I live in fear of having a child who won’t eat vegetables. Yes, I am being serious. Of course I will love my future children no-matter what, but of all the things in the world that I will least be able to tolerate, having a child who doesn’t eat his/her veggies tops the list.
I don’t remember being a picky child myself, but then again I also don’t remember being a bratty teenager, though I suspect my parents would say otherwise!
I do have a talent for hiding vegetables in the strangest places, but spinach brownies aren’t necessarily the best way to avoid getting scurvy. Knowing my luck, my children will turn and run at the sight of a plate of broccoli, and if they have my genes they will trip and fall along the way.
Now don’t get me wrong, I won’t be the parent sending their kid to school with organic, gluten-free, vegan, paleo, nut-free lunches when it’s their pizza day, nor will I be hiding their Halloween candy but I do expect them to not shove their peas under the table when I’m not looking (I may or may not have done that growing up…).
I can already hear the parents reading this sighing and saying to themselves that I know nothing. Yup, you’re right. I am totally naive and ignorant and perhaps a little bit stupid, but in the meantime I am going to continue panicking at the thought of this, while eating my broccoli. Not the worst way to stress eat…
Broccoli with Miso-Hemp Dressing
- Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 medium head of broccoli, chopped into florets
- 2 T hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 T miso paste
- 1 tsp honey
Instructions
- Steam broccoli. I use a microwave by placing florets in a microwave safe bowl, topping with 1 tablespoon of water, covering it with plastic wrap and zapping it for 3 minutes. Use whichever method you prefer.
- In a blender combine hemp seeds, water, miso paste and honey.
- Top broccoli with miso-hemp dressing and serve warm.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
Were you a picky kid growing up? Parents, do you have picky kids?
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43 Comments
Cat
April 29, 2014 at 5:23 amI was a picky kid in some ways (I went through a phase where chicken nuggets and chips were pretty much the only things I would eat for dinner – cringe) but I always loved me some veggies – weirdly, it was the broccoli stalks I liked most! Now, the test in my family would be getting my dad to eat broccoli – I think dousing it in that dressing would do the job though 😉
Arman @ thebigmansworld
April 29, 2014 at 5:35 amYou really should be mates with Niki….she used to throw beef and broccoli under the table wrapped up in klenexes.
And what do you mean you won’t send them to school with paleo gluten free sugar free meals? Child abuse.
PS IF you like miso paste, you’ll love vegemite.
Lauren
April 29, 2014 at 5:55 amOoo a sweet miso hemp dressing – that sounds good!
I was terrible as a child for not eating vegetables past the simple broccoli and carrot numbers. I didn’t even try them I just decided they did not look nice… I was so stubborn I sat at those dinner tables for hourrrs. Anyway I eat pretty much everything now, as vegetables are bloody delicious! Only took until my 20s ;). I pray my children are not as difficult ha!
meredith @ The Cookie ChRUNicles
April 29, 2014 at 6:23 amI was an extremely picky eater, even up until the last few years. Now I eat a wide variety of foods and probably moreso than my nonvegetarian counterparts….My son though, as not picky as he is, vegetables are really not his thing. Most kids are picky when it comes to the vegetables so I wish you good luck in dealing with that when you have kids! lol.
erin @ The Almond Eater
April 29, 2014 at 6:55 amI was semi picky but was definitely forced to eat my broccoli. Good thing or maybe I still wouldn’t like it! And what do you mean you’re not going to pack your kids a paleo vegan GF nut free sugar free lunch on pizza day?? What kind of future mother are you?!
Kim @ BusyBod
April 29, 2014 at 7:03 amI was a nightmare eater as a child. Nightmare. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. My dad was particularly distraught by this (and remains so to this day) because he is a definite foodie. Sorry dad!
Gabby @ the veggie nook
April 29, 2014 at 7:08 amHahaha you’re so funny. But I TOO have that same fear! I wasn’t a super picky kid, but I seemed like it. There were in fact only 5 foods I didn’t like, but they were either things that showed up in EVERYTHING or such typical kid foods, that most people thought I was the worst.
Foods I hated: peanut butter, cheese, ketchup, mushrooms and peppers. Do you see the problem here? Thankfully I got over most of those, although I’m still not a ketchup person. Mustard for the win!
This recipe looks awesome, perfect way to dress up might recent nightly steamed broccoli!
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles
April 29, 2014 at 7:48 amI was basically the pickiest kid ever. If it wasn’t brown (cereal, pudding, pasta, potatoes….) I probably didn’t want to eat it. I think I drove my parents slightly insane as a kid…
Joanne
April 29, 2014 at 8:09 amGiven that my kids are going to be vegetarian, to say that I worry a lot about this is an understatement! Let’s stress eat our broccoli together!
Kelly @ Kelly Runs For Food
April 29, 2014 at 8:18 amI don’t remember being a super picky eater as a kid, but my mom was really good at hiding veggies in things (like mac and cheese) so it never became an issue. I did have a really tiny appetite and my dad and sister would wait and watch for me to get full so they could fight over my leftovers. Ahh, memories.
