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

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Finely chop veggies in food processor. If desired, squeeze moisture from veggie mixture.
3. In a large bowl, combine veggies, ground chicken, pesto, and bread crumbs by hand. Be careful not to overmix.
4. Shape into 1″ balls using cookie scoop or by hand.
5. Place meatballs on lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
6. 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.
7. 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.