Why sneak in vegetables for the kids?

I've always wondered this when people talk about hiding vegetables in other foods?....like put some extra bell peppers in with spaghetti sauce, or ground some up with fruit as a smoothie.

If the kids don't like vegetables, they won't even understand that we're feeding them veggies. I feel it won't lead to healthy eating habits when they make their own choices. Won't they still avoid veggies? Just curious...I don't have kids so I haven't had to deal with this yet. I'm hoping if I start them out young and set a good example, they'll like veggies.

I am interested to hear some replies on this.  However, I am lucky, my daughter is 5 and loves veggies.  Green beans, broccoli, corn, peas...you name it.  Mushrooms are really the only thing I've seen her make a face at.  She actually just tried them a week ago but I think thats the only one.  At least she tried it!

I didn't sneak, I manipulated.

I did add carrots or squash, for example, to mashed potatoes, but I didn't hide it. 

I got my daughter to eat vegetables by telling her that only grown ups liked them & only grown ups could have them. 

I'd start out by not putting any on her plate and then be very dramatic in my enjoyment of them which prompted her to ask if she could have some, and I'd have to say no, and then when she heard that only grown ups were allowed to have them, she felt that was unfair and wanted them.  And so after a few minutes of acting conflicted, I'd say, OK, but please don't tell any other grown ups that I let you have them.

She is now 17 and likes more vegetables than I do.

If you're sneaking it in, it's kind of like admitting failure, but still trying to get those vitamins in.

heehe nomo, i used to do the same type of thing with my little sister! if she wanted something she wasn't supposed to have, or didn't want something she was i used to say "well COOL kids like/don't like ______"

worked like a charm! apparently, being a cool kid is very important when you are 4. she caught on eventually though...

as for hiding veggies, i think it's a good idea to get extra vitamins and nutrients in when kids flat out refuse to eat veggies. i don't think it's a substitute for trying to teach your kids healthy eating habits though. 

I try to talk my kiddies into eating veggies constantly. Sometimes, I don't "volunteer" information concerning foods that have veggies in them when it isn't obvious. The thing is, and I'm sure you've noticed this as well, as we grow, our taste changes. Things I absolutely hated as a kid, I really enjoy now. Squash, for instance. You couldn't pay me to even try squash. Now, I love it. The same goes for most healthy foods. I currently eat much healthier than I used to, and I do it by choice. As for now, I'll jump at the chance to sneak some extra veggies into my kids' stomachs.

My poor son avoids green foods like the plague. I cook 'em and he wrinkles his nose. My daughter isn't as bad, though, she doesn't rejoice at the thought of eating broccoli and cheese. I add cheese because frankly, it's good. And with hopes that the cheese will eventually get the kids interested.

Just because you teach your kids healthy eating habits, doesn't mean that they are going to practice what you preach. My kids know that veggies are healthy and other things not so much. Does that mean that they always choose veggies? Absolutely not. So far, two will eat broccoli, with ranch dressing, one will eat carrots only with peanut butter, and three of them will eat corn on the cob. Even the baby, who used to love pea baby food, is starting to gag on it now and only wants to eat the fruity flavored baby foods.

For the kids, I will sneak it in whenever I can. I will trick them whenever I can, and I will craftily manipulate them whenever I can. Sometimes that is the only way you can get them to try new foods. Kids like to be in control and sometimes, this can make it seems like it is their idea.

Original Post by momof2kd:

I try to talk my kiddies into eating veggies constantly. Sometimes, I don't "volunteer" information concerning foods that have veggies in them when it isn't obvious. The thing is, and I'm sure you've noticed this as well, as we grow, our taste changes. Things I absolutely hated as a kid, I really enjoy now.

Ohhhhh yeah!!!! Duh! I don't know why that didn't occur to me. Ok, so if they don't care for it now, sneak it in if they don't like it but maybe eventually they'll come around. I hope there's still a chance my kids (if ever I have any) will be veggie lovers. Even the best laid plans aren't always without failure, eh?

trendstudent, my oldest son used to eat all sorts of things when he was a toddler. He used to eat real food. Then one day, he just decided he didn't like anything. I notice this happening with his younger brother as well. He used to eat lots of things, and now he'll have apples one day and the next day he says, "I don't like apples." and he'll refuse to eat them. Kids like to be in control of what they eat, and they decide what they like and don't like. The more you push veggies, the more they will say they don't like them. Thats in my experience anyway! So even if they start out as veggie lovers, it may not stay that way!

I get around the whole furor by not feeding my kids veggies.

I have 3 kids and also do daycare.

I will tell everyone straight out to make their own baby food so when your children transition to adult food the tastes are the same.  Try jarred carrots then cook up some real ones and puree them and taste those

All my kids have veggies they dont like but its only 1 or 2 per child

brussel sprouts is my oldest favourite veggie, my middle lives  for cauliflour and greek salad and the youngest eats aspargus like crazy.

