Getting nutrient dense foods into your family

[Amy]

My two year old recently decided that he doesn't like to eat my green veggies, and a few other things. I know this is normal toddler stuff, but it is hard not to feel panicky. I would love to bounce ideas off of each other about how to make these foods (solids, juices, broths) tasty and desirable.

[Amy]

I am feeling stuck about juices. No one will drink them except for me. sigh. even when I do pure fruit. My oldest will drink an apple, but I am looking for more. What should my expectations be? What are good mixtures?

[Amy]

My family loves my sipping broth. I got it from America's test kitchens, but sometimes I change it up. We use it in vietnamese soup frequently, but we also just heat it up in a mug.

5 cups chicken broth
2 tbl soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin or dry sherry
1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, cut into 4 coins and smashed with the handle of your knife
4 medium cloves farlic, lightly crushed with skins on
2 whole star anise pods (I just use 1 small section of one)
4 dried shiitake mushrooms

simmer for 30 minutes, strain (make sure you do it otherwise the ginger keeps on getting stronger.)
I sometimes add some kombu at the end, and dashi for a more japanese flavor.
it's really yummy

I cook my rice sticks in the broth, rather than separately. It soaks up quite a bit of broth, so extra nutrition.

any other ideas for broth?

[Amy]

My boys are obsessed with bacon. We've recently have been buying the nitrate free, corn free kind so I feel more comfortable giving it to them freely. - well when we can afford it.
My mil suggested I add some crumbled up the smashed avocado. We could then use that as a dip for chicken or veggies. (we were looking for another tasty option for my hot dog loving 2 year old. he eats the organic nitrate free kind, but it is still so processed.)

I like to blend frozen bananas, avocados, and frozen berries together for an ice cream.

Other avocado ideas?

[Lauren]

I've often thrown finely chopped kale into baked goods, pancakes, casseroles, etc. I've recently been doing the blender batter Pat linked to in the nutrient dense food section, and adding kale to that. It gets chopped quite fine there, and the pancakes turn a green color. River and I are ok w/ that, and it really doesn't change the flavor much at all...

Lauren :)

[lisa]

ah, i have a difficult time w/ this too esp since K prefers whole foods (does not like smoothies these days) and is very picky about the baked goods i make, and picky about food in general. lol

i have found this site to be a great place to experiment http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/ and this is one of our favs....http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/05/peanut-butter-banana-...
(we are gluten free, dairy free, and soy free bc of K's sensitivities)

Luckily she does love raw spinach and kale, but not cooked.
Do your kids like soup? I have blended a bunch of spinach in the food processor and then added that to veggie soup and no one knew it was full of spinach. I used tomatoes in it so it was not bright green. :P

K loves bacon too..... which i actually embrace bc it provides fats for her rather thin body. :P
I will put out a monkey platter for her while the bacon (or whatever ) is being cooked and she nibbles on various whatevers as she's watching tv.

she will not drink kombucha, and can now detect it in juice when i add it there :( but she will take some chewable probiotics *most* of the time.

i need to go check out Path's blender batter, but tbh she eats very few items that are "made" from ingredients, if that makes sense.

how about avocados in mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes mashed? kinda hard to get away from that green color, unless you use blue potatoes? hrm!

[Cait]

one thing that Aidan will eat almost any day is quesedillas. I buy brown rice tortillas, use refried beans that I make, a small amount of parmesan and cut up kale very fine. He'll dip these in salsa or hummus. Soups are another great one for us, we do alot of adding kale and spinach to most soups.

I like the pancake idea I read below, gonna try that too!...lol...Aidan would probably love them green