“I don’t want to eat this, it’s green!” says my 4 year old while gently tossing the deliciously steamed Brussels sprouts of his plate one…by…one. As they start rolling over the table, I wonder how to react next. I look at him and feel anger, rejection and disappointment. How can he not appreciate the greatness of these amazing healthy green vegetables?

Maybe one day he will learn to like them, maybe not, but certainly not today. I needed a plan. I became tired of getting upset about scenes like this. Trying to convince him to eat by saying “This will make you big and strong” and “If you don’t eat at least 2 pieces, I will not play with you later” had proven to be very exhausting and not led to any results. I came to the conclusion that I no longer wanted to fight about food. Food should be fun, not forced. So I decided to become a vegetable hider.

Since the sprouts incident, I started hiding veggie goodness wherever I could. I blend veggies into sauces or I hide them in ‘chocolate muffins‘. They can also be found in my homemade ice cream and smoothies. Luckily, I don’t need to hide them all the time – some veggies such as broccoli and carrots are accepted.

I am tricking them – but believe me, hiding veggies works! And hopefully one day, when my kids have become wise and healthy grown ups, they will appreciate my efforts.