Tags: Healthy Kids Hidden Veggies Quick Recipes
“Never give up. Never surrender!” (I’m a HUGE Galaxy Quest fan!) I’m also a huge fan of creating little foodies out of reluctant littles that only want to eat bland and boring foods. I am so proud of my own little foodies and how well they eat, but even I have trouble getting them to eat certain things. Green beans!
Green beans are the bane of my existence. When I first started introducing solids to Liev, I left green beans WAY down on the list. I don’t do green beans. My Grandma’s Thanksgiving table always had a green bean casserole on it and I just never saw the appeal. Slimy, soggy, canned beans in a gloopy sauce. The only part worth eating were the crunchy onions on top—I’d eat the onions and slide the rest on to my Dad’s plate. Thanks Dad!
Of course, wanting to be a good mother and lead by example, I eventually introduced green beans to Liev. He hated them! It didn’t matter how I prepared them; he wouldn’t touch them! I gave up. Why force it? He was eating so many other wonderful things so I really couldn’t complain if he snubbed green beans…and honestly, I was thankful. If he wouldn’t eat them, I didn’t have to cook them.
When I was pregnant with Silas, I read the book French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon, and it completely changed my life. It’s a MUST READ for any parent having a hard time getting their little ones to eat well. In one section of the book, the author discusses reintroducing foods after your little one has shunned them. She gave some examples of things her girls didn’t like, but when prepared another way, with a sauce, or cooked inside of something, her girls loved them.
I decided to test her theory. I figured the “combine it with something else” plan was a good idea for the green beans. I’d use cherry tomatoes! Liev loves cherry tomatoes. But simply tossing the wretched beans with some tomatoes wouldn’t be enough…my sneaky little boy would just pick out the tomatoes and leave the green beans behind. So, a sauce…a sauce would do the trick.
I spent some time scheming and decided that a cold salad would be the perfect disguise. I tossed the green beans and tomatoes in a simple vinaigrette and topped with a little shaved parmesan. We sat down for dinner and I watched him (casually because I didn’t want to draw attention to the scheme!) First thing he does is pick out, and eat, all the tomatoes. Bummer! There goes that theory. I turned my attention back to my own food and gave it up as a lost cause. THEN to my amazement he started eating the green beans!
I still don’t serve green beans often, but when I do Liev and Silas both clean their plates. I’m now a firm believer in reintroducing foods. It’s also worked with carrots, broccoli, and mango so far. And while neither one of my boys will eat leafy greens (no matter how I prepare them) I’m not giving up.
That’s the point: Don’t give up on a food because your littles reject it. They need to try it a few more times—prepared a few different ways—before they start to enjoy it. Never give up. Never surrender!
NOTES:
- If you’re having issues with green beans, make sure you always go with fresh green beans. Boil them until just tender (3-4 minutes) then submerge them in ice water to stop the cooking process. There’s nothing worse them soft, mushy green beans. Green beans should have a little bite to them.
- If you aren’t roasting your vegetables yet, DO IT! Roasting vegetables does something miraculous to them. Put your vegetable (roasted broccoli is my current favorite) on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt, toss, spread out into a single layer and roast in a 400° oven until starting to brown. The time will vary depending on the vegetable and your oven. Watch for browning.
- If you’re having trouble introducing a wider range of fruit, try making smoothies or popsicles. The smoothies were a huge hit for us because along with the bananas, mangos, blueberries and orange juice, I was able to sneak in ½ cup kale…a very sneaky way to reintroduce fruits AND get some leafy greens into their systems.
- The vinaigrette method worked well, and we’ve used it for a few vegetables. Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it:
Classic French Vinaigrette
- 1 Shallot, minced
- 3 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 Tbsp Honey (or maple syrup if your little one is until 1 year)
- Salt pepper, to taste
*I use glass mason jars because I always have them on hand
Put your shallot in the jar and add the vinegar. Let sit for 15 minutes or until the vinegar starts to break down the shallot. Add the remaining ingredients, put the lid on the jar and shake until fully combined (or whisk if you’re not using a lidded jar).
Keeps in fridge for one week.
