1. Make a Sushi sandwich! Flatten out a single peice of bread and add the normals: ham/turkey, lettuce, condiments.. but also incorporate maybe a strip of cucumber or a strip of carrot. Roll it and cut in half like a sushi roll! Kids will love how cool it looks
2. Hide veggies into the kids favorites! I personally love adding brocolli into Macaroni Cheese. This cheesy creation is great for lunch or even a side dish for dinner
3. Veggie of the week. Try introducing a new veggie each week. Let's say this week is cucumber week; we could make a cucumber salad by slicing the cucumber then topping it with italian dressing. This would be a great treat to eat while reading Cool as a Cucumber by Sally Smallwood.
4. Prepare veggies different ways. If your child hates raw carrots have her try them steamed, roasted or sauted in a sauce.
5. Shish kabobs. These are great for summer grilling! Offer kids a variety of different veggies and let them choose and assemble which they would like on their kabob.
6. Breakfast is the perfect time! Generally, veggies aren't associated with breakfast but why? Omelettes are a great way to incorporate veggies into a tasty and pretty creation! Try alvacado, spinach or mushrooms.
7. Meet a Produce professional. If your lucky to have friendly produce workers at your local grocery, have them get involved! They can teach kids how to pick fresh veggies and sometimes even tell them cool facts. Let's face it, kids sometimes listen to strangers over their parents so why not use it to our advantage?!
8. Growums. These come in a complete kit of everything you need to grow a few veggie garden. They make it fun by creating a whole online community with characters such as Brok lee, Frank Cilantro and Bella Peppa for kids to explore. Kids will love learning about the different characters, growing and caring for their garden, and then eating their harvest!!
9. Make fun shapes! Cut the carrot into a circle or the bell pepper into a small rectangle strip. Not only is this a fun way to learn and indenitfy shapes, but it is yummy too!
10. Introduce veggies early! This is the last but definetly not the least! If you introduce a variety of veggies early in life, kids are more likely to eat them. Remember, you are their guide the first few years so guide them in the right direction.
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Peas and Thank You blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, Click here!
About Peas and Thank YouPeas and Thank You is a collection of recipes and stories from a mainstream family eating a not-so-mainstream diet. It's filled with healthy and delicious versions of foods we’ve all grown up enjoying, but with a Mama Pea twist—no meat, lots of fresh ingredients and plenty of nutrition for growing Peas. From wholesome breakfasts to mouth-watering desserts, there’s plenty here to satisfy the pickiest Peas in your life. It’s easier than ever to whip up crowd-pleasing meals that will have the whole family asking for, “more, Peas.” Sarah Matheny's delicious recipes and entertaining stories draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to her blog, peasandthankyou.com each month, where she makes raising a vegetarian family easy and fun. She is the author of “Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love.”
