The Hash House: Operation: Vegetables

Let me start this post by saying when Everett first started eating solid food, he would eat anything, I mean anything! I can still see my little 10 month old chowing down on asparagus on Thanksgiving, green beans at Houlihans or peas during a family dinner. It didn't matter. Sometimes the child would eat more than me! Now, not so much. He won't try anything green and if I try to put it in his mouth, he shakes his head and says, "Naw".

Basically the only vegetable he will eat by itself is carrots. I can't accept that. I am the girl who ate every fruit and vegetable in sight while she was preggers. I believe in a balanced diet and my kid will not be eating bread and fruit for the next 7 years. I had to get a little creative. Enter Deceptively Delicious and Double Delicious! Now my Sunday afternoons are spent pureeing vegetables to mix in with different recipes. Here I thought I was finished pureeing baby food. Jokes on me.

So far I have tried-

Chicken Pea Pesto Pasta

Banana Peanut Butter Muffins (These were bomb-dot-com!)

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

This week's menu includes-

Macaroni and Cheese

What I have learned so far-

Plan a menu. I started doing this about a year ago and it is A LOT of help. I pick up the coupons and ads in the Sunday paper and create my menu using the foods that my family likes that are on special or the ones that I already have a coupon for. I grocery shop on Sundays and don't have to go back for the rest of the week! This also saves money because I don't buy anything we don't need. A good tip for this is to make meals with fresh fruits and vegetables (i.e. salads, grilled vegetables, etc.) earlier in the week and meals such as tacos or enchiladas later in the week using food that stays fresh longer or meat that you can freeze until you need it. I also post my weekly menu on a chalkboard I put together using a frame I bought at an antique store and a piece of wood I painted with chalkboard paint. Pictures soon to come.

I add different frozen vegetables to my shopping list and make my purees on Sunday. You can do this with fresh vegetables, but let's face it, I don't have time to steam, cut and puree all those vegetables! I puree them in my blender and then pre-measure them into 1/2 cups and throw them in labeled baggies. Now I have all the purees I need for the week and more! You can keep them in the freezer and quickly thaw them in warm water when you need them.

Another thing I like to do is make a breakfast item for the week. I want Everett to have a healthy breakfast so my mom will feed him the breakfast item of the week and some fresh fruit. I will make breakfast on Sunday and then we can eat it throughout the week. It's just one more way to add veggies to our diets. Trust me, you don't taste them! Last week there was cauliflower in my muffins and this week there is spinach in my oatmeal bars!