Eight Easy Ways to Get Your Family to Eat Vegetables by Cathe Olson
There are children who devour plates of crunchy salads and gobble up steamed broccoli, like it was candy, but what do you do if your kids refuse to eat anything green? Children need the vitamins and minerals vegetables provide. Vegetables from the Cabbage Family are exceptional sources of calcium, vitamins A and C, and beta-carotenes, especially kale and collards. Most kids (and many adults) don't like the strong taste and texture of these leafy green vegetables. Rather than trying to get your child to eat food she doesn't like, fix the vegetables in a way that she will enjoy. Don't load your child's plate with huge helpings that may be overwhelming. Give him a little and let him ask for more. Encourage your child to taste each dish but don't force her to eat more if she doesn't like it. Best of all, set a good example. If you are eating healthy, chances are your children will also.
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Grow Them
Plant a vegetable garden. Even a small plot or a few containers will work. If you haven't gardened before, choose plants that are easy to grow and provide a big yield, like green beans, zucchini, lettuce, kale, or tomatoes. Let your child pick out the seeds and help with the planting, watering, and harvesting. Last summer, my two-year-old daughter would beg for a green bean every time we walked past the garden.
Mince Them
A food processor is a great investment. It can puree baby food, mix up cookie dough, and mince heaps of vegetables in seconds. Place washed and dried greens, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, etc. in your food processor with the metal blade and chop very fine. Minced vegetables can be added to soups, rice, mashed potatoes, spaghetti sauce, pesto, pizza, pasta dishes, scrambled tofu, potato or pasta salads ? just about anything. Add them to food you know your family likes. They'll hardly notice a taste difference. Once vegetables are minced, they will keep only a few days in the refrigerator. No problem - make a big batch and freeze it. Lay the minced vegetables on a baking sheet and place in freezer. After a couple of hours, transfer to a freezer container. They will keep frozen for months. Just take a handful out anytime you need it.
Dip Them
Kids love to dip things. Give them raw or steamed carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumber slices, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower. Use hummus, salad dressing, nondairy cream cheese, peanut or almond butter, tahini, nondairy yogurt, mayonnaise, pureed tofu with herbs, or even ketchup for dipping.
Top Them
Sprinkle a little grated vegan cheese on your child's vegetables and watch them disappear. Even a little Earth Balance or sesame oil can make a big difference. When I was young, my Mom's crumb topping was such a hit, my siblings actually fought over brussel sprouts.
Crumb Topping: Melt 2 tablespoons Earth Balance or olive oil and mix in 1/2 cup breadcrumbs. Crumble over vegetables.
Puree Them Into Soups
If your children won't eat chunks of vegetables in their soup, puree it in your blender or food processor. Try blending your favorite vegetable or bean soup. You'll be surprised how delicious they taste. My kids call them smoothie soups and like to drink them from a cup. Pureed soups are a soothing way to nourish a sick child who doesn't want to eat.
Bake Them
Bake Zucchini Muffins, Squash Bread, Carrot Cake, Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Pie using whole grain flour and a small amount of agave nectar, maple syrup, or sugar to sweeten. Try savory goodies like Carrot Muffins or Zucchini Cornbread. Add minced veggies to bread, pizza crusts, rolls, muffins, etc.
Add Them to Burgers
Another great way to use minced veggies is to mix them into tofu burgers or a bean/nut loaf. Make veggie burgers from whole grains and vegetables. Eat them like regular burgers with all your favorite trimmings. Quick Veggie Burgers: Mix 2 1/2 cups cooked rice or millet with 1 grated carrot, 1/2 cup minced kale or collards, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds mixed with 3 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Mix thoroughly by hand. Add some breadcrumbs or more water if necessary to get them to stick together. Shape into patties and fry in small amount of oil until both sides are brown and crisp. Burgers can also be baked at 400° on an oiled baking sheet about 10 minutes per side.
Drink Them
Vegetables in smoothies? You won't even taste them. Try this combination - I call it the Everything Smoothie: Place 1 1/2 cups apple juice, 1/2 apple (cored and sliced), 1/2 orange (peeled), 1/2 raw sweet potato or 1 carrot (sliced), 1/4 cup chopped kale or cabbage, 1 banana. Puree together. Makes 2 to 3 servings.
Simply Natural Baby Food and 
. She has studied vegetarian, macrobiotic, and whole foods nutrition and cookery. Cathe cooked at natural foods restaurants and delis in the San Francisco Bay and Central Coast areas of California before settling down with her husband Gary to raise a family. She works at home while caring for her daughters Aimie and Emily. 
