Sneaky hidden veggie recipes for kids

If your kid is a picky eater, mealtimes can be exhausting. It would be so much easier to let them have their favorite foods for every meal, but we as parents need to try our hardest to get as much nutritious food as we can into our children.

It is good to expose your kids to lots of different foods, but we don't want every meal to be a battle. Click on to discover some delicious dishes packed full of veggies that your kids will love!

You can call this delicious pumpkin soup whatever you like, but if you have fairy-tale-loving kiddos in your house, "Cinderella Soup" will probably be more of a success! Pureed soups are a great way to sneak lots of vegetables into your kids. It is best to stick to vegetables similar in color to not end up with a muddy-brown-looking soup.

To make this soup, simply chop up an onion, a few sweet potatoes, carrots, and some chunks of butternut squash (or canned pumpkin). Throw everything into a big pot, add some broth, and bring to a boil. When the veggies are soft, use a slotted spoon to place them in your blender. Next, add some broth; you can adjust the amount of broth, so the soup is as thick or runny as you like. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, and you are done!

Monster soup or witch soup, whatever cool name you come up with, it doesn't matter because you will be thrilled with all the greens you can sneak into your kids with this soup!

Chop up an onion, zucchini, broccoli, a couple of potatoes, and some kale or spinach. Feel free to add any green veggies you need to use up. Place all the vegetables in a big pot, cover in broth and boil until tender. Use a slotted spoon to place the veggies in a blender with some broth and puree until smooth. For more variety, you can add some soft cheese or cream to make it creamier. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

If you google "green monster smoothie," you will find many varieties and different recipes. However, for a basic green monster smoothie, you'll need two big handfuls of kale or spinach, 1 cup of milk, 1 banana, and 1 tbsp of peanut butter.

Blend it all up until very smooth and serve. The banana really masks the taste of the greens, and kids love the bright green color!

Much like the soups, the key to making appetizing smoothies is sticking to similar colored foods.

For this smoothie, your need: 1 orange, 1 cup of plant milk or water, 1 banana, 1/2 grated carrot. Blend until smooth, and enjoy! If you want it to be slushier, try freezing a peeled orange and a sliced banana in a zipper bag.

It is so easy to make a "cheese" sauce out of carrots and potato! It tastes delicious, and it is a genius way to get your little ones to consume more vegetables.
To make this vegan cheese sauce, you will need: 1 carrot, 1 potato, 1 small onion, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, and unsweetened plant milk.

Chop up the onion, potato, and carrot. Cover with water or vegetable broth and boil until tender. Place the vegetables and the broth in the blender, and blend until smooth. Next, add in 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast, salt, and smoked paprika to taste. Blend. If you need to add a bit more liquid, you can add some unsweetened plant milk or water. Adjust seasonings if needed, then pour over boiled elbow pasta and mix. Enjoy a healthy vegan mac n' cheese.

There are many different recipes out there to make a delicious, healthy, and creamy white sauce for your pasta. One of our favorites involves cauliflower!

Much like the "cheese" from the previous recipe, this recipe starts with: 1 onion, 1 potato, 1/2 small head of cauliflower, nutritional yeast, and plant milk. Chop up the veggies, and boil until tender. Then puree them with 1/2 cup of the broth/cooking water. Add nutritional yeast, unsweetened plant milk, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Blend until silky smooth. Serve poured over your favorite whole wheat pasta.

Who doesn't love a carrot muffin? Great for breakfast or as a snack, they are an excellent way to incorporate some fruits and vegetables into your children's snacks and meals.

We won't give you an exact recipe as a search for "healthy carrot muffins" will bring up plenty of results. Still, we suggest looking for recipes that include applesauce or crushed pineapple to reduce oil/butter in the recipe and increase the healthiness. Another tip is making double or triple batches to freeze the muffins to always have some on hand.

If you have a vegetable garden, you most likely have made zucchini bread at some point in an attempt to deal with an overabundance of the vegetable.

There are so many recipes out there, and the grated zucchini ends up becoming totally undetectable. Our favorite version uses cocoa powder and has chocolate chips, making it is a fantastic dessert you don't have to feel too guilty about!

