I would like to boost the nutritional value of foods my baby eats -- putting veggies and milk into muffins or baked goods. My 16 month old daughter is going through a picky stage and won't eat most veggies. I'm looking for other ways to sneak in the healthy foods, without losing out on the nutrition they provide.
"Sneaking" in milk and vegetables is often a good way to boost the nutritional value of a child's diet. You have asked a good question, because it is true that some nutritional value can be lost in the process. It is more true for some nutrients than for others. There are some vitamins that fruits and vegetables supply that will be lost to a great extent in the cooking process. Vitamin C and the B vitamins are the ones most likely to be destroyed by cooking. For example, orange juice added to a muffin will lose a great deal of it's vitamin C because of heat destruction. Carrots are eaten mainly for the beta-carotene (providing vitamin A value) and in fact, cooking carrots actually enhances the digestibility of the beta carotene, so a carrot muffin will give your daughter the nutritional value you were trying to get out of the vegetable.
Your main reason for serving milk is for the protein, calcium and vitamin D. All of those nutrients will withstand the baking process very well, so adding some powdered milk to your casseroles, muffins, and pancakes are all good ways of hiding milk but retaining it's nutritional value.
Vegetables such as broccoli provides a variety of nutrients, including vitamin C, calcium, and beta-carotene. By adding broccoli to sauces, etc, you will destroy some of the vitamin C, but the calcium and beta-carotene will be well preserved.
As you can see, it depends on the food and the nutrient. But even with nutritional destruction, having your daughter eat some is still better than none. As a general rule, the more processed a food is, the lower it's nutritional value. As much as possible try and get your daughter to enjoy fresh foods, minimally prepared or processed. A fresh peach will be infinitely more nutritious than a canned or cooked peach, and a fresh vegetable salad will be more nutritious than cooked vegetables. Try to find ways she may enjoy fresh flavors. For example, a healthy dip such as peanut butter mixed with mashed bananas may help her enjoy fresh carrot sticks and fruit wedges. Serve peas still in their pod for her to remove and eat. Make some fun vegetable people that you can serve at dinner (e.g. a cucumber with cherry tomato eyes, green bean arms, sprout hair, etc.). You can do the same with fruits.
Continue to serve her the cheese. Try making some fruit smoothies with the yogurt. (Vanilla yogurt + banana + orange juice + strawberries all whirled in the blender, served in a fun cup). Keeping up her calcium intake and her taste for calcium rich foods is very important, particularly for girls, to ensure a lifetime of healthy bones.
