How to Sneak Nutrition into Your Child's Food

Every parent has faced the picky eater. The one who refuses anything good for him, not just broccoli, but even milk! It's enough to drive a parent crazy! Fortunately, you don't have to start force-feeding your child in order to make sure he's getting some actual nutrition into his body, you just need to sneak it in!

Your blender may well become your best friend during this stage of your child's eating development. The number of foods that can be blended together without his noticing are many. For example, a regular spaghetti sauce can have its nutrition level boosted by adding cooked blended broccoli, tofu, carrots, or even spinach, in small amounts. Just be careful not to change the color too much or your children will probably notice.

Pizza can be turned into a good-for-you junk food with a few simple additions. Use the spaghetti sauce trick above to add some greens to the base of the pizza. Also, instead of buying a white pizza crust, opt for whole wheat. It will be so loaded up with things that your child will probably not even notice. Add your regular, kid-friendly ingredients, but mix your cheese with shredded tofu for an extra calcium and protein boost.

For calcium-deficient milk-haters, try this fun smoothie. Blend a cup of yogurt with half a banana, a couple tablespoons of chocolate syrup and a handful of chocolate chips. Kids love the chocolate smoothness laced with bits of chips and in most cases, don't even realize that they are getting their daily amount of dairy! Since yogurt tends to taste different than regular milk, it is easier to hide in many smoothies and shakes. Try adding it to a cup of ice cream for a yummy milkshake that is more nutritious than plain ice cream.

Since even the pickiest eaters will usually accept ketchup, you can add some extra nutrition to your ketchup bottle by mixing in a tablespoon of carrot puree per cup of ketchup. Spinach and broccoli can be added to relish, but they are too obvious in ketchup. Sour cream or yogurt can be mixed half and half with mayonnaise for a zingy substitute as well.

You can use the doctored condiments above with healthy hamburgers. Instead of making plain meat patties, add assorted minced veggies such as onion, carrot, eggplant, celery, etc. These can be used for up to 1/3 of the patty without any noticeable difference in the quality and you can rest assured that your junk food lover is getting some really decent food.

Sneaking nutrition into food takes a bit of practice, but soon you'll be noticing new ways to incorporate veggies into other areas of your child's menu. But rest assured, your little one will eventually grow out of his or her eating problems and start munching down on healthier food. Just hang in there!