So, yesterday, I came face to face with the ugly truth…that I was intimidated by trying to feed vegetables to the Cherubim. This was very embarrassing..>I am not usually prey to intimidation…but I had to admit that was why I did not confront him regularly and force the issue.
As I prepared the plate of veggies, I thought to myself "I’m just going to pretend that I’m some other mother, who is not intimidated by her son." This amused me and I spent time planning how to put this in a book.
And then, he ate his vegetables. All three — a carrot, a piece of celery, and a piece of spinach. Just like that.
Weird.
My husband got a juicer last year for Christmas, and we’ve managed to feed the Beetle more veggies with minimum drama. We mix spinach, carrots, cucumbers, celery, squash (whatever veggies are in season, really) with the fruit, and he drinks it right down.
We tried that with Orville when he was little and it was humiliating. Even the tiniest bit of carrot juice and he wouldn’t take it. I could not figure out how he knew.
But it’s a good idea! His brothers may well not be as descerning! Thank you for reminding me of that!
One starts very small. Say the goal is 1/4 cup squash t1/2 cup mac and cheese. Intial serving = 1/4 TEASPOON. Add by similar increments with each serving.
Additionally, spices help: Encourage your youngun to add “green sprinkles” (garlic powder, herbs de provance, etc… I bring out several bottles, let the mite sniff and choose and add a pinch or two of her own choice) or similar to regular foods until they’re accustomed to garlic, onion, fines herbes, basil, etc. These herbs mask veggie additions.
Can you tell this is High ARt in our household?
My husband got a juicer last year for Christmas, and we’ve managed to feed the Beetle more veggies with minimum drama. We mix spinach, carrots, cucumbers, celery, squash (whatever veggies are in season, really) with the fruit, and he drinks it right down.
We tried that with Orville when he was little and it was humiliating. Even the tiniest bit of carrot juice and he wouldn’t take it. I could not figure out how he knew.
But it’s a good idea! His brothers may well not be as descerning! Thank you for reminding me of that!
Lost Cause
Once again you make the “Better
womanman than I am, Gunga Din” A-List.I smuggle 99% of the Mighty Mite’s veggies into her diet. For example, did you know that 1/4 cup butternut squash + 1/4 tsp garlic salt + 1/8 tsp onion powder + 1/8 tsp paprika can be added to ANY MAC AND CHEESE product (whether a recipe or powdered mix, like Annies) UNDETECTED!
Yes. You can also add roasted beets to pancake mix… My wiles are many..
Re: Lost Cause
I tried many many of these things…and my boys found them out, even the littlest thing, you think no one would care about. The only place I’ve ever succeeded in smuggling was that Juss thinks the blueberry waffles are chocolate chips.
On the other hand, I am very very very grateful to Lazytown. Because of that show, my eldest son loves apples and drinks water.
Re: Lost Cause
Er…this was me…didn’t realize I’d been logged out.
Lost Cause
Once again you make the “Better
womanman than I am, Gunga Din” A-List.I smuggle 99% of the Mighty Mite’s veggies into her diet. For example, did you know that 1/4 cup butternut squash + 1/4 tsp garlic salt + 1/8 tsp onion powder + 1/8 tsp paprika can be added to ANY MAC AND CHEESE product (whether a recipe or powdered mix, like Annies) UNDETECTED!
Yes. You can also add roasted beets to pancake mix… My wiles are many..
One starts very small. Say the goal is 1/4 cup squash t1/2 cup mac and cheese. Intial serving = 1/4 TEASPOON. Add by similar increments with each serving.
Additionally, spices help: Encourage your youngun to add “green sprinkles” (garlic powder, herbs de provance, etc… I bring out several bottles, let the mite sniff and choose and add a pinch or two of her own choice) or similar to regular foods until they’re accustomed to garlic, onion, fines herbes, basil, etc. These herbs mask veggie additions.
Can you tell this is High ARt in our household?
Re: Lost Cause
Not necessarily lost. Just baffled for a bit!
Pumpkin is a very healthy veggie. You can add it to pancakes with some cinnamon & allspice to make Pumpkin Pie Pancakes. Leftover baked sweet potato & cinnamon is good in pancakes, too. Little maple syrup, or fruit compote on the side (like fried apples) and you have a great meal that little guys will normally eat. If you use sweet potato or pumpkin, you can usually cut all sugar out of the mix (we make our own mix) and leave the pumpkin or sweet potato and maple syrup or fried/sweetened fruit as the sweetness in the dish.
Cut sweet potato and apples fried or baked together is another nice side dish that little guys like.
You can make shredded zucchini pancakes with raisins, too, (a kind of zuch. bread in little cakes), or savory ones with grated parmesan cheese (if he’s a cheese lover – fry those in a little olive oil) You can also add shredded carrots into that mix if you want a veggie type of pancake to go with dinner and he likes the taste.
You can add a few spoonfuls of pumpkin puree to french toast mix, or into a bag of frozen berries to make a smoothie. Its a very versatile veggie if you are thinking of other ways to use it outside a pie shell!
You can add banana & strawberry or peaches (loads of good vitamins in those) to pancakes & french toast and various drinks, or make a fried or stewed kind of topping.
Our Nicholas is Autistic or has severe Aspergers (or both, or neither, or – who knows) and he’s very clever about detecting food he doesn’t like, but he will eat almost anything in a pancake, including potato. We are getting very good at making foods he’ll enjoy that have those foods in them. Pumpkin is the all time favorite of the whole family though.
