The other day, I tried disguising broccoli in rice for my nephew. Unfortunately my disguise failed and he picked out “the green stuff” right away! To my surprise, he didn’t mind and ate it all. So that made me wonder, why do some kids gladly eat all their vegetables while others push it off the table to the dog?
It all starts with teaching children at an early age, to eat a rainbow of colored foods. If fruits and vegetables are introduced early in a child’s diet, they assume these vitamin enriched foods to be a normal side or dessert in the meal. These tastes will become a part of their diet and won’t be as much of an issue. Continue to try new fruits and vegetables and encourage them try it at least once. If you give them a reason not to try new foods, they are more likely to become picky eaters.
Sometimes this is harder to do because you just want them to eat something; ANYTHING! These picky eaters choose to examine their food to pick out the “greens.” For the choosier diner, this may be when disguising them could do the trick. Or, even better, make their food FUN!
Check out these great snack ideas from the American Dietetic Association:
· Spread celery sticks with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese. Top with raisins to create the always popular “ants on a log.”
· Make snack kabobs. Put cubes of low-fat cheese and grapes on pretzel sticks.
· Fill a waffle cone with cut-up fruit and top with low-fat vanilla yogurt.
· Mini Pizza: Toast an English muffin, drizzle with pizza sauce and sprinkle with low-fat mozzarella cheese.
For more great healthy eating ideas, check out Eat Right Nutrition Tips.
I am always looking for new, healthy recipes that still taste good and appeal to pickier eaters. Do you have any great recipes to share? Let us know!