Anyone else have a toddler who suddenly refuses everything that even remotely resembles a vegetable? We’re deep into that stage now and getting really creative about how to sneak veggies into her meals.
We discovered KidFresh meals on a recent Target trip and surprise – E loves their white cheddar Mac and chicken meatballs. They’re full of hidden veggies and perfect for those days you’re running a little late with dinner and the little one starts to get hungry earlier than expected.
Still, I don’t love feeding E processed foods when I can avoid it, so I set out to replicate the meatballs myself.
I wanted to avoid anything with heavy flavors she might oppose, like the white onions we typically use in meatballs. I used a half a red bell pepper, one medium carrot, and half a zucchini in these.
All the veggies went into the food processor to be puréed into a fine sludge (there’s really no other way to describe it…). That went into a bowl with a pound of ground chicken breast, three tablespoons of pesto, and a half cup of bread crumbs. I used a 1” cookie scoop to ensure they were equal size, then rolled them into balls by hand.
The meatballs were placed on a greased baking sheet, and cooked at 375 for 15 minutes. The recipe makes about 40 meatballs. You can easily freeze as many as needed in a gallon ziplock and move to the fridge as you need them.
E is obsessed and this mama is happy because baby girl is getting the nutrients she needs while she goes through this super picky stage!
Ingredients
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 medium carrot
- 1/2 zucchini
- 1lb ground chicken breast
- 3T pesto
- 1/2c bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Finely chop veggies in food processor. If desired, squeeze moisture from veggie mixture.
- In a large bowl, combine veggies, ground chicken, pesto, and bread crumbs by hand. Be careful not to overmix.
- Shape into 1″ balls using cookie scoop or by hand.
- Place meatballs on lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
- Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. If desired, change to Broil for last 2-3 minutes, or brown in stainless skillet on the stove once baked.
- Remove from heat and let cool. Serve.
Note: The meatballs are a little crumbly due to the veggies and lack of egg binding. Add more bread crumbs if needed.
