It can be hard to cook for any child who is a picky eater, but it can be even harder to find easy vegetarian recipes for kids who are picky eaters. There are some things to keep in mind when you are finding easy vegetarian recipes for kids. If your kids aren’t going to eat meat, they’re going to have to get their required nutrition elsewhere. You’ll have to make sure they are getting enough protein, calcium, iron, and zinc from their vegetarian diet. For protein and iron, increase the number of nuts, soybeans, other beans, and cereal that they eat. To make sure they get enough calcium, you should increase their low-fat dairy and leafy green vegetables, like baby spinach. To make sure they get enough zinc, serve them dishes with nuts, peanut butter, and mushrooms.

A great way to come up with easy vegetarian recipes for kids is to not only allow your children to eat what they are hungry, but to offer them healthy, vegetarian options for their meals and snacks instead of junk food. Fruit salad made out of bite-size pieces of melon, pieces of tangerines, grapes, and berries, served with a side of yogurt naturally sweetened with fruit and granola is a wonderful idea for picky eaters. Another alternative for easy vegetarian recipes for kids who are picky eaters is to serve cut up raw and cooked veggies like cucumbers, carrots, celery, endamame, and broccoli with some ranch or blue cheese dipping sauce with a piece of whole wheat toast spread with low-sodium, organic peanut butter.

Also, even the most picky kids usually love mashed potatoes. Make them healthier by adding some carrots to the pot and mash them together with the mashed potatoes to make “Orange Mashed Potatoes”. You can also do this with butternut squash or even broccoli. Or, if your kids are a little more experimental, try mashing carrots on their own or even make them mashed sweet potatoes sprinkled with a little brown sugar.

One alternative to traditional spaghetti and marinara is to use a spaghetti squash instead of actual pasta. Roast the spaghetti squash until the insides are soft. Take a fork and use the prongs to scoop out the inside of the squash. When done this way, what comes out looks like real spaghetti, and a lot of kids won’t be able to tell the difference. Top with a cooked sauce with tomato, carrots, zucchini, and butternut squash, flavored with some garlic, oregano, basil, onion, salt, pepper, and sugar. Even better, besides this being a dish that your kids will enjoy, it’s one that you’ll like too. And, it’s healthy!

Whatever easy vegetarian recipes for kids who are picky eaters you decide to try cooking, don’t be afraid to experiment by including different vegetables, fruits, whole wheat, or proteins. Your children’s tastes will change a lot as they grow up, and as you slowly add new flavors and consistencies to their meals, you’ll discover that their tastes expand and they’ll become less picky as they grow up.