This is sort of a response to parents who complain their kids won't eat vegetables. If you buy fresh veggies and prepare them well, kids WILL eat them.

I think a lot of times kids won’t eat vegetables because parents cook very bland vegetables, like hospital food. I wouldn’t eat that either. You have to add seasonings and some fat. As a famous chef once said, Fat = flavor. Kids need some fat in their diets anyway, to be healthy – see here for proof. If you cook these recipes as I have explained here, most kids will like them, and they are very easy to make.

If you hate to cook or work full time and just don’t like chopping up onions and garlic cloves, buy some onion powder and garlic powder or salt, and Lawrey’s Seasoning Salt.

Don’t be afraid to use real butter in foods, because it has a lot of flavor. Kids will even eat steamed broccoli if you melt some real butter and pour it on, and some garlic or onion powders…

Eggroll Cabbage

1 bag of shredded cabbage [where bagged salads are in the produce area]

2 tablespoons oil

1 small onion, chopped fine [or 1 tablespoon onion powder]

½ cup soy sauce

black pepper

Heat the oil in a skillet, and add the chopped onion. If you don’t want to chop an onion, as soon as the oil is hot, throw in your cabbage and cook over medium heat, about 5-10 minutes, depending on how crispy you like it. While it cooks, add black pepper to taste, onion powder if you like, and throw in some garlic powder and soy sauce.

If you want to make this a one dish meal, push aside the cabbage or remove it when it’s cooked, and in the oil add in some shrimp, or sausage, and cook until done.

Spinach Souffle

2 packages Stouffer’s spinach soufflé

onion powder [to taste]

black pepper [to taste]

1 tsp. butter

¼ cup grated cheese [your choice]

Take the soufflés out of the box and pull off the plastic film tops. Cook them according to the microwave directions, minus 2 minutes. Pull them out and put them into a glass or ceramic bowl. Add the ingredients above. Stir well. Put the soufflé back in the microwave and cook some more, until done.

Southern Green Beans

2 cans Del Monte Blue Lake green beans

1 box of Swanson’s beef or chicken broth

1 tablespoon onion powder

black pepper to taste

1 piece of ham or bacon, cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon butter

Open the green beans and drain them. Put them in a saucepan and cover them with the beef or chicken broth. Add the other ingredients. Cook on high for 30 minutes or on low heat for an hour or more. They’re better if cooked for at least an hour on low. You could use fresh green beans if you like.

Fried Squash

Yellow crookneck squash [about 2-3 cups]

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion or onion powder

1 tsp. butter

1 clove minced garlic or garlic powder

½-1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Wash and dice up each squash into small pieces. Heat the oil and add the onion, chopped fine. When it starts to brown, toss in the squash pieces. Add the garlic and butter. Stand there and watch to make sure the squash doesn’t burn, but gets browned. Just before serving, toss with parmesan.

Asparagus Feta Toss

1 bunch fresh asparagus

½ cup fresh Feta cheese

salt, pepper

1 clove minced garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Wash fresh asparagus 1 stalk at a time, under running water. Break off the tough end stem where it breaks naturally – this is a Julia Child technique and you get much more tender asparagus, as the tough stalk breaks off where it’s supposed to. Throw them in a pot and boil for 3-10 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like your asparagus. Drain asparagus. Add the other ingredients and toss while still warm. Make sure the Feta cheese is evenly distributed.

Variations: Cook the asparagus as above, but:

- substitute grated parmesan or Asagio cheese for the Feta

- mix up the juice of half a lime and about 2 tablespoons of real butter and put it over the asparagus and leave out the cheese.

Mock Mashed Potatoes

Buy 3-6 turnips and peel and boil them for about 15 minutes, until they are soft. Mash them up [a hand blender works great] and fix like mashed potatoes – add butter, salt, cheese, sour cream, plenty of garlic. They are full of vitamins.

This is a lagniappe:

Super Easy Chicken and Rice

Wash 3-6 chicken filets, according to how many folks you need to feed that night. Salt each filet well on both sides and let it sit on a paper towel on the counter for about 15 minutes. [The salt makes it MUCH better.] Put the filets in the crock pot and turn it on Low. Add: enough chicken broth to cover, 1 cup white wine, 1 stick of butter, 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence, and a chopped onion or onion powder to taste.

When you get home from work, add in 1 cup of white rice and make sure there are at least 3 cups of liquid in the crock pot. Turn it to high for 1 hour and leave the lid on.

Fix the vegetable of your choice while the rice cooks.

Variation: Wash and salt the chicken, then throw it in the pot with a cup of commercial barbeque sauce of your choice [I like Bullseye]. Fix rice separately.