Magically Make Vegetables Taste Good to Kids

I'm a big proponent of the theory that when vegetables taste good, kids will want to eat them. Now there are lots of ways to make vegetables taste good, from pairing them with foods kids already like to adding butter, salt, or sugar.

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In this article, I talk about another strategy: changing the texture of vegetables. Turning broccoli into a creamy broccoli soup recipe or pureeing spinach with frozen pineapple to make a frosty green smoothie can work wonders with picky eaters.

Here are some of my favorite recipes that make vegetables taste good, just by changing the texture of them:

• Carrot cake smoothies - like carrot cake in a glass!
• Pesto recipe - whenever I have greens that are about to go bad, I turn them into pesto. The kids can't really discern the difference between kale pesto and basil pesto. Use this recipe to make pesto pizza.
• Cauliflower soup recipe - this creamy cauliflower soup takes a bland vegetable and gives it lots of pizazz. Kids really like this recipe.
• Fresh tomato soup - this is a perfect soup recipe for the summer when tomatoes are in season. This soup also has onions, garlic, and fresh basil in it.
• Green smoothie recipe - this one is made with kale, frozen pineapple, and pineapple-coconut juice.
• Zucchini corn chowder recipe - this creamy soup is thick enough to be a meal, yet it has no cream in it. This recipe is also loaded with vegetables.
• Hummus recipe - the kids may not like chickpeas, but when you serve them hummus with pita chips, it can change everything. My kids never used to like hummus, then one day they tried it at a friend's house. Boom - it became a new favorite.
• Broccoli cheese soup recipe - warm, creamy, and cheesy, this vegetable soup is comfort food at its best.