An Easy Way to Get Kids (and Adults) to Eat Their Veggies

As a parent, getting your child to eat nutritious vegetables is sometimes a challenge. It’s a shame really, considering the gorgeous produce have access to during summer’s farmer’s markets. That said, it’s typically a texture issue, not a flavor issue, when it comes to veggie disgust.

You can work with texture.

In my family we often make a cuban sofrito, which consisted of a bell pepper and an onion blended in a food processor or food blender, like this one from Hamilton Beach. Sofrito is used often in Spanish and Latin cuisine, and can include tomatoes, garlic, paprika—basically anything. The great thing about sofrito is that you can add it to a myriad of dishes, like burgers or pasta sauces, to add flavor and nutrients that hungry mouths might not have otherwise.

Here are some easy instructions to make sofrito at home:

1. Quarter an onion and a bell pepper and place in your food processor attached with the blade.
2. Pulse or chop until the mixture becomes a fine consistency or mush.
3. You can refrigerate the sofrito for up to a week, or freeze up to 3 months.

Note: The sofrito will be quite watery (onions have a lot of moisture), so use a slotted spoon to minimize the moisture when adding to burgers. If you’re adding to a soup or pasta sauce, don’t worry about this step as the moisture will evaporate out during the cooking process.