Loving Deception

UPDATE:
The spaghetti pie was horrible...it never actually firmed, even with extra time... we may try the meat balls with broccoli again, but just add them to our regular pasta sauce (maybe with some pureed carrot or beet).

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At around age 3, Abby stopped eating all things green, with the exception of olives. This aversion spilled over to other veggies, with the exception of corn and tomato sauce. So, olives, corn and tomato sauce...any other veggie dared to make its way to her plate and she would literally run away from the table. She's a little better now and will try some veggies. I'm happy if the child eats one baby carrot or a single green bean a day!

I had to laugh at a friend who blogged about her kids loving the green smoothies (with spinach)... she made them for lunch... seriously... I could only dream of my kids drinking banana smoothies with spinach.

Jude used to be a champion eater, regardless of the meal. Now he'll down 2 bowls of oatmeal, a banana & yogurt for breakfast, but supper is a different story. Modelling is powerful. It doesn't matter how many veggies he sees Mummy eat.... if Abby says "yucky", Jude pushes his plate away with the same distain.

SO....

I bought a new cookbook.

I've always been a little dubious about hiding veggies... I think I'll be found out!! AND I want the kids to truly love veggies, not only when they don't know they're eating them. We've tried a few recipes. The waffle sandwiches with sweet potatoe and cottage cheese were not popular, but they were tried. The quesadillas with squash on the other hand were a hit!! My favourite so far was the chocolate chip cookies with chick peas.

The chocolate chip cupcakes (with pumpkin and squash) were okay... Abby really liked them and even preferred them without the yummy maple syrup & cream cheese icing

Jude really liked the icing....

Tomorrow night my family's going to try spaghetti pie (with carrot) topped with turkey meat balls (with broccoli). It's all made and ready to go in the oven. I had to have Jon roll the meat balls... I don't handle raw meat well...

So, I am engaging in some deception, but if it eventually leads to veggie-love, I'm all for it!! I'm still serving veggies on the side... I don't want them to think that veggies are no longer important to Mummy!!