Getting those greens!!

Let's be honest, no matter how much we try, it can sometimes be hard to get all our servings of veggies in each day.  But much like water, our bodies really need the nutrition vegetables provide.  More than that, they keep up fuller longer.  They are more naturally dense then processed food so we don't automatically want to snack two hours later. 

It is even harder to get our kiddos to eat their veggies.  Maybe you have kids that eat their's at will and always ask for more like in those Hidden Valley Ranch commercials, but once my kids got over 18 months, it became harder to get them to eat their vegetables for the day.

So as a mom, I needed to get creative.  I needed to get a little sneaky.  And to me, there is nothing easier and sneakier than spinach.  It is so easy to add into foods we are already having to get my boys to eat some veggies.  Chest check out all the benefits of spinach!

You may be thinking that spinach tastes horrible or would be too hard to hide, but trust me, it can be easier than you think.  Let's talk about some ways to incorporate spinach into recipes to give your kids, and yourselves, more veggies!

1. Smoothies. One of the most popular way to get your kids to gobble up some of those fruit and vegetables servings is to make a smoothie.  Shakeology already has so much dense nutrition but for my boys, I can add in 1/2 banana, some all natural peanut butter and a handful of spinach and they really don't notice the difference.  You can make all kinds of green smoothie recipes utilizing spinach.  Plus, kids think it is a really fun treat.  So mix some up!! 

2. Burgers.  That's right! in your burger.  We always make our burger patties homemade, using ground turkey, an egg, and spices.  Take some frozen spinach, thawed with the excess water drained, and add in a handful to your mix.  Then, grill em up! Your kids won't know the difference! Delicious!

3. Pasta.  My kids love pasta and we don't have it often as our main dish but when we do, I try to add spinach.  Spinach stuffed shells, cooked spinach mixed in with baked tortellini, spinach lasagna rolls.  It adds in that extra veggie to a dish your kid already loves.  Plus the cheesy goodness is really what the kids focus on so that spinach isn't looked at twice!

4. Spaghetti Sauce.  It is so much easier to make your own sauce.  You can do it in the slow cooker.  You know exactly what is going into it AND you can add tons of veggies including spinach.  Your batch can also be canned to stretch out over several dinners.  And that sauce--use it for spaghetti, pizza, to top meatballs.  Be creative!

What are some ways you have used veggies in your meals to help your kids eat them?