This Reader Found a Clever Way to Get Her Kids to Eat Veggies!

By Kaitlyn | Staff Writer

Oct 01, 2021 @ 5:00 AM MDT

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Finally, here’s a way kids will WANT to eat vegetables!

This week’s Happy Friday reader, Mackenzie, shared a smart way she gets her kiddos to eat veggies by sneaking some zucchini in her muffin recipe. The best part? It doesn’t even taste like there are any veggies in the muffins! As we all know, kids can be very sensitive to eating vegetables, however, this way, her kids enjoy them and she doesn’t have to worry about them not receiving the nutrients veggies offer.

“As a momma of littles, I am always trying to sneak in veggies when I can. When our garden does well, I’ll shred and freeze zucchini to use in baking later.”

“One of my easiest and kid-friendly baking recipes include a pack of my frozen zucchini and 2 packs of Martha White muffin mix in any flavor you like.”

“I make the muffins according to the package and throw in the zucchini before baking. You can’t even tell there’s a vegetable in these muffins! I count this as a mom win!”

Thank you, Mackenzie, for sharing this great hip tip! Vegetables are essential for the development of our kiddos, and who doesn’t love muffins? Not to mention these look delicious and seem like adults would love them just as much as the kids.

You could probably get creative and try different veggies as well. The choice is yours!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

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Have loads of zucchini like Mackenzie? Check out these recipes:

About the writer:

Kaitlyn has a Bachelor's Degree from St. John's University with 2 years of writing experience for LinkedIn, Celeb Magazine, and other various publications.

Join The Discussion

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Christal Kuchera October 1, 2021 at 5:48 am MST

Try these “dinosaur muffins” too. My kids also enjoy these! Even picky neighborhood kids have been found to love them! https://www.theconsciousplantkitchen.online/spinach-banana-muffins/

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Crystal October 1, 2021 at 7:15 am MST

These are super cute. what do they taste like? Do kids notice the veggie taste?

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Anna October 1, 2021 at 10:03 am MST

Thank you! I’m going to try these

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Beth October 1, 2021 at 8:14 pm MST

When you blend all the ingredients do the oats get all chopped up and smooth or is this more of a crumbly consistency. I tried to look closely at the pic on the website and didn’t see chunks of oats, but just curious. Thanks!

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Beth October 1, 2021 at 8:17 pm MST

Never mind – I read all the info above the recipe and found my answer. The oats will grind up with a powerful blender…something I don’t have 🙂

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Jason October 1, 2021 at 7:52 am MST

Great idea, however using this brand would be like putting veggies on Lucky Charms marshmallows. This version of muffin mix is full of artificial berries, flavor, color, modified cornstarch, propylene glycol, mono- and diglycerides, lactylate, BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene), Blue 2 Lake, Red 40 and more (aka full of chemicals). Just cautioning what we put in our little ones, a homemade version from scratch would be best. Take Care.

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Anne Marie October 1, 2021 at 8:54 am MST

Another way to get them to eat veggies is to throw out all the sugary cereals, salty snacks and packaged foods in your house. Don’t buy those things. Ever. When they get hungry they can snack on fresh fruits and vegetables because there won’t be any JUNK food in the house.

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MommySpendsLess October 1, 2021 at 1:12 pm MST

Wow! It’s great that you and your family have that kind of discipline! I’m afraid it wouldn’t work for us because then I couldn’t have any yummy goodies either. I’d eventually want chocolate, ice cream or something salty and crunchy badly enough that I’d drive to the store. Personally, I prefer to keep things in moderation. Eventually my daughter will be an adult with access to all kinds of food and I don’t want her to feel like she has to make up for lost time by having all the foods that she was denied during childhood.

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Observant Mom October 1, 2021 at 2:20 pm MST

If your kids eat breakfast at school or lunch they are eating lots of crap. They literally give them prepackaged cups/containers of Lucky Charms or other sugary cereals. School meals are not prepared fresh. Its frozen stuff tossed into the oven or microwave. Lunch ladies haven’t cooked for students at schools for decades. A parent can only keep their kids away from processed foods until they go to school. For those that will say I send my kid to school with healthy food, kids will trade or toss the healthy lunch and eat off their friend’s plate. I’ve seen it!

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Jessica Moreno October 1, 2021 at 12:17 pm MST

Thanks for the tip! Let’s be a judge free zone once in a while have a sweet muffin!

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Cherryluva October 1, 2021 at 3:55 pm MST

Jerry senfeilds wife made full cookbooks like this for kids with pureed veggie recipes she fed her kids and they loved it.

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Beth October 1, 2021 at 8:11 pm MST

I make zucchini muffins every year when my zucchini is ready from my garden. I don’t put it in an already done muffin mix though. Just google zucchini bread and bake in muffin tins instead of loaf pan or I’m sure you could google zucchini muffins and get a recipe that way too. It’s kind of funny my kids will eat zucchini muffins like there’s no tomorrow. I literally have to limit them. I never considered that there are technically veggies in them. Two years ago I made about 150 muffins and wrapped them individually in Saran Wrap and froze them. They were perfect to toss in lunches or quick breakfast.

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Lolie October 1, 2021 at 8:12 pm MST

Thank you for the idea! We will be trying this recipe.

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