Tackling Little Fusspots: Getting Kids to Eat Vegetables and Fruits

We all know that getting kids to eat their vegetables and even fruit sometimes is very difficult and sometimes even impossible.

This has never been very difficult for us as from the time Zayb started to eat khichdi I included a lot of mashed vegetables in her khichdi. She has developed a taste for mashed vegetables for sure but getting her to eat sautéed version of the same vegetable is difficult sometimes. Here are some easy recipes I follow to ensure that I include some vegetable and fruit in her daily diet.


Recipes:

• Pumpkin Dal: I make a dal like curry of pumpkins and add just a table spook of dal while pressure cooking the pumpkin. its more like a pumpkin soup with the tadka of a dal. I first tried this on my hubby who things that chauli, chana and rajma are vegetables. it worked well on him. he loved this pumpkin dal and didn't even realize that he was consuming his most hated vegetable. I make this for Zayb as well and she enjoys it just as much as she likes her dal.

• Vegetable Popsicles: Zayb loves her popsicles. I make fruit and vegetable juice popsicles that taste really good and look even prettier. I make carrot, beet and apple juice popsicle. Another one of her favorites is mango, banana. Then we also love cucumber and lime. there are many more combinations you can try. Anything that tastes a little sweet and tangy would work for a fruit-veggie popsicle.

• Spinach/Gavar Chutney: As my LO doesn't like Gavar very much I try and blanch spinach and gavar and grind them into sandwich chutneys. regular sandwich chutney with coconut, coriander, ginger, lime, sugar with blanched greens. I serve this chutney on bread with cheese. and she doesn't even realize that this is different from her regular chutney sandwich

• Grilled Bell Pepper and Mushroom Sauce: I sauté diced bell peppers, garlic mushroom in butter with salt and pepper. Then I put them in the oven for 7-10 minutes till the peppers develop a slight brown exterior but at the same time are still juicy. Then I grind them into a puree with some cheese to make a thick sauce that can be served with roti, tortilla wraps, in a sandwich or as a dip.

These are just a few recipes that help me ensure that I serve vegetables and fruits to my fussy eaters.  Stay tuned for more. Hope you try and enjoy them. Do let me know your comments if you try any.

xoxoxo,
Z