Eat Your Veggies

Eat Your Veggies

Kids can be picky eaters. Heck, some adults can be, too. Not everybody likes to eat their veggies, even though we all know they're good for you. So, in honor of "Eat Your Veggies Day" June 17, we put together some ideas for how to stealthily work some veggies into food your kids will want to eat.

Kids don't often turn down smoothies, mac and cheese or cupcakes. With these recipes, they'll have no idea they're really eating vegetables, and you'll be glad they're getting more nutrition. Everybody wins. It's always better to encourage kids to appreciate eating their vegetables with eyes wide open, but sometimes you've gotta do whatever works.

Orange smoothies: Peach season is here, and this is a great way to use fresh peaches right from the Hill Country. These smoothies are made with peaches, carrots, orange juice and a touch of Greek yogurt. They turn out bright and taste like nothing but peaches and orange. If you've got a super picky eater on your hands, you might want to peel the peach before blending. Otherwise, your blender might leave tiny flecks from the peel. Though, that's where the really good nutrients are, so try it without peeling first.

Slice up a good-sized peach, prepare ½ cup of baby carrots (boil and cool) and freeze together in a bag. Freeze some orange juice into ice cube trays, too. Then, blend the peaches, carrots and 2 orange cubes with about 2 tablespoons of plain or vanilla yogurt and another 2-3 tablespoons of orange juice. You could also use water or milk, as long as it's something liquid to get the right consistency.

Squashy mac and cheese: This kid table staple gets an upgrade with some pureed summer squash. They're in season now and already yellow, so they'll come in perfectly under the radar when you puree and add to the cheesy sauce. Nobody will be able to detect they're there at all.

• 1 cup elbow pasta
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ½ cup cream
• 1 – 1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 summer squash or yellow zucchini, boiled and pureed (appx. ¾ cup)

Cut the summer squash (or yellow zucchini) into 1-inch rounds and boil and puree until smooth (add water as needed) and set aside. Boil the pasta as directed and strain. Make a roux with 2 tbsp. of butter and 2 tbsp. of flour. Stir until it thickens, add 1 cup of chicken stock and let simmer. Then add ½ cup of cream and stir in cheese and veggie puree. Add pasta and serve.

Chocolate cupcakes: The secret ingredients in these are beets, spinach and kale, which have some pretty strong flavors. Somehow they're completely undetectable when prepared in chocolate cupcake form. It's like magic. You can even use some extra beet juice to color your buttercream icing and nobody will be able to detect a thing.

Cupcakes (makes about 18 regular cupcakes):

• 1 medium beet
• 1 cup fresh spinach/kale mix
• 4 oz. applesauce
• 3 oz. butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup milk

Icing:

• 1 cup butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp. milk
• beet juice for color if desired

Wrap beet in foil and roast in oven at 375 until soft (appx. 2 hours). Scoop out the inside and puree with fresh spinach/kale mix and applesauce. You might use a bit of water to make the puree smoother. Put aside. Mix butter, sugars, egg and vanilla until smooth. Mix the dry ingredients in separate bowl and fold into wet mixture in two parts. Add milk and blend in the veggie puree. Pour into cupcakes and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. Top with buttercream icing.