Fussy Eaters

Appears in
The New Food Processor Bible: 30th Anniversary Edition
The New Food Processor Bible

By Norene Gilletz

Published 2011

  • About
  • Many children are extremely fussy and go through phases. Noodles are the mainstay of my grandson Sam’s diet. (It must be genetic—his dad would only eat white food when he was young!) However, his younger brother, Zak, will try almost anything and so will my sister’s grandsons, Jesse, Ari and Jack. When my grandson Max was little, he loved to eat pasta with Pesto that I made using half basil and half spinach. Meatballs, shepherd’s pie, salmon patties and tuna casserole have always been favorites with the children in our family.
  • Kids love finger foods, so look for ways to create fun foods for little hands to hold. If you’re frustrated because your child refuses to eat anything that resembles a vegetable, your food processor can be a huge help. Instead of letting mealtime become a power struggle, hide healthy foods inside the ones that your child already likes and will eat. Combine foods that have similar colors or textures. If they can’t see, smell or taste anything too different, you might be able to sneak some extra nutrition into them by adding puréed veggies to their favorite foods. Camouflage works wonders on the food battleground!
  • SNEAKY SOUPS: Puréed vegetable-based soups (e.g., carrot, sweet potato) are a super way to get children to eat more veggies. Use a slotted spoon to remove some of the vegetables and purée to the desired consistency for babies and fussy eaters.
  • SNEAKY BEAN CUISINE: Rinse and drain red lentils, then add to vegetable soups and spaghetti sauces—the lentils will “disappear” when cooked. Add ½ cup puréed canned or cooked lentils, chickpeas or vegetables to your favorite meatball mixture, pasta sauce, chili, burgers and meatloaf.
  • SNEAKY VEGGIE CUISINE: Add ½ cup puréed squash or sweet potato to salmon patties. Add ½ cup puréed cauliflower or squash to macaroni and cheese—camouflage the taste with a little extra grated cheese.
  • SNEAKY SAUCE CUISINE: Add puréed carrots to tomato sauce—it’s perfect in lasagna, over pasta or on mini pizzas. Decorate mini pizzas with cut-up veggies to make faces!
  • WHITE’S ALL RIGHT: Blend a couple of spoonfuls of puréed cottage cheese or silken tofu into pancake batter. Blend ½ cup tofu into the cheese filling when making lasagna. Add puréed white beans to mashed potatoes.
  • SNEAKY FRUIT CUISINE: Combine yogurt with frozen chunks of banana and strawberries in the food processor to make an extra-thick smoothie and call it “ice cream for breakfast”!
  • SNEAKY FROZEN CUISINE: Add different-colored fruit purées to yogurt (e.g., strawberries, mangoes, blueberries). Layer alternating colors in molds and freeze to make rainbow pops.
  • SNEAKY FUN CUISINE: Cut fruits and vegetables into novelty shapes with mini cutters. Make dried Apple Chips as a healthy snack.
  • SNEAKY BAKING: Replace part of the flour in muffins and quick breads with finely ground rolled oats. Add Prune Purée to brownie batter and unsweetened applesauce to cake and muffin batters. Make zucchini bread, carrot cake or banana muffins, baking them in mini muffin pans.