Do you remember when you were a kid and used to refuse to eat your veggies? For all the neighbors knew, there might have been some kind of war going on trying to get you to swallow a mouthful of green healthiness.
Later in life, you kind of grow into vegetables. They become less distgusting, and if you’re like me, you even enjoy them.
However, I realize this isn’t the case for everyone. So, here are four of the best ways I know to “hide” veggies so you (and your loved ones will eat them…
Cheese Covers A Multitude
I never said any of these options were “healthy” or “paleo” so bear that in mind. Actually, this is the only one of the four that isn’t.
One of the best dishes I made that hid vegetables well was an alfredo pasta bake. The idea is that you can cook up some penne pasta, add whatever meat and vegetables to it you like, and cover it with homemade alfredo sauce.
While I typically add sausage, onions and garlic to the dish, I also add at least one, or all, of the following:
- broccoli
- zucchini
- peppers
- brussel sprouts
- eggplant
Typically, I’ll sauté everything before putting them in the dish to bake. Once all the ingredients are sautéed together, they can go in dish with the penne, get covered with the alfredo sauce, and cook on high until the sauce is bubbling a little bit.
No one ever says anything about the veggies!:-)
Did Someone Say “Bacon”?
As I’ve posted elsewhere, bacon is an excellent companion to just about any vegetable. You can cut up the bacon into pieces, fry it up, and with the bacon grease, sautee the vegetables in there as well.
I love doing this with Bacon and Broccoli, but it works really well with any of the veggies listed above. Other tasty things to add are a little garlic salt, sliced almonds, or parmesan cheese.
The Spinach and Anything Blend
If you’re looking to get a good bit of vegetables in even in the morning, get a bunch of spinach. In the past, I’ve typically mixed this with protein powder, frozen berries and water (since the protein powder mixes with the water to form a creamy drink). Occasionally I’ll add a little honey if it needs to be sweater.
Spinach, when blended together with everything fairly well and does not detract from the taste. Actually, it’s pretty tasteless once you get it in a shake or smoothie. And you can add handfuls of it and not feel like you’re kissing Popeye!
A Scramble
If all else fails, an egg scramble usually works! sauté whatever veggies you want (or don’t want!) with bacon or sausage (or both). Once everything is cooked up, you can add 3 to 5 eggs over the top and a little cheese if you like. At this point, you can make an omelette, or you can just scramble everything together.
If you’ve got salsa or hot sauce, you can pour that over everything too!
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Enjoy!
Nate