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6 easy parenting hacks to increase a child's vegetable intake
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What if there was an easier way to get your children to eat their vegetables? - photo by Tana Bolinger
Should parents always tell their kids the truth?

When answering the question, Whats for dinner? it is best not to say, Grilled fish, cauliflower and steamed Brussels sprout.

I dont know a child who would jump up and down, run around the table and fall on his knees saying, Thanks, Mom! Thats my favorite!

Does that mean we should stop serving our kids healthy food? It takes a whole lot of energy to get them to swallow a single bite ... Why waste the time?

The United States Department of Agriculture has shared, Vegetables provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body. Eating these nutrients while young is crucial for lifelong mental and physical health.

To prevent your constant table battle, here are six tasty meals that secretly give your children entire servings of vegetables.

1. Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

This unbelievable gooey, cheesy treat provides a full serving of vegetables and will leave your kids wanting more. Just cook a full stock of cauliflower in with the pasta.

2. Squash Pizza

Replacing the breaded crust with squash brings the pizza to life with additional flavors while keeping the same thin texture everyone loves. The squash can also be replaced with cauliflower or zucchini if desired.

3. Kale/Spinach Fruit Smoothie

Add a cup of kale or spinach and watch your child enjoy an extremely healthy and beautifully delicious morning beverage. Your young one will never notice the difference!

4. Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

This low-calorie, low-carb veggie is easily mistaken as real potatoes! Simply boiling cauliflower instead of starchy potatoes is all it takes to make this spectacular dish. See what all the buzz is about and try the recipe for dinner tonight.

5. Zucchini Lasagna

The trick to good lasagna is great sauce. What better way to enhance the sauce then by adding real vegetables to it? This enhances the flavor and tastes delicious. You can even try replacing the noodles with zucchini!

6. Veggie Sloppy Joes

Using vegetable stock and chopped unions with vegetarian crumbles brings out a great unnoticeable flavor change but very noticeable health benefits.

Looking down at a plate of vegetables scares most kids away. So hiding vegetables in their favorite meals is a great solution. Ensuring children get the right nutrients is an important part of a parent's role; and, lucky for you, it just became easier.
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