There are two sides to every story, especially when parenting strategies enter the picture. And most of the time, each side is fueled by passion and the sense that they are right. And the other is wrong.
Several years ago, there was a huge buzz about two books that were published almost simultaneously: Deceptively Delicious and The Sneaky Chef. Both talked about how parents can amplify the nutrition in the foods they feed to their children by including purees of veggies or beans.
Let’s talk about both sides of this story.
Why Parents Hide Veggies in Their Kids’ Food
Clearly, the main reason that parents are sneaky in the kitchen is because they are fueled by concern for their child’s nutrition. Pure and simple. But when all is said and done, that’s not the whole picture.
Consequences of Hiding Ingredients from Our Children
The whole purpose of my business is to teach children how to enjoy good food. That is achieved by complete transparency. My students are involved in every step of recipe preparation, from organizing the ingredients to reading the recipe and assembling the finished product. What does that mean? It means that I can’t pull a fast one. They know what is in the food, and most of the time, they learn why. Maybe it’s to add color, texture, or leavening.
When parents sneak ingredients into their kids’ food…
- It suggests that you think that veggies aren’t likable and need to be hidden. If something were delicious, why would you need to hide it? I don’t see anyone sneaking cookies into the pasta sauce, do you?
- It sets up your family for a lack of trust. When they ask you what the green or orange flecks are, what will you say?
- How will they learn if they actually like the flavor of the (green or orange) foods if they aren’t given the opportunity to eat then separately, prepared in a delicious way?
- Parents have to put in more effort in the kitchen. Not only do they have to make meals for the family, they have to take the time to puree or chop all of the veggies as well. Who has time for that?
- The purees don’t go a long way. There may only be a teaspoon (or less!) of the vegetable puree in each serving. So, what’s the point?
- It can become confusing to children when suddenly their parents are encouraging them to eat the brownies (because they contain spinach). What about the brownies at the cafe or at little Samantha’s house? The same is true for chicken nuggets dipped in cauliflower puree – why is it okay if I eat them at home but not at the drive-thru?
- My friend Christina writes about this issue on her blog, and it is probably the best article I have seen on the topic. Check it out: Spoonfed – Raising Kids to Think About the Food They Eat
When Adding Ingredients Isn’t Sneaky At All…It’s Just Cooking.
Sometimes, recipes call for a variety of ingredients, and the process isn’t deceptive at all. Take my grandmother’s spaghetti gravy, for example. It is filled with carrots, onions and celery, but nobody raises an eyebrow when I prepare it. Why? Because the kids see the ingredients as the meal is being prepared, and know that each item is part of the recipe to contribute flavor and nutrition. One of our favorite recipes is a home-made macaroni and cheese that contains pureed winter squash. My daughter loved the flavor combination so much, she renamed it Squash-A-Roni and Cheese.
My friend Jamie Smith is the food service director in Santa Cruz, California. He uses a strategy that he calls “stealth health” in the meals that he prepares for the students. Here is what he has to say on the subject,
I make “alfredo” sauce by thickening low fat milk with cooked oatmeal and pureeing it until smooth. What is a fruit smoothie, if not whole fruit in a convenient disguise? Chopped veggies in meatloaf is traditional, not hiding.
Regardless of your stance on this issue, I think we can all agree that it is best to model good eating behavior for our children. By including our kids in the kitchen and in the meal selection for our families, we can teach them to enjoy veggies, out in the open, without apologizing for their presence or worse, hiding them altogether.
Sneaking aside, what’s your favorite approach for encouraging your children to try new foods?