I had a wonderful brainstorm today and I'm proud to say that I've pulled it off.

My son (8 years old) loves macaroni and cheese. He also loves my homemade macaroni and cheese. No, it's not the ooey gooey yummy kind with butter and full-fat cheese - what I do is cook the macaroni and add reduced-fat cheese or I make it with a powdered cheese sauce and skim milk.

Ok, so I suddenly got this idea to cook cauliflower (which this cauliflower happens to be orange, but I could use white cauliflower as well, I'm sure) stick it in the food processor and puree it up and mix it in with the cheese sauce. Soooooooo that's what I did.

And he's eating it! Woohoo!

Just wanted to share that little idea, as I'm sure you could stick pureed cauliflower into kraft mac & cheese as well. But I had to make sure it was really really really pureed.

Ok, now my question: do any of you have any other ideas of how I could sneak veggies into my son's food without him knowing it?

Unfortunately he doesn't eat anything green, so I wouldn't be able to, say, puree up some spinach or broccoli to sneak in. I tried that once with spaghetti sauce and he noticed it. It changes the color of the sauce and he wouldn't eat it. So that was a big strike. My son is very good at catching anything out-of-the-ordinary. So many times I've tried fooling his taste buds and have failed. This is a kid that could literally find a needle in a haystack. So I have to be veeeeeeeeeery careful with how I do this or he'll push the meal away and won't touch it at all.

But I'm open to all ideas. What do you do to 'sneak' veggies into your kids' food?

Great idea LLV.

Jessica Seinfeld just put out a book on this topic. It's called Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.
http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com/site/the-dish.php

My kids are too old for me to sneak things in there. Thankfully they love a lot of the veggies that I've been making this past year. They are loving the cooked winter squashes that I've been making. I use SF maple syrup and cinnamon. They can't get enough of it. They also love Butternut squash soup. Roasted green beans, peppers, brussel sprouts - they like all of that stuff. They love salads too. They even like spinach.

Hmmm, maybe I'm the one that's got kids with the strange taste buds.

Add baby food into sauces... Extra vitamins are in the food.

I have also added butternut squash (pureed) into mac and cheese. My SUPER picky eater didn't notice.

I also have a great recipe for WW pumpkin muffins. He asks me to make them at least once a week. Let me know it you want the recipe.

One thing I should mention.... I added baby food carrots or squash to the spaghetti sauce so it didn't change the color. Sounds like they have similar issues!!! He notices every tiny detail.

That pureed cauliflower in the macaroni and cheese idea sounds great, for kids of all ages! I'm going to try it for myself! And I love vegetables!

As far as other ideas, does your son like chili? You can throw lots of finely chopped or pureed vegetables in chili. You can also puree the beans rather than leaving them whole; it makes the chili nice and thick.

Thanks for the info

I would LOVE it, yes! And thanks for the idea on the squash.

Unfortunately, no, he doesn't like chili. I could probably sneak lots of stuff into that, but he won't eat it

That is one of the oldest "tricks" in the book! I did that all the time when my DD was small, even though she likes all veggies, just for the texture difference.

You'll be able to sneak small amounts into other foods for sure, but since cauliflower has a strong flavor and butternut squash is sweet, start small and increase gradually. But hey, 1/4 a serving is better than NO servings, right?

I totally agree. Especially when you have a child that refuses to eat any type of a vegetable.

Except carrots. He'll eat raw (only) baby carrots dipped in ranch dressing. Of course I use the light dressings, but still..... that's the only one he'll eat WILLINGLY.