12 Clever Ways to Hide Vegetables to Get Kids to Eat

It’s no secret that kids can be picky eaters, avoiding the “green stuff” in favor of starchy or sweet foods at meal and snack time. This kid-friendly lunch of burger, fries, macaroni and cheese and a frosty blueberry smoothie may not look like it, but it’s jam-packed with nutritional veggies, including spinach, cauliflower, squash, sweet potatoes and legumes. These unexpected ingredients will probably go unnoticed by pint-sized diners, but turn a kid-approved lunch into a vitamin-rich feast a parent can feel good about. Try these under-the-radar strategies for adding vegetables to the menu.

Smoothies are a great way to sneak nutrition into a child’s diet. If green in a color that is automatically rejected by your youngster, start with sweet, colorful ingredients like strawberries or blueberries before adding vitamin-rich veggies like spinach, kale or carrots to make a drink that appeals to kids and grown-ups alike.

Whether you make macaroni and cheese from scratch or go for the ubiquitous boxed stuff, stirring in a healthy dose of pureed cauliflower, squash or carrots is an easy way to add fiber and vitamins without detection.

Pureed vegetables like broccoli, zucchini, squash, carrots and bell peppers are virtually undetectable when added to spaghetti sauce and transform a bowl of pasta into a nutritional powerhouse kids are happy to eat.