It is not always easy to feed our children with vegetables . Especially around 3-6 years old: at this age, they automatically refuse everything they do not know. But this is not a reason not to make them eat vegetables. To get them to familiarize themselves with a range of flavors and especially, with vegetables, you must at least make them taste. Come on, we encourage them with a smile and some tips ...
We camouflage the dishes
To make children eat vegetables, we do not hesitate to take the big game, even to fool them a little. For example: a small amount of mashed celery root or turnip is added to the mashed potatoes . Once this stage is over, gently pass to 1/3 celery and 2/3 potatoes. Another tip camouflage: give vegetables the look of his favorite dishes, fries of Jerusalem artichokes or beet chips for example. To make them eat vegetables, you can also dress the soup in smoothie and mix fruits and vegetables: orange, carrot and pumpkin for example.
We disguise the flavors
Children have a natural attraction for sweet, and if we listened to them, they would make candy meals. It is up to us to reorient the taste of food to make them appreciate the salty, sour or bitter of certain vegetables. To awaken their taste buds, do not hesitate to play with the spices: curry, nutmeg, oregano, basil ... these sweet spices can enhance the flavor of some dishes based on vegetables, such as purees for example. They also attract children's taste curiosity.
We put the form on the bottom
To make the vegetables tempting in the eyes of children, it is important to also work on their shape : a salted vegetable pie in a heart-shaped mold, a multicolored plate (with 3 mashed carrots-peas-potatoes), a plate decorated with a man's head (punk hair in green beans, salmon sliced eyebrows, cucumber sliced eyes, cherry tomato nose, mushroom ears). You can also turn vegetables into fake cakes : goat-zucchini minicakes, carrot-cinnamon-raisin muffins. Another idea to give more charm to the traditional vegetable soup: add bacon, croutons or icebergs of cottage cheese.
We revisit the junk food
Our kids swear by burgers , pizzas and other hot dogs ? Rather than demonize their junk food, it is rebalanced. And when you prepare a homemade burger, you can make it a full round toast or sesame, cheeses other than cheddar, slices of tomatoes sprinkled with tarragon or arugula. He will have the scent of his favorite junk food and many more! Similarly, pizza, depending on what you put, can open to other flavors that the classic chorizo or bacon: seafood or vegetables that abound under the cheese. And for a hot dog tastier than that of the hut? We rather put on a sausage of Toulouse without fat, with vegetables in accompaniment, a caviar of eggplant and some crudités for example.
We make our children real leaders
Preparing the meal and especially vegetables with our children (not just cakes) is a good way to get to know what they do not like. Swallowing the eggs, cutting the parsley, stirring, kneading, chipping can give a little "magic potion" side. What to bring down their last resistance for vegetables. To make them eat beetroot, we concoct with them a beetroot-onion soup. For the spinach, they help us to return a fall of fresh spinach in the pan: this big leafy volume which collapses while cooking, it is fun to look at.
Some good places to make them love and eat vegetables from an early age:
- At the head of Comme des papas : 3 men who develop and cook recipes of baby jars. 3 ranges are currently available: 6 months and over, 8 months and up, 12 months and up. The recipes are made only from French, local and organic products. Once the little pots ordered on the internet, Comme des Papas delivers all over France. From € 3.30 the potty, delivery included.
- It's a dad and a mom, concerned about the food of their children, who created Goodgout.fr . Sold in several major stores in France such as Monoprix, Casino or Auchan, the recipes are organic and vary according to age: from 4 months, from 6 months, from 8 months, from 10 months, from 12 months and from 15 months. You can also order directly on the site. Count € 2.99 for small savory dishes.
Thanks to Françoise Devillers, a journalist with Advantages magazine and author of "Clever recipes for difficult children" (7.99 € at Marabout) and Clément Girault, co-director of Comme des papas.
