Mum shares sneaky trick for getting kids to eat more vegetables – and healthy sausage roll recipe

by

How to get your kids to eat more veggies: Mum reveals the sneaky trick she uses to make meals healthier – and her children have no idea

  • A mother has shared her sneaky trick for getting her fussy kids to eat healthy
  • Taryn Alise, from Melbourne, said she hides all sorts of veg in her sausage rolls
  • The mum-of-two shared the recipe with others online, to huge praise
  • She isn’t the only one who hides healthy foods; model Rachael Finch does it too 
  • Celebrity nutritionist Mandy Sacher said you shouldn’t because it breaks trust 

By Sophie Haslett For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

A mother-of-two has shared her sneaky trick for getting her fussy kids to eat more vegetables without them even realising – and it’s as simple as hiding extra foods in the meals they love.

Taryn Alise, from Melbourne, said she often makes sausage rolls for her two sons, but rather than buy processed rolls from the shop, she hides everything from zucchini to carrot and lentils in her own homemade version.

‘What does everyone sneak into their sausage rolls?’ Taryn recently posted on Facebook.

‘I’ve been told by my three-year-old today that I’m the best cook when he had these for lunch.’

A mother-of-two has shared her sneaky trick for getting her fussy kids to eat more vegetables without them even realising – and it’s as simple as hiding extra foods in sausage rolls (pictured)

Alongside sausage mince, Taryn said she also puts an onion, two diced carrots, one zucchini, two eggs, one can of lentils and crushed garlic in her mix (pictured before mixing)

Alongside sausage mince, Taryn said she also puts an onion, two diced carrots, one zucchini, two eggs, one can of lentils and crushed garlic in her mix (pictured before mixing)

Alongside sausage mince, Taryn said she also puts an onion, two diced carrots, one zucchini, two eggs, one can of lentils and crushed garlic in her mix.

She will then mix in one packet of hamburger helper with some water and add a ‘squirt of barbecue and tomato sauce’ to make it all stick together and taste delicious.

The finished product looks exactly like a regular sausage roll, but has many more nutritional benefits.

How to make healthy sausage rolls

INGREDIENTS

The crafty mother shared her sausage roll recipe online (pictured)

The crafty mother shared her sausage roll recipe online (pictured)

One onion

Two carrots, diced

One zucchini

Two eggs

Sausage mince

One can of lentils

Crushed garlic

One packet of hamburger helper

Water

Squirt of barbecue sauce

Squirt of tomato sauce

METHOD

1. Mix all of the ingredients you intend to include in the sausage roll mine.

2. Halve a sheet of your pastry, make a line on each sheet and roll and cut.

3. Add either some egg or milk wash over the top and bake on 180 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes or until brown.

Source: Facebook    

Other parents confessed to finding ways that they could hide healthy items in less healthy foods (Taryn's lunchboxes for her kids pictured)

Other parents confessed to finding ways that they could hide healthy items in less healthy foods (Taryn’s lunchboxes for her kids pictured)

Others online were hugely impressed with Taryn’s handy trick, saying it is a ‘brilliant idea’.

‘This is so good. I normally just use sausage mince and onion,’ one commenter posted.

Others said they do their own variations on this, adding everything from grated apple to potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and even peas and corn.

‘Beef and pork mince, onion, capsicum, zucchini, carrot, small amount of bread crumbs and two eggs,’ one mum wrote.

‘I also raid the vegetable garden at home and sometimes add beetroot, spinach, fresh herbs and what ever else I can find. All veggies get blitzed up to a paste then mixed with the meat. Kids have no idea.’

Tips for training your baby’s tastebuds 

* Expose your baby to a wide variety of flavour, starting in utero via the amniotic fluid (foods a mother ingests).

* Include plenty of vegetables, including leafy green and cruciferous vegetables, which are often the hardest to convince little ones to eat.

* Remember to ensure your baby is exposed to different smells (olfactory exposure) due to foods being prepared in the family home. 

* Do not delay finger foods, transition your baby onto nutritious finger foods from around six months old. Delaying the transition from purees to finger foods can lead to a refusal of foods which aren’t smooth and mushy. 

* If your baby rejects a food such as broccoli or avocado, avoid sweetening the rejected food with fruit. Sweetening food often reinforces a baby’s affinity for sweet foods and doesn’t encourage them to enjoy different flavours. Continue to offer a food at least 16 times to a baby, every couple of days, before altering the flavour.

* For toddlers and older children, it’s imperative to ensure that they have the opportunity to be exposed to new food. It’s common to see repetitive eating – the same food on offer daily, and this doesn’t help t evolve a child’s acceptance of diverse flavours.

* Get your children involved in the kitchen from as early as age one. Encouraging your baby to play with dough or wash a carrot is beneficial. Later on, it’s beneficial to foster an enjoyment of cooking and baking delicious and healthy meals. This is one of the best ways to counteract fussy eating. 

* Be a role model. Let your kids see you eating and enjoying your food. This means eating together.

* Stay away from kiddie menus, as they’re all the same and cater for the child who only wants very plain food like chicken nuggets, chips, pasta and tomato-based sauce. Get into the habit of ordering from the main menu – you can always go entree size to reduce costs.

* Widen their food repertoire slowly. You might be a foodie, but you can’t expect them to accept complex foods right away. Introduce something new each week and praise them when they take to it. 

Celebrity nutritionist Mandy Sacher (pictured) said she is not a fan of hiding vegetables, however, as it 'breaks down trust'

Celebrity nutritionist Mandy Sacher (pictured) said she is not a fan of hiding vegetables, however, as it ‘breaks down trust’

'If you have a child who hates broccoli and think the answer is to hide it in their favourite meal of spaghetti bolognese, then quit doing this,' Mandy told FEMAIL (stock image)

‘If you have a child who hates broccoli and think the answer is to hide it in their favourite meal of spaghetti bolognese, then quit doing this,’ Mandy told FEMAIL (stock image) 

This isn’t the first time kids have been tricked into eating more vegetables without realising.

Tips for getting out of a food rut

* Have at least four items for breakfast, lunch and dinner that you can rotate.

* Introduce one new meal each week.

*  Stretch your child’s tastebuds. So if they like cheese sandwiches, try a cheese wrap.

* Get your kids involved in the kitchen – whether that’s by cooking, prepping or grocery shopping.

* Expose your baby to as many different flavours and foods as possible.

* Never hide vegetables in their favourite foods as you will break their trust.

* Introduce disliked foods slowly.

Australian model and mum Rachael Finch also swears by hiding veggies in foods her kids love.

”I try to blend [vegetables] into things, like they had a smoothie this morning with about a cup of spinach and some avocado and bananas and things like that,’ she said previously.

Rachael also tries to make healthier versions of carrot cakes and dessert slices, by slipping in superfoods without her kids realising. 

However, not everyone is on board with the idea.

Australian celebrity nutritionist and best-selling food author Mandy Sacher said you should never hide vegetables in meals as this breaks down the trust with your kids:

‘If you have a child who hates broccoli and think the answer is to hide it in their favourite meal of spaghetti bolognese, then quit doing this,’ Mandy previously told FEMAIL.

‘You are in danger of losing their safe food when they find out what’s in it.’