My child likes her veggies diced to smithereens. I hope I've shared this here before as it is my number one secret/tip for getting the correct variety of veggies into my picky eater. It took me many years to figure this out, but I'm glad I did as it has greatly expanded our dinner repertoire around here.
I was not a picky eater as a kid so it's hard for me to relate to texture and taste issues. When Emily eats (or tries to rather) certain foods, her eyes will literally tear up, her face turns red... it's quite a visceral reaction, she is not pushing certain foods aside just because. I look back on when I was a kid and a good portion of the foods that we eat today weren't even available then. Things like goat cheese, avocado, swiss chard, kalamata olives, mango, sundried tomato, baby field greens... you couldn't buy them where we lived, food was much simpler then. The variety that we have come to love and appreciate today just wasn't available when I was a kid. Maybe I would have been a picky eater if my mom put sundried tomatos, feta cheese, and kalamata olives in my scrambled eggs... who knows! All this to say, I try to be sensitive about expectations around food, we all have our own preferences and Emily's are very clear and very real. I do make an effort though to creatively get a wide variety of fruits and veggies in her, and I have two simple methods that work beautifully.
Smoothies are the obvious choice for getting fruits into her, but veggies?
DICE THE HECK OUT OF "EM!! Works like a charm... I pretty much make it a practice now to dice most of the vegetables (for things like soups, stir-fry, quiche, sauteed dishes, etc) so they are all about the size of a kernel of corn. It sounds tedious I know, but really it is not and soooo many more veggies make it into my girl this way.
I recently re-worked a Pad Thai recipe, taking out the spicey heat and giving the tofu and veggies a fine dice. In the end, it's a great family recipe. Even for my fussy eater. I hope your family likes it too.
Kid Friendly Pad Thai
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1 tablespoon sesame oil
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2-3 cloves garlic
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1/2 pound firm tofu - diced 1/4 inch
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2 tablespoons tamari
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1/3 cup all natural peanut butter
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1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
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1/8 - 1/4 cup water
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1 1/2 teaspoons brown rice vinegar
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1 large sweet red pepper - diced fine
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1 small-medium zucchini - diced fine
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1/4 cup peanuts - coarsely chopped
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1/2 pound dry linguine - cooked
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1/4 cup chopped fresh chives if you have them (scallions are fine)
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sea salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the tofu, a little salt and pepper, saute for 10 minutes on med/high heat stirring often. You want it nice and brown. Add the garlic in the last minute or two of cooking.
Meanwhile, combine the tamari, peanut butter, honey and vinegar. Mix until smooth, add water to thin the sauce a little.
Pour 1/2 the sauce into the pan with tofu, add the other veggies and cook for a 3-5 minutes. Your not cooking the veggies too much, because they are diced small they will cook super fast. You're almost just getting them and the sauce hot, that's enough! Add this mixture once done to the cooked linguine (toss with tongs, gently). Add the rest of the sauce, chopped peanuts and chives. Toss a little more. Yum!
This made enough for the three of us with a little left over. Go ahead and double if you have a larger group.
Maybe even squeeze a little fresh lime juice over the top. ;)
Wishing you a fantastic weekend!
