how to get kids to eat their veggies

In my house its never been a struggle to get my kids to eat their veggies. They have their preferences and I do honor that but sometimes creating a recipe that has hidden veggies is the way to go. One day, my son who always loved greens, decided that they were not good anymore
so I hide leafy greens in recipes now. And some days the kids just arent in the mood for what I made or their tastes change so I always offer one of their fall back veggies. I have some ways to make sure that along w/ lots of healthy fats and proteins, the veggies are part of their daily diet.
-snack time- cut up their favorite veggies and only offer these.
my kids like carrots, red peppers, radishes, and cucumbers
also when we are out and about we bring cut up veggies or homemade nut bars.
-chop spinach, kale, swiss chard or any other green, along w/ celery, garlic, onions, peppers,
ginger etc. very finely in food processor and add to ground turkey, beef, bison, or chicken.
Add in binders(eggs and sprouted bread crumbs , coconut flour, or almond meal) salt and
pepper and spices. Make patties, meat loafs, or meat balls.
-serve your veggie first. Before we sit down to eat, the kids and I eat either lightly steamed
asparagus, broccoli, or cauliflower w/ lots of raw garlic and butter, EVOO, and/or coconut oil.
-serve a salad as a meal. Do not assume that kids will not eat salads. You have to be
creative and try different combos. My kids love cucumber, red cabbage, onion, garlic, radish
and tomato w/ lemon juice and EVOO(extra virgin olive oil) Also they love feta, walnuts,
garlic, onion, tomato and radish w/ lemon juice and EVOO. One more favorite is chick peas,
garlic, onion, lemon juice and EVOO. The trick for all of these salads is to chop the veggies really
small.
-childrens tastes change and mature so revisit veggies(and any other food) on their "I do not
like list"
-puree veggies in tomato sauce and use on homemade pizza or over meat or pasta.
-use steam cauliflower in place of potatoes for mashed or roasted potatoes.
-and last but not least.....make them taste good!!! Do not be afraid of fat(except processed fats
like most veggie oils, margarines,and wanna be butter subs) Load up your salad w/ EVOO
or a homemade mayo dressing, put lots of EVOO, butter, or coconut oil on your steamed
veggies. Roasted veggies tastes so good(anything roasted really) that I bet even the pickiest
eater will like them. Add lots of veggies to soups, stews, stuffings, sauces and anything else that
you might make.

raw chocolate brownies

These are really great!! You can spread on a dish or a pyrex glass container or you can roll them into truffles.
1.5 cups raw walnuts
2/3 cup raw cocoa or unsweetened cocoa powder
12 dates soaked in warm water until soft
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp raw honey or more to taste
water if needed to thin batter a little
In a food processor, blend walnuts until very finely chopped. Add dates, vanilla, coconut, cocoa, and honey. Pulse until a fairly smooth mixture forms. If batter is too thick, then add water by the teaspoon until all is mixed well. Enjoy as truffles or as brownies.
-truffles: using a tsp., make balls and refrigerate to harden. You can roll in finely chopped nuts, coconut or cocoa. You also can eat as is!!!
-brownies: spread mixture on a parchment lined plate or pyrex container. Refrigerate until cold and hardened a bit. Remove the parchment paper and cut brownies into any shape you like.

salmon burgers

1 salmon fillet(1/2 of a salmon)
1/4 cup coconut flour
3 eggs
1 small onion finely chopped
2-6 cloves of garlic(I go for 6) finely chopped
1/2 red pepper finely chopped
1 handful of parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp coconut oil
In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add veggies and coconut oil and cook for about 10 minutes. While veggies are cooking, process salmon(raw) in a food processor. Chop until fine. Put parsley, eggs, lemon zest, s and p in w/ the salmon and pulse until combined. Now add the coconut flour and pulse a few times. Transfer mixture to a plate or bowl. After veggies are cooked(soft and translucent) Let them cool for a few minutes, then mix them into the salmon mixture. Make patties and grill nor fry.
-place them on a platter and squeeze lemon juice over the patties. Drizzle w/ EVOO and decorate w/ fresh parsley.

