Chicken nuggets, spaghetti and mac and cheese: For many of us mamas, these are meal-time staples and favorites for our kiddos. These instant crowd pleasers can be the difference between your child eating something versus nothing for dinner.

When I became a mom two years ago, I fantasized about providing my son and husband with visually and sensory appealing meals that would fulfill their nutritional needs and delight their senses. Insert the beautiful herb garnishes, fine china and Norman Rockwell family image here. Man, was I wrong. Getting everyone to sit at the table for two minutes can be a struggle. And I’ve had more pieces of broccoli thrown at the floor in disgust than I’d like to admit.

With this challenge, it’s encouraging that there are moms before us who have paved the way on how to go sleuth mode and incorporate unseen veggies into children’s diets. In this blog, we’ve rounded up some popular recipes from our favorite mom food bloggers. We hope these inspire you so that your kid will eat more veggies while still enjoying the foods they know and love.

Zucchini Noodles

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s hard to avoid this trend on Pinterest. This is a great way to meet your low-carb waistline needs for the adults in the household while adding veggies and greens into your kids diet. This video from What’s Up Moms shows two ways to prepare the zucchini noodles, by using an affordable spiralizer or a manual peeler.

http://www.whatsupmoms.com

Spaghetti using Spaghetti Squash Noodles

If your kiddo isn’t a fan of the zucchini texture and avocado sauce, then we recommend substituting pasta with a spaghetti squash. This video from Gluten Free Homestead shows you how to cut and prepare your spaghetti squash. After cooking, you simply prepare your traditional meat or tomato sauce and mix in  squash noodles like you would for pasta.

http://www.glutenfreehomestead.com/

Macaroni and Cheese With Squash or Cauliflower

Author and mom Jessica Seinfeld (yes, that Seinfeld) is the queen at deceptively adding veggies to dinner and lunch time favorites. Here’s a new spin on the American classic of mac and cheese. Seinfeld suggests adding a  ½ cup of butternut squash or cauliflower puree to the traditional dish.

http://jessicaseinfeld.com/

Pizza with Basil, Corn, Peppers and Zucchini

Rather than ringing up Papa John’s this Friday night, spice things up by making a quick and tasty homemade pizza using produce from your crisper drawer. We’ve included a roasted veggie and ricotta recipe from Skinny Mom here for inspiration. Although, you can get creative and use whatever veggies you have at home. As long as there’s cheese involved, your kids will hardly notice the veggies.

https://skinnymom.com

Do you have any veggie recipes for kids that have been a hit? Our readers would love to hear from you!