizza with cauliflower crust, but instead of talking about the veggie base, let them pick which vegetable toppings they want to add. They'll have fun decorating the pizza and think they're making a big compromise with the colorful additions.

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13 Stick to the Magic Word: Fry

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There's something irresistible about the word "fry" to little ones. So whether you decide to serve up sweet potato fries or give carrot and zucchini fries a try, incorporating the fry aspect will soften the missing potato blow.

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