# Is it wrong to sneak vegetables into children’s food? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 29, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232 "2024-05-29T14:56:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/61 "2024-05-29T22:26:08Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > If the child is reporting actual symptoms of illness that link to that food being served, shouldn’t a responsible parent have that checked?   Obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/62 "2024-05-29T22:29:49Z")
There are many kids who will absolutely not eat foods in a mix. Stew and soups are out the door. Food touching other foods. Out. Foods in sauces. Out. Kids be weird. Of course you’ll know if your kid is allergic. Remember trying one solid at a time, in the beginning? That’s why we did that. In modern day America I doubt any kid starved to death unless being subject to abuse or other extreme situations, like eating disorders. And they usually get caught by social workers. I’d like to know how much it happens. I bet more kids are ill from obesity than starvation. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/63 "2024-05-29T22:32:31Z")
Some kids will taste those “hidden” vegetables. I hated tomato sauce as a child, and refused to eat it. And i knew it was a little weird because i liked raw tomatoes, and also liked my father’s tomato soup. And then i married a man who loved tomato sauce, so we spent a lot of effort debugging my hatred of tomato sauce. It turned out that my mother added a little green pepper to tomato sauce. She wasn’t trying to hide it, that was just one ingredient she used in a dish that normally has a lot of ingredients. But that’s what i hated. Anyway, you can’t hide cooked peppers in food without my realizing it as soon as i taste it. And my sense of taste was much better when i was a child. If the dislike is textural rather than flavor-based, you can probably cook the food in a different way. I dislike okra because it’s slimy. I don’t love the flavor, either, but it’s okay in soup, where the flavor isn’t too prominent and the texture isn’t an issue. Fwiw, i assumed that my dislike of peppers was just a preference, but i recently worked in my temple’s soup kitchen one day when we were making an enormous pot of pepper sauce. And i had to leave early because i became ill. And i went home and showered and washed my hair and changed all my clothes, and i was still too sick to eat until the next day. I’m also allergic to eggplant. (My throat swelled up last time i tried it.) So i think i have a physical problem with some of the nightshade vegetables. (I’m okay with potato and tomato, but i don’t like them as much as most people do.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/64 "2024-05-29T22:33:17Z")
Oh, and i still don’t eat meatloaf, because my mom added peppers to that, too. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/65 "2024-05-29T22:38:44Z")
My understanding is that obesity and starvation aren’t opposites. We have a lot of kids in the US dealing with what is termed food insecurity, that is the stress of not knowing where the next meal is coming from. This kid may be fed high calorie foods for one meal, but not eat again for another day. So they might be fat _and_ food deprived. It is in fact this dysregulated eating that may contribute to obesity. Likewise, there are fat people whose eating is so disordered from diet culture that they suffer problems you would expect to see in starving people, like heart failure. But these people often don’t get the help they need because of the belief that you can’t possibly be anorexic if you’re fat. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/66 "2024-05-29T22:41:37Z")
You are correct; they aren’t. Back when I worked at the big hospital, we had lots of patients who had obesity, and assorted types of malnutrition, most commonly a type called protein-calorie. As for sneaking an ingredient into a food someone’s intolerant to, one of my friends (who died recently) couldn’t have coconut, even in microscopic amounts. She would vomit almost immediately, and this did indeed happen at a friend’s house when the friend 'fessed up that no, the dessert didn’t contain coconut, but it did contain coconut oil “and that’s healthy.” Not for her, it wasn’t! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/67 "2024-05-29T22:41:57Z")
I understand. Ill from obesity means just that. Many type 2 diabetics diagnosed are very young. I’m speaking of a kid so emaciated and thin and then dies, because there’s no food. I don’t think that’s common in America. Unless abuse or eating disorder is involved. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/68 "2024-05-29T22:49:56Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > As for sneaking an ingredient into a food someone’s intolerant to, one of my friends (who died recently) I’m sorry for your loss. My husband has a ton of food allergies. They don’t make him instantly sick but the cumulative effect can make him have flu like symptoms. I’ve seen it happen multiple times. He also has a few that are worse than others. So sometimes he cheats with the lesser allergies. But it is up to his discretion whether he’s in a good place to cheat. Sometimes I cook with small amounts of food he is allergic to, but I always let him know so he can make an informed choice. Unfortunately I didn’t do this once. I accidentally put too much garlic in the pot. He got very sick, and this was back when I had a Facebook account, so I wrote “I think I poisoned my husband” and that was the talk of the family for a while. No matter how much you think someone’s exaggerating their allergies, take them at their word and give them informed consent. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/69 "2024-05-29T22:55:42Z")
