Veggie Tales

It’s not like I’m asking him to be the Jolly Green Giant.

I try to be a laid-back mama about food. I think (as will most things) it is important to know the rules and when & how to break them. I try to avoid anything that will stain his face an unnatural shade of orange or that has more than three ingredients I can’t pronounce. I try to avoid high-sodium prepackaged food. (But oh my, how I love me some cheese-n-broccoli soup…. Have you read the sodium content on that stuff???) I try to lead by example.

And I fail.

This is a child who will pick the green goldfish out of a rainbow fish pond. He picks out the green pastas in the special “wacky mac” I make for him.

He won’t even eat fruit. No grapes. No bananas. No applesauce. (Ok, in the name of fair disclosure, if I force-feed him the first bite of applesauce he will eat the rest but, always, the fight over the first bite.)

This is his veggie consumption:
Raw carrots. But usually I find the dog nawing on at least part of it long after mealtime is over.
Frozen corn. Sometimes.
Mama’s red sauce. I use this for everything. It’s basically cooked up tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, red bell peppers, carrots that I run through the blender. It’s spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, everything.
Fresh salsa.
Kim chi. But only the mild kind and not the chunks… just the juice.
Corn & carrots in chicken pot pie will sometimes sneak past his lips….
Sweet potato fries. (Especially if I use the Cajun seasoning.)
Popcorn. (I know. I know.)
Ketchup. (Hey the president says it is one…)

So I got a little advice from Mary P. on the subject. I like her plan but I’m facing some, uh, resistance from the other half of this parenting duo. So I have to wait until he’s gone for the weekend to implement Project Eat-a-Bean.

Until then I will continue to refer to popcorn as a vegetable and hide tiny slices of green beans under the cheese in the pizza.

How do you sneak veggies into the diet of your loved ones??