Smoothie Recipes and Other Ways to Sneak Veggies into Meals

Besides the other suggestions, use blueberries. Not only do they taste great, they give the smoothie a pretty color. The good visual effect may make it more appealing.

I think you could add stevia to the smoothie - it's an all natural, zero calorie sweetener. I know it doesn't break them of the "sweet tooth" but it's a start and maybe you could gradually cut back.

I add spinach to spaghetti sauce, and you can do the same with pureed cooked eggplant, mushrooms and zucchini. I also add butternut squash to mac & cheese. You can add cauliflower puree to mac & cheese too. Rachael Ray makes a great mac & cheese with roasted cauliflower on top instead of bread crumbs. I found that roasting the cauliflower first and then pureeing some of it into the cheese sauce (made with whole wheat flour, milk and butter) worked great.

Jessica Seinfeld has 2 books out that deal with this whole issue - one is called "Deceptively Delicious" and I'm not sure of the other one. You could probably find them in the library and review them to see if they're worth purchasing.

We also combine spinach, onions & mushrooms into burgers. Especially with very lean meat (we like bison), you need to add something to add moisture into the burgers - so it works great.

When I steam vegetables, I save the water (full of vitamins) and use it when I make rice or couscous, which absorb all of the water. I freeze the water in small containers or ice cube trays and save it until I'm ready. My son also liked falafel a lot so I used the mix but added wheat germ, veggie water and frozen spinach (he thought it was parsley!) to stretch the mix and reduce the sodium & spices.

We also like gazpacho, made with tomato juice or V8 (low sodium) and pureed veggies, thickened with some wheat germ. Serve additional veggies to put on top. Kids like to make things out of a "salad bar" set-up, which works for gazpacho, tacos, and so on. I also make enchiladas with a lot of veggies all mixed inside with some cheese - I use refried beans spread on the center of the tortilla, followed by black and kidney beans, frozen corn & peas (they thaw in the oven), green peppers, drained frozen spinach (get rid of the water), cheese and anything else you want to hide in there. Fold over the 2 sides of the tortilla, secure with a toothpick, and cook on a baking sheet topped with a little sauce on top. You can use bottled enchilada sauce, or use tomato sauce flavored with a little cumin & coriander, and maybe a little more cheese. Serve with Spanish rice made with tomato sauce instead of water, or half of each.

Spinach for most can be kind of overpowering in a smoothie for the first time perhaps next time you can try using kale? I've used that and no one minded. Not to mention that's quite a big amount of fruits to use in a smoothie. Why not try keeping it simple so the natural sweetness of the fruit can pull through? Sweetening with honey is a great option, and a little will go a long way.

I've actually been able to get my autistic 5 year old to eat veggies through putting them in muffins and using agave nectar or no sweetener at all instead making them savory for example: zucchini, carrot, eggplant.

Hi! I consider myself a pro at this! haha... My favorite is what I call Green Mac & Cheese. It actually has no cheese ;-) Purree pistachios (a small handful for each serving), olive oil, and cooked greens (spinach, kale, collard greens all work), a little salt. Toss with pasta. YUM! My kids ask for this often! I also do smoothies every morning for breakfast. My favorite recipe is froz raspberries or blueberries, carrots, a really ripe banana, splash of lemon juice, ground flax seed, a spoonful of tahini, lots of greens (kale, spinach or collard), lots of water and ice if the fruit isn't frozen. I usually make a whole pitcher. My daughter (2) drinks it, my son used to drink them and then saw me put the greens in once and refuses to drink them anymore. He "doesn't like tree branches in his smoothies" ;-) Otherwise, it's really easy to hide veggies in pasta or pizza sauce. You just need to cut them up really, really small so they can't notice them/pick them out. If you like these ideas message me & I'll send you some more recipes. I cook vegan though so whole grains & veggies are pretty much all I do. I told my husband & kids if they want something else they will need to learn how to cook! So, they don't complain much :-)

I agree, too much stuff! I would pick two fruits, or even just one.

We like strawberries with vanilla yogurt, a little milk and some honey. It's good if you do strawberries & bananas too. Sometimes I add a scoop of ice cream. I know that's sugar, but we love it!

I also found that veggies can be good if they are prepared well. I do broccoli and homemade cheese sauce, carrots and caramelized onions etc. My daughter loves them!

Good luck!

It sounds great! All you need to do is add a small amount of sugar. Just a teaspoon will probably do. Or Stevia would probably work too. Then you can slowly cut back.

As far as sneaking veggies into meals, you could try the Sneaky Chef or Deceptively Delicious books. Check them out of your library to give them a try first.

Way too much going on in that smoothie, keep it simple. Add combinations of fruit that go well together and add a veggie or two. Examples: Strawberry + banana and add baby spinach. Peaches + mango and add kale. the fruit doesn't have to be fresh, frozen is great too! If it isn't sweet enough you can always add honey. There's no need to add milk AND yogurt just add either one. Plain greek yogurt is a great option, it makes the smoothie creamy and adds some protein.

For snacks, I make whole wheat banana bread & pumpkin bread (made into muffins), with ground flax seeds & wheat germ. Another mom here generously shared the recipes with me. I plan to cook & puree some carrots and try the pumpkin bread recipe with that instead of pumpkin.

For smoothies, this is the recipe I use:
1 cup milk (any kind of milk will work), or use 1 cup vanilla yogurt, or 1/2 cup milk & 1/2 cup yogurt)
*1/2 cup frozen berries (blueberries are good, and turn it a nice purple color--which masks the spinach) --- you can also use other fruits, like frozen mango, frozen peaches, etc.
*1/2 cup frozen ripe banana (the riper it is, the more natural sweetness it adds, and the less banana-y it tastes)
*1 handful of fresh spinach
*1 to 2 T instant pudding mix (we like chocolate), optional
*1 T honey or stevia, optional
*1 T ground flax seed, optional
*1 T wheat germ, optional
Pour in liquid ingredients (milk or yogurt) in blender. Add fruit, spinach, and optional ingredients if using. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately in bowls or cups with straws. Any extras, serve for breakfast the next day.

I also make a big batch of an adaptation of Jamie Oliver's "7 Veg Pasta Sauce" which we use on pasta, though not all the time. If you'd like it, just send me a message.

For Smoothies don't use ice. Use frozen fruit insted and to smooth it out usevanilla yogurt and milk. To stay clear of sugar, use honey and a touch of cinnamon. To hind other veggies some things to try are parsnips or cauliflore in mash potatos and spinach in pesto

i've found that adding pineapple (usually the tidbits from trader joe's) really makes it sweet! i hide the spinach with extra strawberries to keep it pink and mask the risk of bitterness.

Why do you need to hide them? Start with having letting them help pick the food, fix the food. It will take some experiments but yes kids can & will eat veggies by choice. My boys love broccoli, asparagus, carrots, potatoes, etc. don't give up. It will happen!