Toddler Victories: The Picky Eater

Eating her zucchini noodles the way Daddy taught her.

Being the mother of a picky eater I have learned to celebrate the little victories.  You know... like "Wahoo! She licked a banana!!!"  But today was a biggy!  A mom victory for the ages!  At dinner tonight I got my daughter to eat not one, not two, but six different vegetables in one fell swoop!  And she liked it!

It has been a long challenge to get Lena to eat any fresh fruits or vegetables.  Over the last year we have finally gotten her to like freshly juiced fruits and veggies, eat carrots, apples without the peel and that is pretty much it.  Lately I have been trying out new recipes that have more veggies in them and tonight I made roasted veggie ragu with Italian turkey sausage over raw zucchini spaghetti noodles.    We sat down to eat and as I watched her put "noodle" after "noodle" into her little mouth I tried to conceal the utter shock and excitement that was bubbling from inside.  Then when she took big mouthfuls of the ragu sauce I fully expected her to spit it out but she didn't! Success.  I am making this ALL THE TIME!  Now I need to invent even more recipes that can accomplish what this one did.

First I pulled out all the veggies from the fridge that needed to be used up.  Tonight that was carrots, red onion, red bell pepper, and broccoli. Then I roasted them at a high temperature while I made the base of the ragu.  I simmered plum tomatoes, olive oil, Italian herbs, and garlic.  Then I put the roasted veggies into the Vitamix with the sauce and pulsed it to make it smooth.  Lastly I added the cooked Italian turkey sausage.

 I served the ragu over raw zucchini noodles that I made with my spiral slicer.  Lena at hers with lots of "special cheese" also known as Parmesan.