I talk to moms all the time and I am constantly asking them what is the biggest struggle with their kids eating habits. So many of them say that they wish they could get them to eat more veggies! Fruits tend to be more easily accepted by kids I feel like as they are naturally sweet and taste great to them! Although, I do know some kiddos that we need to try and sneak fruits in too… but we will talk about that in another post! For right now, let’s focus on the veggies. Let’s even narrow it down more than that… not all veggies, the potato!! Why the potato of all the veggies, you ask? I think because it is a great vehicle to use to get your kids to eat other veggies, it is a great veggie on it’s own, it is a beautifully versatile starch and it can be completely swapped out!!I love using veggies to pack more veggies and to “fake-out” the kids into thinking it is a different veggie. To them, it is just a yummy dinner that mama made… to you, it is a huge win!!
There are three starches that I love to either mix veggies into or swap out completely. The three easiest starches to add veggies to or completely make with veggies are pasta, potatoes and rice. Now, I know what you are again thinking… isn’t a potato a vegetable! Well, technically, yes… but it is also a starch and we do not want too many starches on our plate at once. So, we can use it to add to or sub out.
Let’s talk potatoes
Potatoes are amazing veggies full of vitamin C, fiber, potassium and overall they are delicious almost any way you skin them! Potatoes are also a great vehicle for adding veggies in and a great way to do so that the kiddos will love is making a baked potato bar. This is a simple, easy way to get the kiddos involved not only in the building of their own potato, but in the prep of the meal. In my experience anytime the kids have some type of involvement in the making of the meal, they are more likely to partake in the enjoying of the meal. Thus trying new things and eating more veggies!! You can also serve your baked potato bar with vegetarian chili instead of regular beef chili and that will get lots of veggies packed in.
Baked Potato Bar
Ingredients
- 4 potatoes wrapped in foil and baked
- 1/2 cup sour cream or try plain Greek yogurt for a protein boost
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or whatever is your families favorite
- 1/2 cup broccoli blanched, diced
- 1/2 cup mushrooms use assorted, wild mushrooms and lightly saute
- 1/2 cup bell peppers use assorted colors and dice or julienne
- 2 cups vegetarian chili see recipe
- 1/3 cup bacon bits
- 1/2 cup diced avocado or guacamole
- 2-3 green onions chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Wrap your potatoes in foil and bake them until they are fork tender about 1hr on 375 degrees.
- While the potatoes are baking, get the kids in the kitchen and start chopping and fixing up all of the toppings. Let the kids bowl up, let them chop,(even if it is just a plastic knife). Let them make some topping suggestions that they want. It does not have to be on this list.
- Let the potatoes cool slightly, enough to where you can handle them without a towel. Cut the potatoes down the center and squeeze the ends to fluff the inside.
- Serve with all of the bowls of toppings and let everyone go to town on their favorite version of the ultimate baked potato! Enjoy!
Vegetarian Chili
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 1/4 cups yellow onion chopped
- 1 1/2 cups red bell peppers chopped
- 3 tbsp garlic minced
- 3 serrano peppers stemmed, seeded and minced
- 1-2 zucchini(depending on size) small diced
- 3 cups corn kernels cut from the cob or frozen
- 2 1/2 lbs portobello mushrooms stemmed, cleaned and cubed
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 6 large tomatoes peeled, seeded and diced
- 4 cups black beans cooked or canned, rinsed and drained
- 1-22 oz tomato sauce can
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- green onions chopped for garnish
Instructions
- In a large, heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, both peppers and garlic and cook until soft, stirring for about 5 minutes. Add zucchini, corn and mushrooms and cook until soft, about another 10 minutes. The liquid will begin cooking out and the edges of the pot should begin to slightly brown.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne, cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and stir well. Add the beans, tomato sauce and vegetable stock, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Let it cook together for about 35-45 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro and check the seasoning. Adjust if needed. Serve immediately or can be reheated. Enjoy!
There are also a lot of ways you can “sub” out or “stretch” your potatoes to add in some extra veggies and cut the starches. The most obvious would be cauliflower mash or mashed potatoes cut with a little cauliflower. This is a creamy way to make the swap and get the kids cauliflower all while they are thinking they are just enjoying yummy mashed potatoes.
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower whole head separated into florets
- 1 garlic whole bulb
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoons thyme fresh chopped
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Slice about 1/4" from the head of garlic and drizzle olive oil over the exposed cloves. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil and roast for 40-50 minutes, until soft. Remove from oven and cool until you can handle it.
- Meanwhile, set a vegetable steamer into a pot or saucepan with a lid. Add an inch of water to the pot and fill the steamer basket with the cauliflower florets. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Cook cauliflower until very tender (so that when you pierce it with a knife it goes in and comes out easily without catching), about 10 minutes.
- Transfer cauliflower to a food processor. Squeeze the individual cloves of roasted garlic into the cauliflower. Add the thyme and secure the lid on the food processor. Pulse the cauliflower mixture until there are no lumps and it's smooth like mashed potatoes. This may take a few minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
You can also swap out this mash celery root, rutabaga, turnips, parsnips, or Jerusalem artichokes. If you don’t mind changing the color you can also swap in carrot for additional sweetness, beets or even zucchini.
You can utilize most of the vegetables above to also swap out the french fry! I know, I know, that is almost un-American of me. How dare I want to swap out the french fry!! Yet, if you bake them instead of fry them and use zucchini, sweet potato, carrot, asparagus, green beans or even avocado, you can swap the spud and make amazing “fries” that will help get the kids trying their veggies. Especially if you make them with a really yummy dip!! If your kids are anything like mine, they will eat almost anything with dip!!
**Chef’s tip-you can swap out the potatoes completely in your potato bar and do all sweet potatoes or you can add them in. Also, potatoes are great and we don’t want to loose them completely, add them with your veggies to a lot of things and the kids will really love it!Â
Enjoy!