Sometimes he’ll eat raw broccoli or cauliflower snap beans or raw oriental peas with their pods if he has his favorite salad dressing to dip them in on the side of his plate (and that would be ranch or french dressing). Sometimes he refuses to eat them even then. We never know! But he gets a vitamin daily (usually, when he doesn’t spit it out!) and I have to be content with his normal preference for peanut butter & homemade jam sandwiches!
ALSO after he has eaten a few new things with cooked veggie in them and your reasonably sure he does like them, let the Cherubim help you grate them up or mix them and make the food with you. Some kids enjoy eating things more when they help cook.
Our little guy will also go through stages where he’ll eat something like carrots or cauliflower, and then not want them for a while. It can be so frustrating! But they somehow manage to thrive despite their odd diets!
Re: Lost Cause
My kids are amazing at the detecting. I’ve tried lots of things in pancakes…but never gotten away with a single one, except for the waffles and blueberry thing mentioned above.
Still, all this is good advice because they are older now, so I can try again. Things may well be different.
The Cherubim gets kind of bored with cooking. He kept wanting to wander off when it was his turn to make cookies. Still…I can try. One can never predict what will interest him.
Re: Lost Cause
I understand!
I’ve never had a kid yet turn down the pumpkin pancakes or other pancake things though, because they are just like little pumpkin pies or pumpkin bread (or banana bread, or whatever).
Still – every kid is different & their families are too. And their tastes change and — you never know from day to day what they will or won’t eat!
The best we can do is say a prayer, make the best tasting stuff we can and try not to be too disappointed when they treat the good food we just spent an hour preparing as if it were deadly poison!
Re: Lost Cause
Not necessarily lost. Just baffled for a bit!
Pumpkin is a very healthy veggie. You can add it to pancakes with some cinnamon & allspice to make Pumpkin Pie Pancakes. Leftover baked sweet potato & cinnamon is good in pancakes, too. Little maple syrup, or fruit compote on the side (like fried apples) and you have a great meal that little guys will normally eat. If you use sweet potato or pumpkin, you can usually cut all sugar out of the mix (we make our own mix) and leave the pumpkin or sweet potato and maple syrup or fried/sweetened fruit as the sweetness in the dish.
Cut sweet potato and apples fried or baked together is another nice side dish that little guys like.
You can make shredded zucchini pancakes with raisins, too, (a kind of zuch. bread in little cakes), or savory ones with grated parmesan cheese (if he’s a cheese lover – fry those in a little olive oil) You can also add shredded carrots into that mix if you want a veggie type of pancake to go with dinner and he likes the taste.
You can add a few spoonfuls of pumpkin puree to french toast mix, or into a bag of frozen berries to make a smoothie. Its a very versatile veggie if you are thinking of other ways to use it outside a pie shell!
You can add banana & strawberry or peaches (loads of good vitamins in those) to pancakes & french toast and various drinks, or make a fried or stewed kind of topping.
Our Nicholas is Autistic or has severe Aspergers (or both, or neither, or – who knows) and he’s very clever about detecting food he doesn’t like, but he will eat almost anything in a pancake, including potato. We are getting very good at making foods he’ll enjoy that have those foods in them. Pumpkin is the all time favorite of the whole family though.
Sometimes he’ll eat raw broccoli or cauliflower snap beans or raw oriental peas with their pods if he has his favorite salad dressing to dip them in on the side of his plate (and that would be ranch or french dressing). Sometimes he refuses to eat them even then. We never know! But he gets a vitamin daily (usually, when he doesn’t spit it out!) and I have to be content with his normal preference for peanut butter & homemade jam sandwiches!
ALSO after he has eaten a few new things with cooked veggie in them and your reasonably sure he does like them, let the Cherubim help you grate them up or mix them and make the food with you. Some kids enjoy eating things more when they help cook.
Our little guy will also go through stages where he’ll eat something like carrots or cauliflower, and then not want them for a while. It can be so frustrating! But they somehow manage to thrive despite their odd diets!
Re: Lost Cause
I tried many many of these things…and my boys found them out, even the littlest thing, you think no one would care about. The only place I’ve ever succeeded in smuggling was that Juss thinks the blueberry waffles are chocolate chips.
On the other hand, I am very very very grateful to Lazytown. Because of that show, my eldest son loves apples and drinks water.
Re: Lost Cause
Er…this was me…didn’t realize I’d been logged out.
Re: Lost Cause
My kids are amazing at the detecting. I’ve tried lots of things in pancakes…but never gotten away with a single one, except for the waffles and blueberry thing mentioned above.
Still, all this is good advice because they are older now, so I can try again. Things may well be different.
The Cherubim gets kind of bored with cooking. He kept wanting to wander off when it was his turn to make cookies. Still…I can try. One can never predict what will interest him.
Re: Lost Cause
I understand!
I’ve never had a kid yet turn down the pumpkin pancakes or other pancake things though, because they are just like little pumpkin pies or pumpkin bread (or banana bread, or whatever).
Still – every kid is different & their families are too. And their tastes change and — you never know from day to day what they will or won’t eat!
The best we can do is say a prayer, make the best tasting stuff we can and try not to be too disappointed when they treat the good food we just spent an hour preparing as if it were deadly poison!