When my son was still an infant, I remember talking to a dad that jokingly referred to his toddler daughter’s diet as the “beige diet”. While our now toddler son loves more than beige food, he does have a tendency to love all meals that include beige items. Most specifically pasta, bread and rice in his case. While I did follow advice from many sources on introducing our son to a variety of foods during his solid food introduction, I still struggle with getting him to eat some healthy foods (primarily vegetables) outright on their own.

Here are some “sneaky” ways I ensure my son has balanced toddler meals he enjoys:

1. For pasta dishes: I always add a hearty amount of meat and veggies in. My ideal ratio of pasta to non pasta is at least 60/40%. One of my son’s favorite pasta is mac n’ cheese, and I will select shell pasta or other shapes where the healthy items can easily hide. Another trick is adding in riced cauliflower – it blends in, barely changes the taste and packs in tons of nutrients. Another successful healthy pasta I make him is with homemade spinach pesto. My son doesn’t like spinach and will otherwise pick it out of his pasta, but enjoys a hearty pesto on wholewheat pasta.

2. Sandwiches – a go to of mine for packed lunches given it’s so easy to prepare and saves well overnight. Within a sandwich, I’ll sneak in sliced cucumber (a favorite with cream cheese and turkey). I also will mix in cucumber slices with his apple slices on the side.

3. Pancakes – I add spinach and bananas into the batter, no need to adjust the recipe according to my experience.

4. Smoothies – Another place I’ll throw in spinach, as well as celery in addition to fresh fruit and yogurt.

5. Quesadilla – I’ll pack chicken and broccoli or spinach alongside gooey cheese which my son loves.

What are your tricks for sneaking healthy items into your kid’s favorite dishes?