Thanks for everyone’s suggestions for cabbage recipes from the other week. Some great stuff, but now I’m sick of cabbage.
Does anyone have some great recipes that taste good and are loaded with vegetables?
Preferably ones where cabbage isn’t the main ingredient.
I think the main rule of thumb is to just never, ever, ever boil/steam veggies and assume you end up with something anyone would want to eat. Roasting or frying them with liberal seasoning and/or flavorful oils ends up delish. You can also try frying carrots/broccoli/spinach or peas very quickly at a high heat and making a thick emulsified sauce from stock and butter that clings to it. Bear in mind cooking times, you don’t want to ruin the vegetables (or god forbid) peas by fully cooking them. As a result you might want to make the sauce first and then drop in more fragile veggies in later.
My daughter really loves Zucchini nuggets with a dip of Hummus. For the Zucchini nuggets, just use shredded Zucchini, panko, grated cheese (Mozzarella works well, but it’s really up to preference) and some herbs. Use an egg or two to bind everything together. Form into nuggets and bake in the oven until nice and crispy on the outside. Use any dip you fancy. We often use Hummus or chili sauce.
Ah we tried these when the kids were much younger and they didn’t like them, but it’s worth another try. Thanks for the idea!
Sprout salads - Chop (finely) vegetables, and sprouts (soaked pulses, such that a small tap root appears) - mix well, add some sauce to your preference (i just add seasoning and lemon juice, you can add something like mayo, youghurt, or salsa). You can also add some crunchy element (something like fried crisps, or any favorite item) - these will serve as a different texture, and the hero element of your dish which can invite kids. Also, you can have the kids add the these, so they can feel happy in knowing what they added, and overlook veggies in salad underneath.
Pasta sauce is insanely easy to hide veg in. Just cook them all down in a pot and blend until smooth - they won’t ever know the contents!
you can bulk out your protein with lentils too.
You can also shred zucchini and add it into any baked good (cookies, cakes, ect), it just makes things moister along with the add nutrients
I’m liking the idea of hiding the veggies in the pasta sauce. So many opportunities!
Smoothies. You can hide a lot of vegetables in a smoothie!
Stir fry veggies with some soy suace and rice oil. They’ll taste like veggies from hibachi and are really easy to pair with rice (fried or otherwise) and many protein dishes (we usually do teriyaki chicken, but it’s pretty flexible).
Soups/chili’s are another great way to load up on veggies pretty easily (Mac and cheese too if youre not trying to be too healthy).
If you have a grill, kabobs are a fun way to sneak in some veggies too. Makes it a little interactive and you can use a lot of different marinades to change up the flavor pallete.
Happy to add more details on the actual recipes if anyone wants.
Man, so many things, so will just make a list:
- Chicken Soup
- Pasta of the non-spaghet variety. Baked dishes work great
- Ramen
- Split pea soup
- Mac and cheese: hear me out. An ENTIRE head or two of broccoli will go into a well-made MnC that kids won’t even think trice about. Also peas and spinach.
- Green Bean casserole
- Roasted beets or carrots, but drizzle with a tiny bit of maple syrup to finish
- Hummus plate (this is debatable, but kids seem to love it)
- Corn on the cob
Honestly though, if you make a good broth and just dump a LOAD of veggies in, kids will probably enjoy it. Even if they eat around the actual veggies pieces, they’re still getting a solid infusion of nutrients from all the veg in everything else.
Salads?
Hiding vegetables inside the salad is super camouflage.
Broccoli cheese soup
Air fry or roast vegetables to give them a great roasted flavor. (For bite sized pieces: toys with oil, salt and pepper, then 8-12 minutes at 400 in the air fryer, maybe double the time in the oven)
I can make some mean roast veggies but I normally do this in the oven, and they must be 50% oil by weight. We do have an air fryer, I could give it a go but I worry they will be a bit disappointing when compared to my crispy delicious usual ones.
As a grown man who often has to trick myself and my wife into eating veggies, I often make “green mac and cheese”. Steam up a bunch of spinach, broccoli, whatever you like that goes with cheese, then puree and mix into the cheese sauce.
Ooh I never thought of pureeing the veggies. I like the idea, could do this for lots of different dishes. Thanks!
Puree (hot or smoothie) is a great way to introduce new flavours but it also breaks up the fibre making the fruit or veg much less healthy. If you are watching sugar intake this is very important. Sometimes disguising or hiding works. My kids liked cheese and salsa so many veggies had salsa or cheese or both on them initially. Eventually they ate the veggies on their own.
I’m not sure how to cook children, but you might want to make sure they eat their vegetables first…
Less of the vegetable and more of the method.
Do you have an air fryer or an oven with an air fryer setting?
Take your veggies, spray them with butter, salt and pepper to taste, then roast them on an air fryer setting.
Asparagus, carrots, corn… all kind of amazing like this!
Also good on a charcoal or gas grill!
@Dave Mashed potatoes
Well, Harvard has this to say:
Aim for color and variety, and remember that potatoes don’t count as vegetables on the Healthy Eating Plate because of their negative impact on blood sugar.
Sub sweet potatoes for potatoes. I know, I know, counter intuitive. :)
I make these every Thanksgiving and people DEMAND them:
Serves 10 to 12
Sweet Potatoes
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 5 pounds sweet potatoes (about 8 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar (For a more intense molasses flavor, use dark brown sugar in place of light brown sugar.)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup water
Pecan Topping
• 2 cups pecan halves
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (For a more intense molasses flavor, use dark brown sugar in place of light brown sugar.)
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Pinch ground cumin
Directions
- FOR THE SWEET POTATOES: Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and water; bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, storing often, until the sweet potatoes are tender (a paring knife can be slipped into and out of the center of the potatoes with very little resistance), 45 to 60 minutes.
It’s going to seem like not enough water, it is. As the sweet potatoes cook, they’ll release a ton of water!
-
When the sweet potatoes are tender, remove the lid and bring the sauce to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced to a glaze, 7 to 10 minutes.
-
FOR THE TOPPING: Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the topping together in a medium bowl; set aside.
-
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the potato mixture into a 13 by 9-inch baking dish (or a shallow casserole dish of similar size). Spread the topping over the potatoes. Bake until the pecans are toasted and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Variation
CANDIED SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE WITH TOASTED MARSHMALLOW TOPPING
Follow the recipe for Candied Sweet Potato Casserole, substituting 4 cups mini marshmallows for the pecan topping. Bake until the marshmallows are crisp and golden, about 5 minutes.
Sub sweet potatoes for potatoes. I know, I know, counter intuitive. :)
Yes apparently sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index than regular potatoes so I guess they count as vegetables.
That recipe sounds delicious. I’m not sure the 1.5 packed cups of brown sugar (or alternative, 4 cups of mini marshmallows) are what I had in mind when trying to get vegetables into the kids, but this could make a nice treat. Thanks for the recipe!
