Five Easy Ways To Get Your Kids To Eat Good Food - And Love It!

As the days get colder and we head into winter, it's more important than ever to make sure our kids get as much good food as possible, to ensure they have a strong immune system ready to fight off those winter bugs.
If your kids are like mine, it can sometimes be hard to get nutrient rich fruit and vegetables into them. I have an 8 year old who has always been a great eater, but has decided to start being picky in the last 6 months. I also have twins who are almost 2, and are still trying to get their taste buds around certain foods - most nights it's the veggies which end up on the floor instead of in their bellies!!
Here are some great ideas and recipes I use to sneak fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and other nutrients into my childrens meals, including soups, smoothies, porridge, pizza, and pasta sauces.

• Smoothies

Smoothies are a great way to get loads of goodness into your kids, and kids LOVE smoothies. They are easily absorbed by the digestive system, and easy for your little (or big) ones to drink. 

There are 4 components I like to put into a smoothie,  the base, fruits, veges, and optional extras.

1. Every smoothie needs a base. I like to use about 1/2-1c of oat, almond, or rice milk, and about 1/2c natural live yoghurt. You could also give it a natural fruit juice base (no added sugar) - pineapple is amazing, or you could use coconut cream or coconut water.
2. Then I add my fruit. Banana is always great for energy, also frozen or fresh berries, mango or pineapple.
3. Now time for some veges. I always add a good handful of baby spinach, or kale. You can also do celery, lettuce, or cucumber. Avocado is amazing in smoothies, it's beautifully creamy and works well with pineapple juice and mango.
4. Lastly I always add some of these extras to make it really good for you. Some ground or freshly grated ginger, fresh mint leaves, a tablespoon of honey, LSA (linseed, sunflower seed, almond), chia seeds.

My little smoothie lovers!

• Homemade porridge.

Most packet porridge mixes contain loads of refined sugar, so I like to make my own at home and add lots of yummies. It's super easy and my kids love it.

Take some natural rolled oats, or quick oats (which are smaller), and put into a saucepan with water or milk - according to the instructions on the pack. I like to use rice or almond milk which results in a creamy, nutty porridge. I also add these extras to my porridge - 1/2t cinnamon, 1/2t mixed spice, 1T honey, 1 grated apple, 1t vanilla, chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries.
You end up with a tasty, creamy, naturally sweetened porridge which your kids are guaranteed to love. Perfect for those cool winter mornings!

• Homemade Pizza.

What kid doesn't like pizza? When you make it yourself at home the result is a tasty meal which is actually good for your family, and doesn't contain all of the preservatives and additives you will get with store bought pizza. You can hide loads of veges in pizza, and your kids will always eat it - because it's pizza!
Start with a good base. There are plenty of recipes out there for pizza bases, but many of them contain yeast so you have to wait for them to rise etc. Here is the recipe for my pizza base. It's so quick and easy, and uses wholemeal flour instead of white to make the pizza just that little bit healthier.

I also make my own tomato sauce when I make pizza, here is my recipe. You can use a store bought one if that's easier, try and go for one with no added salt, as it's better for the little ones. 

So now you have your base and your sauce, it's time to add some other ingredients. A sprinkling of cheese is essential - I use Edam cheese, but mozzarella is always fun for the kids!
You can use any kind of lean meat for your pizza. I usually use chicken or mince (yes mince!). 
If I'm using chicken, I chop a chicken breast into bite size pieces and cook in a pan with a little oil. 
If I'm using mince, I cook it in a little oil in a pan, until it is browned and broken up into little pieces that you can easily sprinkle over your pizza.

Then comes the vegetables - diced capsicum, diced mushrooms, diced onion, chopped spinach or kale, cauliflower (blitz in the food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs and sprinkle on the pizza), or any other vegetables you want to use. Then top with a final sprinkling of cheese, and some more herbs, and in the oven it goes. A great way to get lean meat, and vegetables into your kids.

Wholegrain Pasta & Sauces:

Wholegrain pasta is a really easy way to get goodness into your kids without them noticing. Our kids, like so many, love pasta dishes - especially macaroni cheese, and pasta bake. These dishes can be full of good things, and your kids will still like them.
I use wholegrain pasta, and if I'm doing a pasta bake I will make a tomato based sauce (see my basic tomato sauce recipe here), and include lots of vegetables which I roast first.
Another option for a pasta sauce is one I use all the time since one of my girls became dairy free. We wanted another sauce we could use for mac & cheese which didn't have any dairy, and we started using veggies! You can use pumpkin, kumara, or both. Boil until soft and then puree in a food processor until smooth. We always add other veggies to mac & cheese, as well as a little chicken, and along with these sauces you have a healthy pasta dish packed full of goodness.


Soup:

My kids aren't a huge fan of vegetable soup - I think because they can see all of the veggies! But they love my pumpkin soup. Pumpkin soup is so easy to make, and there are so many variations - everyone has their own pumpkin soup recipe. Here is mine.
I think the key to making a great healthy soup your kids will eat is to puree it, so they can't see everything in it and it isn't a funny texture. Add anything and everything - root vegetables, green vegetables, celery leaves, herbs, loads of garlic and fresh ginger which are always needed in the winter months! Even a squeeze of citrus is a great addition. A homemade stock is a great thing to be able to make, they have so much goodness in them and you know exactly what's in it. Here is my homemade stock recipe. If you are using a store bought stock, make sure you buy a good quality one and one that has no added salt, or reduced salt.