10 vegetable recipes for kids who don't like vegetables

 Simple and delicious dishes in which cabbage, celery and other usefulness have changed beyond recognition. Anna Borisova shares recipes.

For my son, there is only one vegetable - potatoes. At worst, carrots (as a necessary evil in the soup). I had no choice but to learn how to turn zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower into chicken, meatballs and scrambled eggs. I share recipes of my favorite dishes that have never let me down. For at least 12 years, my son never guessed about my hoaxes.

The recipes are for 2 servings and are suitable for children from about a year old.

Cream soup with vegetables

150 g chicken or turkey fillet

2 medium potatoes

½ young squash

2 broccoli florets

½ carrot

½ onion

3 glasses of water

2 tsp butter (optional)

Salt, spices to taste

This soup is a real lifesaver for a busy mom because it requires a minimum of effort. And any vegetables are suitable for him, which can only be found at home.

• Cut the vegetables coarsely, put them in a saucepan and fill with water so that it covers them by 2 cm.
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
• In a separate bowl, boil the meat for 10 minutes and transfer to the vegetables.
• Salt the soup and cook until the vegetables are cooked.
• Puree the contents of the pan with a blender (along with oil if you want to make the dish more nutritious).
• Add spices or herbs to your taste.
• If the soup is too thick, thin it with cream or milk.

Advice. The composition and proportions of vegetables can be varied, but as for meat for cream soup, it is better to take turkey or chicken breast - it is the easiest to puree.

Minestrone

500 ml meat or vegetable broth

2 small potatoes

1 large cauliflower floret

½ young squash

½ carrot

½ onion

1 st. l. small pasta ("letters" or "asterisks")

1 tsp butter or vegetable oil

Salt, spices to taste

"Big Soup" (that's the Italian word for "minestrone") can be made with any seasonal vegetable. I cut them into small cubes, like on Olivier salad - then zucchini and cabbage successfully mimic potatoes and pasta.

• Dip the potatoes and cauliflower into the simmering broth. Reduce the fire.
• Spasser the carrots and onions in oil, send them to the pan along with the zucchini.
• 5-7 minutes before cooking, put the pasta.
• When serving, add finely chopped meat or greens.

Advice. Legumes, especially lentils and peas, will be a useful addition to the minestrone (they boil into mush and do not attract attention). Chopped lentils can be put in the soup along with sautéing, and peas and beans will have to be boiled in advance.

"Cubes" in sour cream

150 g of any meat fillet

2 small potatoes

2 cauliflower florets

½ leek without greens

½ young squash

100 ml water

2 tbsp. l. sour cream

1 st. l. vegetable or ghee

Salt, spices to taste

The secret of this dish is in the same small slices (as in Olivier salad) as in the previous recipe. And sour cream becomes an additional "camouflage" for vegetables here.

• Put the leek in a saucepan or multicooker bowl and fry it in oil while you cut the meat.
• Put the meat on the onion, and in the meantime, take care of the vegetables. Immediately send each ingredient to the saucepan as soon as you clean and cut.
• Start with the cauliflower, cutting it into 0.5-1cm buds.
• Next, add potatoes, last - zucchini.
• Pour half a glass of water, mix and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
• Add sour cream, salt and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are boiled.

Advice. Leek gives the dish a special taste and aroma, but onions can also be used instead.

Croquettes with cabbage

3 medium potatoes

100 g white cabbage

1 egg

1 st. l. butter

2 tbsp. l. flour

40 g cheese (preferably hard)

Salt to taste

In the original, croquettes are breaded potato balls that are fried in boiling oil. I am not a fan of deep-frying, so I bake my croquettes in the oven (although they can be cooked in a pan).

• Peel potatoes and cut into halves.
• Disassemble the cabbage into sheets without cutting.
• Boil the vegetables in salted water, drain the liquid.
• Puree cabbage in a blender.
• Combine potatoes with mashed potatoes and butter, crush thoroughly and let cool.
• Then add flour there, beat in a raw egg and mix with a mixer. The mass should be thick; if it is watery, put another half-spoon of flour.
• Add grated cheese and stir again.
• Grease a baking sheet with oil and spread the potato mass on it with a spoon so that you get small cakes about 5 cm in diameter.
• Send the baking sheet to the oven preheated to 200 ° C for 15 minutes.

From below, the croquettes will acquire a dense, fried crust, and from above they will only grab slightly. Put them on a plate with a rosy side up and serve as a side dish or an independent dish with sour cream or cottage cheese.

Council . In addition to white cabbage, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, green peas are suitable for croquettes. Vegetables can not be pureed, but finely chopped.

Cutlets with a secret

250 g minced beef and pork

50 g white cabbage

50 g carrots

30 g onion

1 slice white bread 1 cm thick

1 st. l. milk

Butter and vegetable oil for frying

Salt and spices to taste

Cutlets with the addition of vegetable ingredients are especially soft and juicy. And you can hide almost any vegetables inside the minced meat - both fresh and boiled.

