Yes, my toddlers eat veggies! And yours can, too! {A Very Veggie World #veggieworld}

This post is sponsored by Country Crock. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Having my boys eat (and like) veggies has always been important to me! Since they were very young, I have tried to introduce a variety of different vegetables into their diets. However, this is not always an easy task to accomplish! As anyone with toddlers (or kids of any age) knows, when you have a picky child, it makes your goals of healthy eating very difficult.

In the past, I have used the sneaky vegetables method; pureeing up veggies and sneaking them into various dishes. There are people who are all for this and those that are against it.. I think it’s ok because I always had veggies on the side to try as well. So at least I knew they were getting what I hid in their main dish, if for whatever reason, they did not want their side veggies that meal.

Another wonderful idea to get your children to WANT to eat their veggies is to be creative!

There are many websites and cookbooks out there today that help parents to be creative with their child’s meals, including fun recipes that feature fruits and veggies! The NEW Clare Cerespo Cookbook, A Very Veggie World, is perfect for families with children of any age!

This amazingly whimsical, creative and fun cookbook is available for FREE, a special edition of The Crock Country Chronicle!

There are 25 adorable and scrumptious recipes in A Very Veggie World but I chose to make the Pizza Flag recipe with my boys. With my boys, pizza is always a winner so I was hoping this one, with all veggies and no meat, would be the same!

Pizza Flag (directly from A Very Veggie World)

8 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 22 minutes

6 ounces part skim mozzarella cheese slices

1 Tbsp. Country Crock® Spread

2 cups fresh spinach leaves, rinsed and patted dry

1 frozen pizza dough, thawed

1 cup Ragu® Pizza Quick Sauce

2 plum tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into slices or 1 sliced red bell pepper or a mixture of the two

Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Take two slices of mozzarella cheese and stack together. Use kitchen scissors or small knife to cut a few star shapes out of the cheese. Slice remaining cheese slices into 1-inch strips.

Preheat oven to 450°. Melt Country Crock® Spread in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Stretch pizza dough to fit a rectangular pan. Spread Ragu® Pizza Quick Sauce evenly over dough. Sprinkle spinach over top left corner of dough. Place stars on the spinach. Lay tomatoes (or peppers) and cheese strips in alternating strips on rest of the pizza.

Bake 10 to 20 minutes until cheese is melted and starting to turn golden and crust is starting to brown. Remove from oven and serve with crushed red pepper flakes (if using).

I adjusted the recipe a bit to include organic veggies, grated cheese (for simplicity) and pre-made refrigerator pizza crust. Simple, inexpensive ingredients and the recipe was very easy to follow. It took me 15 minutes from start to getting the made pizza into the oven.

I also used Country Crock spreadable butter to cook down the spinach and I thought that was a wonderful idea! I had not thought of cooking the spinach in butter until reading it in the recipe but thought it tasted delicious and gave the spinach a rich flavor!

My little helpers

As expected, Cohen had to tell me first-thing that he did not want a piece with spinach on it (one of his main veggie dislikes). But that was ok! He gobbled up a piece with cheese and tomato on it and we were both happy!

There are SO many fun recipes in A Very Veggie World that will make mealtimes easier for you (fewer veggie battles) and more exciting for your children!

How do you make veggies fun in your home??

Are you looking for quick and simple tips and recipes to make serving veggies more fun? Download the free Clare Crespo Cookbook here for fun and whimsical recipes your family is sure to love!