Sometimes we have to motivate our children to eat their salads. They’re not big fans. But serving it this way made it really fun and they ate it up even without any dressing! So my kids ate tons of extra veggies and I didn’t have to cook!

Salad Buffet Dinner

It’s all about presentation. Really! My kids thought this looked so cool, they didn’t even fret about eating a bunch of salad. You could use a bunch of separate bowls, but I used a platter that hid the lettuce (not my kids favorite) underneath all the yummy toppings. The base I used was romaine lettuce and baby spinach.

My daughter Audrey prepared all the toppings, so I didn’t really have to do anything. Just washed and dried the veggies and gave them to her to chop. Her favorite thing to use is the peeler.

When my kids help in the kitchen, they are a lot more likely to eat what they make than what I put in front of them, especially if they get to choose what goes into their food.

I asked Audrey what veggies she would like and then put a few more in there. She was really excited about this dinner!

Funny what a little fancy platter and a variety of toppings will do to make kids eat their salad. What do you cook when you don’t feel like cooking?

The post Cooking with Kids When you Don’t want to Cook: Salad Buffet Dinner first appeared on True Aim.

Three helpings; that’s how much of this soup my 3-yr-old ate the other night.  I kept saying, “Are you sure you want more?”  I should just keep my mouth shut, right?!

Maybe the kids were just in really great moods that day because my 6-yr-old also asked if she could help peel potatoes for the soup!  “Of course you can!”  I like to think it is my cooking that is just that good.  

I love this recipe for Cheddar Broccoli Soup,  but my family needed more substance and less gas.  Plus, I like to make soup in one pot to ease the pain of after meal clean up.  Isn’t it funny how things change?  Ten years ago I could have cared less how many dirty dishes I made.  Now, I use the same drinking glass two days in a row and test out a recipe a dozen times so I don’t have to use more than one pot!

Cheddar Veggie Soup

Kid Friendly Cheddar Veggie Soup Recipe

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Creamy, Cheesy, and your kids will get a good serving of veggies!

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoon Butter
• 2 Medium Potatoes chopped
• 2 Carrots chopped
• ½ Onion chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Flour
• 2 Cups Chicken Broth warmed in the microwave 1 minute
• ½ Cup Celery chopped (Optional)
• ½ Cup Cooked Broccoli Florets, Chopped or Pureed
• 2 Cups Milk warmed in the microwave
• 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the butter in a medium stock pot and put in the carrots, potatoes, and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes then pour in the warm broth and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 10 more minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
4. Pour in the warmed milk, broccoli and celery, season with salt and pepper, and bring back to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar until it is melted. If the soup is too thick, add more liquid. If it is too thin, return it to low heat and simmer with the lid off until it thickens.
5. Serve with crackers, toast, or rolls.

3.2.1275

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The post Kid Friendly Cheddar Veggie Soup Recipe first appeared on True Aim.

Recently, we’ve made it a priority to include more vegetables in our diets.  This is the perfect way to do just that!  Plus, rice is such an easy dish for children to learn to cook by themselves.  So, I can provide a nutritious side-dish while teaching my daughter how to cook!

Ingredients:

4 Cups of Liquid – I use 2 cups water and 2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

2 Tbls Butter (optional)

2 Cups of White Rice

1 Cup of Veggies – I use 1/2 cup of red bell and 1/2 cup of frozen broccoli

How to Make 20 Minute Easy Veggie Rice

First, place a large pot over high heat and pour your liquids in.  I’ve used a variety of different broths based on what I had on hand at the time.  You can simply use water, but I like the extra flavor the broth adds.

Next, add in some butter.  This helps the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan and gives it a rich flavor, but is totally optional.

When your liquid comes to a boil, add in your rice and cover.  Reduce the heat to Low and cook for 12 minutes.  Add in your veggies and cook for 5 more minutes.

You’ll love the flavor of this rice.  It is one of those side dishes that is great on its own.  I’ve made this countless times for dinner parties because it is easy to double.  If you’re short on time, you could simply add frozen peas to your rice for the last 3-5 minutes of cooking time, just to make sure your children are getting those veggies.  Try it with Baked Herb Crusted Salmon.  Enjoy!

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The post Kid Friendly Recipes: Easy Veggie Rice first appeared on True Aim.

Now don’t get me wrong, I would definitely force my kids to eat their veggies if they flat out refused, but because I forced them to like vegetables I’ve never had to cross that bridge.

3 Easy Ways to Get Your Kids to Like Veggies

So, how did I get my kids to acquire a genuine love for vegetables? First, I feed them a large variety of vegetables at a very early age.  

Very young children, like babies and one-year-olds,  are easier to feed because they are unaware of all the amazing food possibilities.  So, if it isn’t already too late, you should start preparing your own vegetable smoothies as soon as your baby starts eating baby food.

If your children are older and have already decided against veggies, you will have to implement Plan B.

Employ the following truth: all food tastes better when you are hungry.  No I don’t starve my children, but I do place vegetables on their plates at the beginning of each meal before any other food item is brought out.

Most parents make a single cardinal mistake.  They fill their child’s plate with everything at the beginning of the meal when their little one is the hungriest.  While vegetables taste great, they may not look as good as let’s say Mac-N-Cheese, strawberries, and buttered bread.

So, when their child is so hungry he will literally eat anything, he digs into his Mac-N-Cheese, next his buttered bread, then his strawberries, and finally when he is so full he could burst, he starts eyeballing his veggies.

Bad news.  Even if cake was the last thing on his plate it would not be as warmly received as it would have been had it been the first thing he ate.

Just by serving the veggies first, when your children are the hungriest, you will greatly improve the odds that your children will eat them without a fuss.

Stick to Your Guns, It REALLY Works!

If all that fails, you are just going to have to dig in your heels.  Ultimately, kids need the nutrients so passing on veggies cannot be an option.  You will need too come up with some creative forms of motivation to get the ball rolling.  You don’t want to go negative, but let’s be honest, kids can like veggies if eating veggies helps them avoid punishments.

The good news is that if you follow through in the short term, you will save you and your children a lot of heartache later.  That is because once your kids starting eat vegetables on a regular basis, whether forced or not, they will begin to acquire a taste for them.

I have successfully introduced vegetables to several children other than my own.  Every one of them despised veggies in the beginning and now every one of them loves them.  I simply put the veggies on their plates and informed them that they could not eat anything else until the veggies were all gone (usually just a small bite or one carrot in the beginning).

It did take them a while the first few times and I was forced to resort to timeouts a few times, but ultimately their tastes were acquired.  Now vegetables are a coveted food item – just below strawberries. I can’t tell you how many bags of baby carrots I go through each week; ridiculous! lol

I hope these ideas help!  If you have some suggestions of your own, please leave a post below.

Linking up Here

The post 3 Ways to Get Your Children to Like Vegetables first appeared on True Aim.