Toddler Friendly Vegetable Stew

Aiden doesn’t like tomatoes.  Oh sure, he’ll pop anything with tomato into his mouth without hesitation and just when I think I got him, he’ll pull only the tomato from his mouth after swallowing the rest.  It’s like he’s performing some kind of a magic trick or something.

Same thing goes for carrots, only carrots generally don’t make it past his lips. 

Anyhow, since he’s been eating what we eat, we regularly make this vegetable stew.  As written here, it is actually the Weight Watchers one-point chili recipe first introduced to us by our dear friend Paula, but we think of it as more of a stew than chili. Regardless Aiden devours it EVERY time it’s served.  And get this.  One of the main ingredients of the stew is tomatoes.

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Recipe:

10 ounces extra-lean ground turkey breast
1 medium onion, diced
2 (28-oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 medium yellow squash diced
1 (15-oz) can black beans
2 (15-oz) cans fat-free, reduced-sodium
beef broth
4 celery stalks, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 (1 1/4-oz) package dry chili seasonings.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and onion and saute’ until browned, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the browned turkey and onion mixture to a large soup pot and add the tomatoes, zucchini, squash, beans, broth, celery, bell peppers, and chili seasoning. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

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We have never actually used packaged chili seasoning.  We’ll just season with what we like including garlic salt, crushed red pepper, chili powder, black pepper, onion powder, oregano, basil, bay leaf and paprika.  The best part of the recipe is that you can add or subtract ingredients and season to suit your toddler and/or whatever vegetables/spices you have on hand.  We like it because we always feel so healthy when we eat it and it’s really very pretty.

This last time I made it, I added sliced up carrots.  Tricky, I know.  He ate the first bowl so I know he had a least a couple carrots, but by the second bowl  (yes, he asked for seconds!) he was on to me. 

Disclaimer:  Generally my boy is a good eater so results may vary.

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