Andrew Zimmern Says This Cooking Technique Will Get Your Kids To Love Veggies
The USDA recommends getting at least two to four cups of vegetables every single day, whether you eat them fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. There are a lot of health benefits to consuming your share of veggies: They contain antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that can do everything from help prevent chronic disease and cancer to regulate appetite and weight to improve digestive health and your immune system (via Healthline). While vegetables get a bad rap in terms of their flavor — name one person who would agree that a piece of raw broccoli tastes better than a slice of pizza, we'll wait — there are plenty of ways to make them taste a little better. You can roast them, grill them, or air fry them, for starters.
But most parents know that even those methods of preparing vegetables won't entice the pickiest eaters. If you're tired of trying to get your kids to eat their veggies, you're in luck. Chef Andrew Zimmern has a secret trick to make any vegetable (yes, even Brussels sprouts) kid-friendly.
Adding butter and soy sauce makes vegetables more appetizing
If there's anyone who could come up with the magical solution to getting picky eaters to eat — and, gasp, even enjoy — veggies, it would be James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Zimmern. In a YouTube video published in early 2021, the Travel Channel host shared a tutorial for his soy butter mushroom recipe (which you can find the full version of on his website). The recipe requires a hefty amount of butter, paired with soy sauce, fish sauce, and a dash of brown sugar, along with your veggies of choice. While Zimmern uses mushrooms, he says you can swap out any vegetables you'd like.
"If you do the same technique with broccoli or [Brussels sprouts], you're going to find a whole new audience for green, cruciferous vegetables in your house," he explains in the video, adding, "Your kids are gonna scream for and I mean scream for, as in 'I want that again, Mom, Dad, we need that in the house.'" Now that's a promise we can get behind.