Pumpkin puree is so versatile, and it is very hand to keep in your cupboard for baking and making pancakes.

To make pumpkin pancakes, first, mix all your dry ingredients together: 1 ¼ cups flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice,1/2 teaspoon salt. Then add the wet ingredients: 1 ⅓ cups milk, ¾ cup pumpkin puree, 4 eggs, 1/4 cup of oil or butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix well and cook the pancakes in a hot frying pan. When they start to bubble, flip them, and enjoy!

Most kids love tater tots, so why not try out making your own cauliflower tots and sneak some more nutrition in!
(Photo: By sunny mama)

First, grate one small head of cauliflower and place it in a cloth-lined colander to drain the excess water. Pick up the cloth and squeeze as hard as you can to get all that water out. Then, add some parmesan cheese, a couple of eggs, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Allow to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, and warm the oven up to 180ºC while you wait. Remove the dough from the fridge, and grab a small ball of the dough to make little cylinders, a tater tot shape. Place them on a parchment-covered baking sheet and bake until golden.

The process of making broccoli hashbrowns is almost the same as for making the cauliflower tater tots. The only difference is the use of broccoli and the shape.

Use a food processor to chop up a small head of broccoli until really finely chopped. Place in a cloth and squeeze out all the liquid you can. Then, add some grated cheddar cheese, a couple of eggs, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Allow to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, and warm the oven up to 180ºC while you wait. Remove the dough from the fridge, and grab a medium-sized ball of the dough and flatten it with your hands to make a hash brown shape. Place them on a parchment-covered baking sheet and bake until golden brown on both sides, flipping once halfway.

Hummus is a great way to sneak legumes into your child's diet. If you want to take your hummus game to the next level, try adding in some pureed vegetables!

When you are blending the chickpeas for the hummus, you can try adding:
-steamed beetroot will make a pretty purple hummus
-steamed peas for bright green hummus
-roasted red peppers for orange hummus.
There are plenty of recipes online, but all you need is chickpeas, tahini, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and water for a basic hummus. Blend until smooth and enjoy with breadsticks, crudités, or smear onto toasted bread.

Many children love hamburgers, so why not sneak some grated veggies in and make them a little healthier?

When you make your homemade hamburgers, try grating up a zucchini and a carrot and adding it with the minced meat. Another alternative is to add beet puree to the meat. Once the burger is cooked, the kids won't even notice the veggies hidden in one of their favorite meals!

Just like burgers, most kids love fries too! So take advantage of that love but try to broaden their horizons too but introducing them to new kinds of "fries."

Parsnips, sweet potatoes, even zucchini can be cut into fry shape and baked in the oven. Make sure to brush the veggie sticks with oil, sprinkle with salt and cook on a parchment-lined oven tray. Serve with ketchup, and you may be surprised by the vegetables you can get your kids to eat!

Veggie popsicles are a cool way to feed vegetables to your children in the summertime!

You will need fresh fruit and vegetables, a blender, and some silicone popsicle moulds. Some good combos are: grated carrot with orange and pineapple/green apple, kiwi, spinach/blueberries, strawberries, beetroot. You could also freeze the smoothie recipes in popsicle form. Use your imagination, and you will be surprised by the fun combinations you can come up with!

This is a very, very sneaky way to get some more veggies into your kids! Grab your favorite brownie recipe and try substituting the oil or butter for one cup of pureed beets.

You can buy pre-cooked beets to make this simple; just use a blender to puree until very smooth. Your brownies will be lower in fat, super moist, and have more vitamins in them thanks to the beetroot. And your kids will never be the wiser!

This avocado mousse recipe couldn't be easier or more delicious! You'll need the flesh of 2 ripe avocados, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, 1/4 melted dark chocolate, a dash of milk, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and 1/4 agave syrup.

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until silky smooth. Start with 1 tsp of milk and add more if it is too thick. Place the mixture into four bowls and chill for 20 minutes before serving. You can top it with cherries and shaved chocolate if you want to make it a fancy dessert!