1. Grind fresh cabbage and carrots in a meat grinder or blender.
2. If a lot of juice stands out, let it drain.
3. Combine vegetables with minced meat and white bread soaked in milk without a crust.
4. Finely chop the onion, sauté in butter and mix with minced meat. Add salt and spices.
5. Form cutlets and fry in vegetable oil over high heat until golden brown.
6. Turn down the power, pour 1-2 tablespoons of water into the pan and simmer the cutlets over low heat until cooked.

Advice. Onions can be added to minced meat and fresh, but thanks to frying, it will not be noticeable in the dish (I personally do not like it when pieces of onion crunch on my teeth since childhood). Yes, and cutlets so become more tender.

Multicolored puree

4 medium potatoes

handful of spinach leaves

½ small beetroot

½ small carrot

1 st. l. butter

Salt to taste

Kids really like to “color” such puree themselves - the main thing is not to focus the attention of particularly capricious eaters on what the “paints” are made of.

• Boil potatoes in salted water until tender.
• In a separate bowl, boil the carrots and beets; Grind them individually with a blender or fine grater.
• Dip the spinach leaves in boiling water for 1 minute, and then also puree in a blender.
• Mash potatoes with butter without adding liquid.
• Divide the potatoes into thirds and, in separate bowls, combine with mashed carrots, beets and spinach (you can involve a child in this process).
• Mix thoroughly until smooth, season with salt if necessary. Serve immediately.

Advice. Add the vegetable mass to the potatoes gradually, making sure that the puree does not turn out to be too liquid. You can use broccoli instead of spinach for a green tint.

Fluffy omelet with cauliflower

2 eggs

50 g cauliflower

50 ml milk

½ slice white bread 1 cm thick

30 g cheese

1 tsp butter

Salt to taste

I prefer to make my omelette in a double boiler for a really tender omelette. But it can be cooked in the oven and on the stove over moderate heat.

• Boil the cauliflower until tender, puree in a blender or mash thoroughly with a fork.
• Beat the eggs with milk, add to them bread without a crust soaked in milk, grated cheese, a little salt.
• You can use a blender and grind all the ingredients in it at the same time, except for the cheese.
• Combine with the resulting mixture of mashed cauliflower, mix.
• Melt the butter in a steamer bowl or skillet and pour in the omelet mixture.
• Cook for 25 minutes until the omelet is firm. It will take the same amount of time if you bake the dish in the oven at 180 ° C.

Advice. So that the omelet does not fall off, do not rush to immediately take it out. Let it stand for a few minutes under the lid or in the oven with the door ajar.

pumpkin pancakes

150 g pumpkin

1 egg

125 g flour

100 ml milk

1–2 tbsp. l. sugar (to taste)

20 g butter

5 g baking powder

Salt on the tip of a knife

Thanks to the pumpkin, these pancakes acquire a light orange tint, but they do not have a specific taste.

• Cut the squash into chunks and cook until tender in the oven, on the stovetop with a little water, or in the microwave (this is the fastest method - only 3-5 minutes at maximum power).
• Whilst the pumpkin is cooking, whisk together the egg, milk, sugar, salt, and melted butter.
• Add the sifted flour, baking powder and beat again with a mixer.
• Puree the pumpkin in a blender or by hand, combine with the dough and mix thoroughly.
• Pancakes are baked in a dry frying pan without oil. They are plump but very soft.

Advice. It is best to cook pancakes in a non-stick skillet. If you don't have one, for the first serving, brush the surface with oil and make the pancakes small so they turn over more easily.

carrot candy

2 large carrots

1 orange

3–4 tbsp. l. sugar (to taste)

Coconut or nuts for sprinkling

Dried fruits (optional)

At my family, this dessert goes under the code name "oranges". And not without reason - carrots here acquire a wonderful citrus taste and aroma.

• Grate carrots and orange zest on a fine grater.
• Squeeze the juice from the orange, pour over the carrots, add the zest, sugar and put everything in a bowl with a thick bottom.
• Simmer for 15-20 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently, until all the liquid has evaporated and the mass thickens.
• If desired, you can add finely chopped soft raisins, prunes, candied fruits. Let the carrot mince cool down.
• Form into small balls with wet hands and roll in coconut or any crushed nuts.
• If the mass has boiled well and turned out to be dense, you can use cookie cutters and make figures - for example, squares, as in the photo.
• Send the sweets to the refrigerator for half an hour or an hour - and you can serve.

Advice. The success of these sweets depends on carrots: they must be juicy and sweet. Orange can be combined with lemon, adding juice and zest to taste.

Refreshing smoothie with cucumber and celery

1 small cucumber

1 celery stalk without leaves

1 apple

1 orange

100 ml apple juice

Once upon a time, the combination of celery, cucumber and apple became a real gastronomic discovery for me (by the way, such a trio is also a wonderful salad). Thanks to the orange, the taste is more fruity, so the children go with a bang.

• Peel the apple and cucumber, remove the seeds from the orange.
• For babies, remove the film from the orange slices, leaving only the pulp (this can be omitted, but then particles of the skin will come across in the smoothie).
• Send vegetables and fruits to a blender along with apple juice - if you want a drink. Or without it - if you are satisfied with mashed potatoes.
• Another cooking option: skip all the ingredients through a juicer.

Advice. Celery goes well with a variety of fruits, so you can use pear, banana, kiwi, pineapple for smoothies.