Spinach is one of the most potent greens when it comes to overall health and vitamin support. While its raw form can be healthy in its own right, the boiled and cooked versions of the leafy green provide an incredible amount of nutritional value. Unfortunately, it could be incredibly difficult to feed the much-needed veggies to the children. After all, boiled spinach doesn't look all that appetizing. What are ways you can incorporate spinach into daily meals without forcing your child to eat it?
As a reader of this blog, you know NFI takes health and diet seriously. Christopher Brown recently wrote a post called Your Children are What YOU Eat. Us dads need to be intentional about being an example to our children when it comes to diet. For fatherhood leaders, you can not only use these tips in your own life, but be sure to share these tips with the dads you serve.
1. Salads - Spinach can be added to salads quite easily without making the experience distasteful for the children. Even replacing half of the lettuce with spinach can help your children obtain more vitamins and minerals than by eating it without. Adding grilled chicken, onions and mushrooms to the mix can make an incredibly healthy, and tasty meal.
2. Smoothies - Armed with a good blender, you can make fruity smoothies with a bit of spinach added in order to make a good summer drink. Mixing fruits such as blueberries can help hide the spinach for children who don't like the "look" of certain foods. Make them in the privacy of your kitchen and the children will never know that they are drinking some of the healthiest beverages you can develop.
3. Lasagna - Depending on the recipe, you may already be incorporating spinach in your lasagna. If not, a few cups of chopped spinach gently added to a layer or two can provide a bit of additional nutrition to the dish.
4. Spinach Cake - While the children may not eat a glop of boiled spinach, a great deal of fun can be had by eating a green cake. Blending the leafy green and adding it to your recipe could provide a great way to encourage your children to eat healthier. Of course the sugars in the frosting may not be as healthy as you'd like, but at least the children are eating the spinach.
5. Soups - By finely grinding the spinach, you can add a bit of it to soups to give it more health appeal while making it look like ordinary chives and such. This can be a great addition to homemade turkey noodle soup after Thanksgiving.
6. Egg Rolls - While spring egg rolls can be delicious themselves, using spinach in your chicken or pork recipes can add more health appeal. Chopped spinach lining the egg roll prior to add the rest of the components can provide a way for the children to eat it without realizing what is actually within.
7. Quiche - The overall development of a good quiche can hide all kinds of nutritional foods without the child suspecting spinach is involved. While some use bacon, others will add extra cheese in the development of the dish in order to help hide the fact that spinach is within the meal.
8. Macaroni and Cheese - Using rotini noodles and a homemade cheese sauce, you can add a bit of spinach into this dish with the children being overly concerned. A few chopped pieces of bacon and almost any child will be hooked on this healthy side or meal. Some parents will use garden rotini as one-third of the noodles are green anyway.
9. Chicken Pasta - Using garden rotini again, you can add chopped spinach in with diced tomatoes while mixing in chicken and a garlic marinade to provide a meal that is good hot or cold. The garlic marinade can easily hide a lot of the taste of spinach from the children.
10. Mashed Potatoes - Some parents have had good luck using chopped spinach in a cheesy garlic mashed potatoes recipe. This combines two foods that children seem to love: cheese and mashed potatoes. The added spinach will barely be noticeable as the children are more focused on the cheesy side of the dish.
Providing a nutritional option for children can help them develop physically and mentally. The more intentional you are about child's health, the more healthy they will be. Start by encouraging your children to eat more vegetables and fruits daily. Sneak the veggies in if you have too!
Ken Myers is a father of three and passionate about great childcare. He’s always looking for ways to help families find the support they need to live fuller, richer lives. Find out more about expert childcare by checking out @go_nannies on Twitter.
image: iStockPhoto
