But, but, but I don't like veggies Mom!

That's ok. Your Mom is reading my blog lil one. You are about to be duped! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

My kids refused veggies. They would eat them off the vines in the garden no problem but, once on a plate it was NOT happening. Ya, kids suck when it comes to meal time. So, what's a Momma (or Dadda) to do? Get sneaky! Kids are sneaky... we all were at one point in our life so, tap into that inner child and think hmmm what would my Mom do if she was cool? (Eating veggies at gun point is never fun so you have to think coolness)

SHRED 'EM!
Yes, get out your food processor (or cheese grater if you got one) and shred those veggies and fruits! But do not do this in front of the kids!

I take zucchini's and summer squash (the yellow lookin' zukes) and I shred 'em up! I then put 1 cup or 2 per freezer bag and freeze 'em! They stay good frozen for about a year and a bit and I add this to cakes, cookies, chili, spagetti, soups... they go transparent when cooked like this and BOOM something becomes extra healthy! Chocolate cakes are amazing at hiding veggies!

Carrots... shred shred shred! I am serious! Carrots in a chocolate cake... I told my boys that it must have had "gold chocolate" in the flour of the cake! Suddenly, the cake becomes something awesome to eat. Kids react the way you react, think buried treasure/pirate but without the growling voice. lol

Broccoli. Ya, I know a lot of kids don't eat it and they won't especially if you call it BROCCOLI! OMG that word to a kid is intimidating and gross. We never ate broccoli. We ate "Little Trees". My kids saw the plants in the garden looked like little trees so, they associated what I was cooking with something from the garden. It was the one thing they would eat... but "Only eating the leafy parts Mom, you aren't supposed to eat the tree trunk!" was Jake's declaration when he was 7. I didn't care. He was eating broccoli. Mom 1. Kid 0. :) Now cut your little trees smaller. The big chunks are too intimidating and LOOK LIKE BROCCOLI! Make them look like little trees instead!

Carrots. I called carrots "sun sticks". My kids couldn't talk as toddlers but, they understood every word out of my mouth! So I called carrots sun sticks and told the kids lepherchans collected them from the base of rainbows. They like lepherchauns so they were cool with that explaination. Once Bill was 8 we called them carrots and I used to serve them carrots cut in slices with a bit of honey. Natural and cheap and good :)

Cut your veggies to look like french fries! Why? Because kids like sticks! And with a little dip anything is edible! My favorite dairy free dip... Honey mixed with some dijon mustard. Sweet and spicy! Or some thai chili sauce with some mayonnaise! Looks like ketchupy dressing but it is a dip!

Once you have been able to sneak some extra "goodness" into their diets, try making a veggie packed chili! Corn, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans and serve it with nachos. The kids will eat it like salsa and chips and BOOM you win again... please do your happy dance in the other room away from the kids so they don't know they were duped yet again!

I WANT CHIPS!!!

No problem. Here is a SUPER AWESOME trick. You know the side of your cheese grater that is a slicer... its about to get a work out! (Or use your food processor like I do, I am lazy, I admit it) Wash carrots, small beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams (yes they are different from sweet potatoes) and scrub em down GOOD... no dirt or freaky things on them ok? Now thinly slice them in the processor or the cheese grater thingy, cutting them with a knife they are too thick and won't cook!
now heat up the deep fryer or oil in a deep pot on the stove (I never use more than a liter of oil at a time) and then deep fry those veggies, NO COATING just make chips.
Serve with a little dip and they will eat them! If Ty will eat them anyone will! lol

Hope these ideas help you find ways to get sneaky and out think your kiddos. There is hope! Bill and Jake are teenagers and gladly eat vegan meals with no complaining.

Happy faking folks!