Does your child not eat vegetables? You are in good company because it is a problem that thousands of parents face almost daily. And the whims at the table risk ruining the serenity of one of the few moments a day when the family is all reunited.
How To Make Children Eat Vegetables
Let’s start with some tips to entice the little ones to make some nice bites of spinach and company.
- Parents set a good example: “One of the main reasons why vegetables do not love children is that the parents themselves do not set a good example – explains the expert – If every meal were always served a course of vegetables, such as it should be, children would see it as a food that cannot be done without “.
- Offer it to vegetables , do not love children, you savor everything with more flavor, do not permanently relegate vegetables towards the end. A patrimonial for appetizers can be a good solution “.
- Quality is important: “Think of the taste and scent of a vegetable bought on a farm and not wrapped in the plastic of a supermarket . And don’t underestimate the flavor experian permanently can be for your children to see a field and maybe pick something with their own hands: rest assured that what he has collected he will at least taste it! “.
How To Deal With Whims At The Table
How to behave when faced with a whim at the table? Many times it is not a question of the refusal of the food itself, but it expresses something else: the frustration of the day, or a request for attention and in a certain sense also for rules on the part of the parent. Thank that the place of negotiation is at the table and nowhere else. And be careful, because if you give in to the table, they will raise the bar with other tricks, for example by throwing objects and maybe your mobile phone on the ground, which they sense to be precious for you “.
Therefore, it is essential to arrive at the table with serenity: “Establish rituals before meals, perhaps a cuddle to relax on returning home before dinner”. No prizes should be promised if the children empty their plates: ” Vegetables must not become a bargaining weapon: they are food like any other and have value in themselves, for their properties”.
Recipes With Vegetables For Children: The Appetizer
Pizzas are a universally loved food: let’s prepare them with the pumpkin on top.
Starter: Fast Pizzas
Ingredients
- 200 g of finely ground millet
- 200 g of rice flour
- Two tablespoons of cream of tartar
- Three tablespoons of oil
- One teaspoon of salt
- One tablespoon of sesame and flax seeds
For The Filling:
- 500 g of clean pumpkin
- One sprig of sage
- One sprig of rosemary
- One teaspoon of gomasio
- Two tablespoons of oil
Method
Finely chop the seeds and add them to the other ingredients in a bowl to make the pizzas. Knead until the mixture is soft and homogeneous, then let it rest for about 1 hour. Cut the pumpkin into cubes for the filling, add chopped sage, rosemary, and gomasio. Cook in steam or the oven for 15-20 minutes, then when cooled, season with oil and blend until creamy. Roll out the dough that is not too thin and cut into discs with the help of a glass: place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and cover with the cream—Bake at 170 ° C for about 15 minutes.
Crepes Without Eggs
The crepes are delicious, but above all, they represent a precious treasure chest to hide the vegetables inside.
Ingredients
- 250 g of flour (choice of barley, oats, spelled or semi-whole wheat)
- 50 g of cornstarch, oil
- One pinch of salt
- One pinch of nutmeg
- 150 ml of soy or hemp milk
For The Stuffing:
- 500 g with a choice of spinach, chard or chicory
- One golden onion
- 200 g of robiola or goat ricotta
- Four tablespoons of oil
- One pinch of salt or one tablespoon of granulated vegetable broth or 1⁄2 vegetable cube
Method
Put the flour, starch, two tablespoons of oil, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Mix the milk with 100 ml of water and pour it a little at a time, eliminating the lumps with a whisk until a thick and fluid cream is obtained. If it is dry, add 50 ml of water. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes and pass the filling: sauté the onion with the oil and four tablespoons of water, add the vegetables cut into strips and cook until the water runs out.
Add the salt or the cube, then remove from the heat and blend with the robiola. To prepare the crêpes, heat a thin layer of oil in a pan and pour in a ladle of batter. Cook 1-2 minutes per side and set the crepe aside, keeping it warm. Stuff with the prepared filling and roll them up.
Chickpeas And Quinoa Meatballs
Meatballs meet the favor of young and old: they are a perfect veg alternative with quinoa and chickpeas.
Ingredients
- 500 g of cooked chickpeas
- 100 g of quinoa
- One small onion
- One clove of garlic
- One tablespoon of capers
- One tablespoon of Taggiasca olives
- Two tablespoons of sesame
- 1⁄2 glass of oil
- One teaspoon of turmeric
Method
Toast the quinoa in a tablespoon of oil, cover it with double its volume of hot water and boil for a minute. Turn off the heat, cover, and inflate the cereal for 20 minutes or until the water is not absorbed. Coarsely blend the drained chickpeas and quinoa with the rest of the ingredients (excluding the sesame), form into meatballs and coat them with the sesame seeds. Transfer them to a baking tray covered with parchment paper and cook at 180 ° C for about 30 minutes.
Hide vegetables from children?
You can hide them in a dessert to make children eat vegetables: here is a recipe with hidden vegetables.
Bavarian Yogurt With Pumpkin
Ingredients
- 350 ml of plain yogurt
- 150 g of finely grated pumpkin
- 50 g of almonds with the skin
- One tablespoon of honey or two tablespoons of brown sugar
- One tablespoon of agar-agar
- One pinch of salt
Method
Toast the almonds in the oven for a minute, let them cool and then chop them. Pour the pumpkin with 100 ml of yogurt, salt, and agar-agar in a saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes, then let it cool and add the remaining yogurt, chopped almonds, honey (or sugar). Mix well, then pour everything into the bowls and cool in the refrigerator.
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