Personally and my doctor also agrees with me, some of the guidelines(and they are guidelines only)  being advised to parents now a days really sets up the babies for food aversion.

For very young and fussy children, I think it's best to begin with the "hidden" vegetables approach so they receive adequate nutrition with little to no complaint.

I'd always think it's important to encourage them, alongside the "hidden" vegetables, to try the things cooked and raw. Needs to be done, no matter what, or kids may avoid veg like the plague when older and there will be the day when you'll no longer be in charge of their food preparation.

When I've been looking after kids or babysitting and encountered veg they don't like, I always try to make it fun. Making the dips for some crudites and getting messy, then eating them with the crudites. Pizza faces. That sort of thing. And the younger, the better, though younger children (below three) have always been more receptive of new foods than those more in the 5-8 age range in my experience...

I have a lot of younger cousins that I've seen grow up. xD

I never hid veggies in my kid's meals. I understand though why some parents would because kid's can be very picky. I offered a variety of veggies ie, raw, steamed, in stir fry's etc. I think that if you make it a "big deal," it will be a "big deal." My son is 21 and my daughter is 17 and they still eat their veggies.

My kids like some veggies and despise others. I've never had much trouble with this. My 4th son did have a dislike for tomato based sauces but since I informed him that they helped fight cancer Ie. lycopene, he eats the tomato based sauces with a hearty appetite. *shrugs*

this is like that book that teaches parents how to "inncorporate" vegetables into the childs diet by adding things like pureed cauliflower in brownies.

BROWNIES??

okay, so its like the parents think they are doing something good by making their children eat brownies so that they may get a 1/4 serving of vegetables??

I can see putting veggies into a healthy fruit and yogurt smoothie to be a good  idea, but brownies? come on, that just seems rather like a bad idea in the long run.

"my mommy says brownies are good for you"

my daughter is now a pescatarian by her own choosing so i really have no complaints and if i had to do it over again, i'd do everything the same

i also did not give her any refined sugar when she was little

her grandma gave her some when she was 4 or else i would have waited longer

the contest between green beans and sugar cookies is not a fair fight

i too wonder how hiding veggies in brownies is going to affect a child's eating habbits?!?!?

luckily my son eats pretty much anything i cook! every now and then he has his days where he doesnt want a certain item.... and not just veggies.... some days he doesnt like spagetti, other days he doesnt like chicken..... but he pretty much eats what he is given.... part of that i think is because he is aware there is no other option.... you eat what i have prepared or you dont eat! my son has always opted to eat..... not sure what i would do with a kid who constantly called my bluff and opted out of eating?!?!?

What I REALLY don't understand is the people that have to hide veggies and other good-for-you things in their husband's food. I read recipes that say, "don't let your husband in the kitchen while cooking, or he may not eat dinner!" Or the men that won't eat it if it's not meat and potatoes. I think that rigidity says a lot about them as a person.

To the OP - only someone who doesn't live with a fussy eater asks this (and I know as I thought I'd be king of the kitchen).

My 5yo eats just about anything and is right into the healthy food thing but the 2yo will NOT eat anything he doesn't want.  He eats next to no junk but if he decides he doesn't want it then God himself couldn't shift him.

I don't know if this is much help, BUT...

I was one of those kids who would not, could not and did not eat veggies growing up. Not a one...the only thing I would eat was potatoes, I would literally pick the celery out of chicken and star soup and the tomatoes out of pasta sauce. And I would gag if I had to eat them. My mom laughs about it now, because I did learn to love my veggies, and I eat lots now. Her pediatrician told her not to worry about it, and just double my vitamins up, since that is really what a growing body needs from veggies anyway. (TWO Flintstones dino vitamins, what more could a kid want!?) In any case, I am now 25 and I turned out okay, and totally healthy to boot. I am an exceptionally healthy eater now, and I still take vitamins everyday. 

If I ever have kids, I will probably obess and try to make them eat vegetables, but I don't really think it is the end of the world if they don't!

my concept on this is a little old-school, but it's my way of thinking regardless.

if you put veggies on the plate with the rest of the meal, and it's all they're going to get for dinner regardless...they'll eventually eat it.  that's the way i was raised.  if i didn't want my veggies, that's fine...see you in the morning for breakfast.  eventually, i got hungry and would eat them.

still love veggies to this day.  one of the only people i know who crave them.

Original Post by emilyd22222:

What I REALLY don't understand is the people that have to hide veggies and other good-for-you things in their husband's food. I read recipes that say, "don't let your husband in the kitchen while cooking, or he may not eat dinner!" Or the men that won't eat it if it's not meat and potatoes. I think that rigidity says a lot about them as a person.

 Heh.  My dad won't eat a veggie that isn't peas, carrots or tomatoes.  (Okay, maybe onion cooked into stews/soups/sauces, but that's it.)  We don't hide veggies from him though.  Way too much work.  We just make them for us and he cooks his own peas/carrots.