Who Needs Sneaky When You Have Great Tasting?

We all know that a healthy balance vegetables in our diets is ideal, but sometimes getting our children to appreciate the reasoning behind this is a little bit difficult.  Some kids do naturally love any and all vegetable that is put on their plates, but many are a little suspicious or are just not a fan of the flavors.  I think a big part of this may be in how those vegetables are presented and prepared.

There has been a lot of focus on being sneaky with vegetables over the past 10 years and several cookbooks have been published with recipes that have vegetables puréed into muffin or cake mixes and savory sauces.  Who needs to be sneaky, though, when you can make a vegetable taste just the way your child would like it without having to disguise it?

I have never been a huge fan of raw broccoli, and would not eat much broccoli at all if my only option was a veggie platter.  A couple of years ago, however, I discovered roasted broccoli.  It completely changes the flavor, and with a little olive oil, garlic powder, and seasonings becomes a deeply flavored side of which I can't get enough!  I felt similarly about cauliflower.  Raw cauliflower was never my idea of a treat, but if I roast it, boil and mash it like potatoes, or purée it and use it to complement a recipe I can't get enough.

Since having my daughter two and a half years ago I have been even more aware of the need to make a wide variety of vegetables in particularly appealing ways.  So far she has a great appreciation for her vegetables, and as she gets older I will continue to look for more and more deeply flavorful veggie recipes.