I’m sure anyone who is a parent can relate to the difficulties of healthy eating for children. It’s like they just can’t seem to do it. I know mine have moaned and groaned about anything green, instead wanting Mac and cheese or chicken nuggets. Then I found the best hack that has worked for me. Soup! I can make really tasty soups and puree them with whatever vegetables I throw in, and no one has any idea what veggies are in there, whether or not they like them, and NOBODY complains. That is amazing.

I started off making soup in a blender. Something about the thicker liquids made it build up faster and made the blender harder to clean. Then I moved to an immersion blender which is great for certain kinds of soups, but not all. I needed something to use that could withstand more hearty ingredients.

My Cuisinart food processor was in pretty good working shape, despite not using it for a bit. Just for good measure, I checked out KitchenWorksUSA. They sell authentic Cuisinart DLC-7 parts which is really helpful. I ordered some brand new blades since mine were a few years old, another dough blade since I’d probably start using it for other things now as well.

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of this sooner. It just wasn’t like anything I’ve ever done before with my Cuisinart food processor. I was going to get one soup going, and see how it went from there. I was so excited to find out what I would learn.

I googled different veggie soup recipes and the things I was able to sneak into it without my kids knowing! I made soups with squash, broccoli, asparagus and even kale and other greens! Since I did a pretty good job of seasoning the soups paired with the flavors of the other ingredients, no one could tell. I was so happy.

I can make large batches and freeze many of them also, which is great for quick weeknight meals or an easy lunch to take along to work. I’ve started a healthy soup addiction in my house. My kids have asked for certain kinds, and we’ve tried our hand at colds soups as well for summer.

Really the thing that makes me happiest is knowing that my kids are getting the nutrients that they need, even if they don’t know it. It’s so important to their growth and development.  I’m sure I’ll tell them this story when they’re older, and we’ll all laugh about it. Maybe they’ll even have to do the same thing with their kids and I will teach them my ways.