popsicles

I am sure by now you all now that I do not give my kids packaged foods. Maybe on occasion, I will give them a store bough coconut milk ice cream sweetened w/ agave syrup, but 99% of the time their treats come right from my kitchen made by mama!! I strive to give them and my husband and myself, as much raw food as possible. So treats are usually raw cookies, raw dairy smoothie, fruit, grain free baked goods(I use almond flour or coconut flour) and stevia or raw honey are the only sweeteners I use.
When the nice weather comes around, I start making popsicles. I found some molds that are BPA free(safer plastic) You can buy them on amazon.com. Tovolo popsicle molds.
You can put just about anything in them. My basic recipe goes like this:
-kefir or yogurt
-blueberries
fill mold 1/2 way w/ blueberries
add in yogurt or kefir
pop top on and freeze
You can do this w/ any type of fruit you like.
I also will blend up a smoothie and fill the molds w/ the mixture.
-raw cream
-raw egg yolk
-kefir, yogurt, or coconut milk
-fruit
-sometimes stevia
-vanilla extract
I always have this on hand during the nice weather months. When the neighborhood friends are getting the ice cream mans ice cream(if you can even call it that) my kids get their ice pops.

cauliflower pizza crust

I haven't tried this recipe yet put it looked great and I love morphing cauli into "mashed potatoes", rice and tatter tots. Why not pizza?
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
1 cup of riced cauliflower(a ricer can be bought at any home store- they are used to make mashed potatoes-if you dont have one then just process cauli in a food processor)
1 egg
1 cup organic mozzarella cheese shredded
3 tsp Italian seasoning
-line a cookie sheet w/parchment paper
-combine all ingredients and spread thin and into a circle
-bake 12-15 minutes
-remove pan and add sauce and toppings
-put back into the oven under the broiler until cheese melts and/or the toppings are heated through
--I got this recipe from primalbody-primalmind.com!!!

spinach kuku

This is my version of a Persian egg omelet. The eggs are more of a binder than a main ingredient. This can be used as a bread sub(green bread)
4 eggs
1 10 oz box of thawed chopped spinach(all excess water squeezed out)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp allspice(you can sub 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg)
1-2 cloves of crushed, chopped garlic
preheat oven to 350 degrees
-scramble eggs in medium sized bowl
-mix in salt, pepper, allspice, and garlic
-break apart spinach and mix into eggs
note: the mixture should be very thick and well, green!
-grease a round pie plate or a square pyrex baking dish(w/ butter or coconut oil) Or do as I do, place a piece of unbleached parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spread mixture into either an 8" circle or an 8" square(there is no sticking w/ this method and the kuku cooks faster.
-cook for 20-30 minutes- you want the kuku to be firm.
serving suggestions:
-put kuku on serving platter(either square or round- depending on the shape of your kuku) Mix up a handful of cilantro or parsley or any herbs you like. Drizzle w/ cold pressed, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon or lime, 1 chopped tomato, thinly sliced red onion, salt and pepper and optional(not for me-I love raw garlic!!) chopped clove of garlic. Place this delightful salad over your kuku and cut into wedges!
-use as a pizza crust- Cook your kuku according to the parchment paper method. Spread it real thin and cook until firm. Take out of oven and put on your favorite pizza toppings. Put back into oven under broiler until cheese melts and/or toppings are heated through!
-my favorite way to eat kuku-cold w/ a squeeze of lime juice!

coconut flour bread

This is the basic recipe for the coconut flour bread. You can turn this recipe into so many other creations. Leave out the honey if you are sugar free
6 eggs
1/2 cup butter, coconut oil, or ghee-melted
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS honey
3/4 cup coconut flour
Beat the eggs and add the dry ingredients. Add the melted butter and honey(if using raw honey
you will need to melt it w/ the fat-its very thick and sometimes hard) and mix well-pour in a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
This is a basic recipe. You can go sweet w/ the toppings or savory.
** delicious toasted, w/ butter and raw honey or all fruit spread
** cream cheese and tomatoes
**dry in a 150-200 degree oven- and use as a cracker
**use as a base for pizza

coconut flour parmesan bread

This is such a delicious creation and a great stand in for regular bread.
6 eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 TBS butter, coconut oil, or ghee-melted
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup grated parm cheese
1/2 tsp each- onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper
Beat eggs and add all dry ingredients in w/ them-mix. Add the melted butter and pour in a loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
** I love to slice the bread thin and toast. Then I spread lots of raw butter on them!!
This is grain free and low carb