I never had this problem with Bear. Even back in the baby food days, Bear would eat pureed broccoli - in fact I can't remember him refusing any vegetable I offered him back then. The kid will even eat Brussels sprouts from time to time and I don't know many kids that don't throw down over Brussels sprouts. Miss is another story though. Until recently, it's been a real struggle to get her to eat pretty much any vegetable other than carrot sticks, and I've had to be super-resourceful about sneaking them into other dishes (I'll post about Blueberry Oat Bars with hidden spinach in them another time). But I'm just so elated that the child finally ate broccoli - and a lot of it - without a huge ordeal. In fact, she claims she loves it now. The recipe is nothing special, but I'll post it anyway - if anything because getting my kids to eat healthy food is a particular obsession of mine and makes me feel all warm and tingly inside.
1 large bunch of broccoli
1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil
salt to taste
several cloves of garlic, chopped
red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
Chop the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Wash the broccoli in cold water, drain it, and place it in a pot with 1/4 cup of cold water, the olive oil, salt to taste, and the garlic. Add a pinch or more of the hot red pepper flakes (I just add a very tiny amount so the kids don't wig out). Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and let steam until broccoli is bright green and very crunchy tender, no more than five minutes.
I think next I'll try serving this with pasta (penne or rigatoni) and some soy cheese. Miss is all picky about pasta too - but then again, the boy freaks out if he spies marinara sauce anywhere in close proximity to his plate (don't ask. I've learned not to question the bizarre food phobias of small children, no matter how ridiculous and nonsensical they may be).
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