Jo @ LIVING MINT GREEN
April 29, 2014 at 8:19 amI just liked sugar and cheese when I was a kid. I ate SO MUCH chocolate. Probably the reason why I’m so sensitive to sugar now & it makes me gain weight if I get carried away.
Mmmm miso dressing is so good – you can literally put it on almost anything!
Sarah @ Feeeding the Brain and Body
April 29, 2014 at 8:34 amBulk barn had hemp seeds on sale this week so I just restocked and was looking for more ways to use them. This sounds perfect because I love dressings and sauces!
kaitlin @4loveofcarrots
April 29, 2014 at 8:41 amI have the same fear! But I keep telling myself if I eat healthy my child will too and its sooo important how you eat while pregnant! Btw this recipe sounds amazeballs!
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health
April 29, 2014 at 9:06 ami dont think i was a picky kid but raw broccoli – no can do 🙁
Amy @ Long Drive Journey
April 29, 2014 at 9:07 amThe good news is that as long as your kids don’t hate oranges, they won’t be getting scurvy. But maybe you can scare them into eating veggies by lying and telling them t hey’ll turn into pirates if they don’t. Probably still wouldn’t have worked on this non-vegetable eating child, but then again I turned out just fine.
Em @ Love A Latte
April 29, 2014 at 10:03 amThat dressing looks tasty. I wasn’t really that picky a kid growing up, but I ate a much different diet than I do now. It wasn’t anywhere close to vegan. I certainly ate my share of processed foods, deli meats, and glasses of milk. So basically of the food I was given each day, I wasn’t picky. Maybe I would have been if my parents hadn’t been so lenient with what I ate.
Amanda @ .running with spoons.
April 29, 2014 at 10:05 amI would have been your worst nightmare when I was a little kid. I refused to touch any vegetable that wasn’t corn, carrots, or potatoes, and my mom would often have to set aside a little bit of what she was making before she seasoned it with things like garlic, onions, and spices because I refused to eat that too. I had simple tastes… and if someone would have told me that I would grow up to love all the veggies, I would have laughed myself sick.
Megan (The Lyons' Share)
April 29, 2014 at 10:17 amYum yum! I have miso in my fridge that I just don’t know what to do with aside from making more soup … perfect!!! Thank you 🙂
Diane @ Life of Di.
April 29, 2014 at 10:23 amBroccoli is my favorite vegetable 🙂 I’m not sure why I’ve always loved it but I just do 🙂 I’m always looking for fun ways to ‘spice’ it up and I think this miso-hemp dressing would be delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
GiGi Eats Celebrities
April 29, 2014 at 11:26 amBroccoli and I are each other’s arch nemesis! Broccoli kicks my ass, but then I just take a knife to it’s head……. And guess who wins?!?! That basta**!
Polly @ Tasty Food Project
April 29, 2014 at 11:59 amI’m always looking for new ways to make dressing and this is such a great idea! Broccoli is one of my favorite veggies!
Megan @ The Skinny-Life
April 29, 2014 at 12:08 pmI grew up in Wi and for whatever reason we rarely ate vegetables. As a matter of fact, it scares me when I think about what we ate growing up. Too much cheese, carbs and gunk. I love broccoli & never thought about putting a dressing on it. Yum!
Shashi
April 29, 2014 at 12:23 pmMy daughter used to hate broccoli till she was around 9 – I would sit for hours with her, waiting for her to finish a small serving of them and she would just chew and chew till she almost gagged! But now, now, she is the one who asks me for it if we go a couple days without broccoli – go figure!?!?!
Ang @ Nutty for Life
April 29, 2014 at 12:58 pmI worry that my kids will have big ears and won’t drink the green smoothies I make them.
I’m already a huge fan of broccoli, I would eat mounds of it with just like pepper on top. But sometimes I like to jazz it up with cilantro hummus from TJs. OH ps if you want anything from TJs please let me know and I will bring it with me to your place.
Nikki @ Quest for Balance
April 29, 2014 at 1:05 pmYet another hilariously written post. I am going to have to stop reading your blog at work because I end up finding something hilarious and doing that awkward muffled laugh where it kind of sounds like a snort. Ya…..
My parents nicknamed my the “Carbohydrate Queen” when I was a tot because I lived off of potatoes, bread, noodle, pretty much any refined carb. Super healthy I know. I blame it on my parents serving canned beans and corn. I’m sure if they had made some delicious broccoli like this one I would have eaten it. I think with your mad kitchen skills you’ll be in the clear for anti-vegetable children.
Kelly - LEFT SIDE OF THE TABLE
April 29, 2014 at 2:14 pmI love the idea behind this very healthful dressing. Hahah love your fear for your kids not liking veggies…totally a realistic one. I never understand when kids hate all vegetables. I blame the parents. You know the parents who give a kid a vegetable to try and say…”ohhh you probably won’t like it.” Ok, well now you implanted that they hate it in their head. ALSO if parents don’t eat veggies themselves. Kids pick up a lot by seeing what their parents do. I bet you Miss Davida, your kids will like their veggies!!! Maybe not all of them, but if they have a mom like you, that damn well knows how to cook good food, they’re sure to be fine 😀 Pinned for later!