These are adults, tho’. I’m not sure a very young kid would know, hey! I’m allergic to that. My kids actually tried that on me a few times to not eat something they hated. I never forced them to eat anything. Ever. I had trouble getting enough food made, fast enough, before they ate the cat. When four are hungry at the same time it’s nerve wracking. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/70 "2024-05-29T22:58:15Z")
Yeah a kid won’t know any better. I’ve seen no signs of allergy in my kid so far, but there’s still a lot he’s never eaten, so who knows. But as far as wheat and dairy he’s been okay. He no longer drinks milk, but he used to with no problems. He’s eaten toast with peanut butter no problem, though I doubt we could get him to eat it again. Like I said, we just lose foods along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/71 "2024-05-29T23:04:39Z")
I guess allergy testing would be too stressful, for him? I’d say just keep offering new things. Does he eat pizza? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/72 "2024-05-29T23:08:23Z")
Yes, allergy testing would be hard if not impossible. But also I would try if I thought he had an allergy. He won’t eat anything like pizza. Not ice cream, cake, popsicles, candy, anything delicious is right out. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/73 "2024-05-29T23:08:44Z")
There is a big difference between adding vegetable to dishes and lying to your child. These are hardly the same thing. Of course no responsible person would intentionally give food that causes someone else genuine medical issues. I try very hard to get five servings of vegetables every day. Although I like many of them, it is still hard and conscious work. (I stopped buying vegetables I felt I should eat but rarely did, and now stick to my favourites). There is a reason many people do not meet this guideline. I try to meet it by adding vegetables to other foods as well as side dishes and the occasional salad. While going with no or few vegetables for a phase is not an enormous deal, saying that adult studies showing the many benefits of vegetables do not apply to kids is based on… what exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/74 "2024-05-29T23:12:56Z")
I used to let my kids eat vegetables, then one day, I ran out of radishes. [Harrowing: Listen To These People Talk About The First Time They Ran Out Of Radishes (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic_iClOg34A&t=13s) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/75 "2024-05-29T23:23:08Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I’ve always liked asparagus; but I didn’t like eggplant as a child. But my mother made an eggplant parmesan when we had visitors, that everybody always raved over. When we went to the Italian restaurant when I was a kid I turned down eggplant parm for veal parm, but I think I was just being obnoxious, because veal parm was more expensive. I love it now, and we’re growing it this summer. We have several recipe books based around different veg that we grow in the garden, and have lots of during the summer. We have two for squash and one for eggplant, and we’ve collected lots for cherry tomatoes. A dish built around a veg, as opposed to serving a veg by itself, might help. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/76 "2024-05-29T23:24:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > All we are saying is give peas a chance. Post of the day, right here. 🏆 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/77 "2024-05-29T23:29:28Z")
Childhood allergies are a different nut. The current advice is different from our med school teachings. > **[Introducing peanuts early reduces kids’ allergy risk: new study](https://nypost.com/2024/05/29/lifestyle/introducing-peanuts-early-reduces-kids-allergy-risk-study/)** > > “This safe, simple strategy could prevent tens of thousands of cases of peanut allergy among the 3.6 million children born in the United States each year,” the director of the National … ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/78 "2024-05-30T00:15:12Z")
Just thinking about eating as a child. There were so many things I couldn’t have that my sibs could eat. I don’t think I ever turned away, in disgust from a vegable. We weren’t eating artichokes and not much broccoli or cauliflower. We had a large garden and I ate everything grown there. I’ve recently found cauliflower bothers me in unusual ways. So I’ve scratched it and broccoli off my list. And I love them. Mid-dau will purchase it at the farmers market when it’s there, for the kids. They love it. No cheese, either. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/79 "2024-05-30T00:20:46Z")
From an old Higgeldy Piggeldy thread… _Heated Repeatedly Young Jonathan Lennon, Refused to eat dinner, or Soften this stance._ _Don’t eat the carrots, said Pa, diplomatically. All I am saying is Give peas a chance._ (Dedicated to Jonathan Chance) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232/80 "2024-05-30T00:54:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > especially on vacations when she was around 7 or 8: in the morning she’d feel sick, too weak to get out of bed. She’d also say she didn’t feel like eating anything. She would’ve had a very light dinner the night before. If we could persuade her to eat something–anything–whether a bowl of cereal, or a peach, or a slice of buttered toast–she’d perk right up FWIW while that is slightly on the old side (most who have it are starting to out get it by then) it is otherwise a pretty perfect description of [ketotic hypoglycemia](https://pedsendo.org/patient-resource/ketotic-hypoglycemia-a-guide-for-families/#:~:text=Children%20with%20ketotic%20hypoglycemia%20have,keep%20their%20blood%20sugar%20up.). It is a not too uncommon condition. Yeah treating illness by convincing a child to eat and drink is a good thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-wrong-to-sneak-vegetables-into-children-s-food/1002232.md?page=5)