Alicia S
April 29, 2014 at 2:21 pmI remember eating whatever was put in front of me…but of course, that is what I remember. My kids ate everything when they were little, calling broccoli “little trees” and loving tuna salad. But now they hate veggies and swear they would never have even tasted a tuna salad *sigh*.
lindsay
April 29, 2014 at 3:04 pmso i just bought miso paste because i love it straight up! but the kiwi does not, so this might work!!! YAY
Amanda
April 29, 2014 at 3:18 pmI don’t think I’ve ever been super picky about the food itself… I’m just weird about textures! I like the flavor of onions but haaaate the feeling of them… stuff like that.
Tina @ Tina's Chic Corner
April 29, 2014 at 3:55 pmMy mom said that when I was younger I would always prefer veggies over anything else. Shocking since now I’d die for a brownie over a carrot, any day of the week. 😉
I’ve never cookd with hemp seeds before but this dressing looks delicious. 🙂
FitBritt@MyOwnBalance
April 29, 2014 at 3:56 pmHaha. I think it is mandatory that all kids hate vegetables. Actually I wasn’t too bad when I was younger except for peas. I hated them so much and Mom would make them because my Dad loves them. Ick. So gross. She hates them too though so she finally gave in and realized it would stop torturing at least 3 of us if there were no more peas.
Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves
April 29, 2014 at 4:17 pmI totally have the same fear for my (possible future) children too! I myself went through stages: my mom fed me spinach baby food when I was a roly-poly baby, then I would only eat well-cooked veggies throughout my childhood, and now I want ALL the vegetables. I dunno, perhaps it will end up working out sooner or later. But with your cooking, I’m sure your kids would have no issue packing in those veggies!
Chelsea @ Chelsea's Healthy Kitchen
April 29, 2014 at 7:13 pmHaha I fear my the same thing! Can you imagine a dietitian with kids who won’t get their veggies? Won’t be good for my reputation…
My parents got me to like vegetables as a kid though, so I’ll have to hit them up for advice. Actually, it might have something to do with the cheese sauce they smothered my broccoli in…
Isadora @ she likes food
April 29, 2014 at 7:43 pmHopefully if you and your baby daddy eat healthy, it will come natural to your kids! My husband could survive on pizza and french fries, so I am really worried that he will pass that down to our kids, I’ll have to try to get to them with my healthy eating first! I love this sauce! I’ve never used miso before but have been wanting to use it lately, maybe I’ll start with this sauce, I’m always looking for delicious sauces to eat my broccoli with!
Emily
April 29, 2014 at 8:34 pmI am so, so grateful that Squish has never met a veggie he didn’t like. Especially broccoli. Now, if you give him a choice between, like, pizza and broccoli, that’s a no-brainer; few of us would pass that test. But if you just sit him down in front of a plate of steamed broccoli, he will go to town with a smile.
Jordan @ The Blonde Vegan
April 29, 2014 at 9:02 pmFirsttt of all, this broccoli looks outrageously yummy. Second of all, I laughed out loud at the “and if they have my genes they will trip and fall along the way.” That makes a few of us clumsy blogger gals, haha. And I also live in fear that my kids won’t like veggies! And I AM going to be that weirdo mom that at least TRIES to have her kids be vegan… already trying with my nieces and nephew, and it’s not easy… Gotta make this recipe soon!!
Mary Frances
April 29, 2014 at 9:54 pmPeas under the table, ahem, … actually, I am a broccoli hater (don’t hate, ok? 🙂 but I loved peas! I think my broccoli never had this amazing dressing and that’s why I’ve had issues all these years. Haha, glad you won’t be sending your kids to school with plain lettuce and fat free sugar free everything free pizza! 😉 Even if you did, I’m pretty sure you could make it taste good. I’m liking this broccoli, so you’re doing it right!
Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness
April 29, 2014 at 10:52 pmI totally used to drop my veggies on the floor under the kitchen table for my dog to eat! Haha.
Kim
April 29, 2014 at 10:56 pmThankfully our boys are not picky!!
However, my nephew (my sister’s son that I’m visiting right now) is very picky – sort of funny but it makes any meal planning difficult!!!
Cassie
May 1, 2014 at 3:37 pmI need to buy miso paste. I never look hard enough at WF. SPEAKING OF… need to text you to send me your TJs/American Food shopping list…
Deborah Davis
May 2, 2014 at 4:46 pmI just hopped by from Healthy Vegan Friday to see your very appealing recipe for Broccoli with Miso Hemp Dressing. I love broccoli and eat it almost daily so it is such a pleasure to discover a new way to enjoy it. I could use that miso dressing for a lot of different purposes. It looks so yummy and satisfying! Feel free to hop by and share your delicious, vegan recipes at the Plant Based Potluck Party Link Up (http://urbannaturale.com/share-the-food-fun-at-the-plant-based-potluck-party-link-up-10/)
Meghan@CleanEatsFastFeets
May 3, 2014 at 2:38 pmBroccoli is the Hubby’s favorite. I kinda dig it too.
I was the pickiest of picky eaters growing. My parents timed me and it took 20 minutes for me to eat a piece of lettuce. No joke. That’s issues right there.