Tricks for getting the kids to eat when all they want to say is “no”!
· Anything I put in an ice cream cone goes down. The cake cones have little to no sugar and no fat, plus they hold anything from turkey or tuna to raisins or apple slices.
Amy
· Veggies - instead of cooked, tried raw - like raw carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and provide a dip of ranch dressing. For cooked broccoli - try Ragu cheese sauce.
· My kids will eat about any fruit - dice it or cut it - apples, oranges, grapefruit, grapes, peaches (2-year old Clayton eats an apple with the skin on!!), blackberries, blueberries. We like to go to the fruit stands or better yet the farmers market and let the kids pick out their fruit. Again a dip might be essential to get them started - caramel dip, marshmallow cream mixture. You can also make fruit kabobs, which they love.
· For meat - again we used lots of dips - bbq sauce & ketchup. We started eating kabobs this summer and the kids think that is fun that their food comes on a stick!!!
Kelley
· One of my kids will only eat foods that are peeled and sliced or diced. The other only wants to eat fruits whole and take a sloppy, juicy bite right out of the peach, apple or banana. So – if your child won’t eat it one way – just try serving it differently!
Michelle
· Find fun plates for your kid to use. It makes eating more fun.
· Have a picnic in your living room, just to change things up a bit.
· Change the name of things. We call salami "Tyler Salami" because Katie ate it at her friend Tyler's house. Sometimes we call chicken nuggets Monkey Knuckles. We also have a Chicken Nugget Dance that we use on Chicken Nugget night.
· Use cookie cutters to cut food into fun shapes. Or cut things differently - cut pb&j sandwiches in squares sometimes and then change to triangles. Or cut the hot dog lengthwise instead of into little circles
How to eat healthy when you’re out and about:
I try to always pack at least a light lunch for Molly when we go out (peanut butter crackers and applesauce) so at least we aren't forced through the drive-thru, it usually buys enough time to get home and get more food.
Peggy
I have a mini refrigerator in the car that plugs into my lighter/accessory outlet. I can keep water, juice boxes or a sippy with milk that stays cold while we’re out and about, so I have a healthy drink or snack available and don’t have to stop for junk food.
Michelle
For kids who prefer junk, here’s how to squeeze in some nutrition:
· For kids who won't eat veggies but love crackers... you can buy organic veggie crackers! It's a great way to sneak in the veggies. (Dierberg’s organic section or Whole Foods Market in
Stacey
· MorningStar Farms chicken nuggets and corn dogs (they are soy based "veggie" dogs and nuggets), again not perfect but lots better than regular hot dogs and chicken nuggets.
· lots of applesauce, Molly loves the Strawberry and Peach (no sugar added) and it often helps to make other healthy things go down. I mix in cooked squash, mashed carrots, and even pieces of chicken.
· Stoneyfields Farms makes Organic tubes of yogurt that have a lot less additives than other brands.
· Homemade Banana bread and pumpkin bread. I use applesauce instead of oil and use at least half whole wheat flour. We also add 1/2 c of Chocolate chips to the banana bread.
· Oatmeal for breakfast. I figure with oatmeal and a banana to start the day we are doing pretty good, even if the rest of the day is junk.
Peggy
· It doesn't work yet for my 2 year old yet, Steven, but my nieces are lured into eating frozen peas as a snack because my sister-in-law calls it "pea candy" They love it.
· Steven likes blueberries and one day while opening some canned peas I put some cold peas in front of him and called them greenberries and that worked for him.
· Another thing I do for broccoli with Steven is when I make rice, he loves rice, I chop steamed broccoli really small and just mix it in with the rice. He doesn’t seem to notice it when it is in with the rice, but he will not eat it by itself.
Kim
For a quick snack, I've starting getting Wheat Thins and that canned Easy Cheese and writing letters on the crackers with the cheese. Not the healthiest snack, but it'll do in a pinch. Katie likes to eat her name.
This is an easy one, but I always keep fresh frozen Veggies in the freezer for dinner time and my kids like the tiny green beans and peas and carrots. They say Fresh Frozen is actually better than canned because there are no preservatives. We also have the crunchy baby carrot sticks in the fridge and have those at lunch.
Chris
· I like to make a batch of mini-muffins and keep them in the freezer. They’re kid-sized, can be tossed in your on-the-go bag and defrost by lunch or afternoon snack, or microwaved for a few seconds to defrost. I make carrot zucchini muffins to get in a veggie serving, and use ½ whole wheat flour.
· When baking waffles, quick breads or muffins, substitute whole wheat flour for 1/3 to ½ of the white flour in the recipe. Also, add 1 Tbsp wheat germ and 1 Tbsp powdered dry milk powder to increase the vitamins and calcium in your recipe.
· If your kids won’t drink much milk, try using canned evaporated milk in puddings and recipes because it has twice the calcium.
Michelle
Wonderful Waffles
Mix: 2 beaten eggs
1 ¾ cups milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
½ cup melted butter or vegetable oil
½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 cup shredded apple or fresh or frozen blueberries (optional)
Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and bake according to your waffle baker directions. About ¼ cup of batter for each 4” waffle section. Makes 12-15. Allow to cool completely and keep in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. Reheat in the toaster or microwave. For a calcium and vitamin boost, you can put 1Tbsp of powdered milk + 1 Tbsp wheat germ in the 1-cup measuring cup before topping off with the cup of flour.
Carrot and Zucchini Mini-Muffins
1 cup white flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup light brown sugar (or ½ cup brown + ¼ cup splenda)
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten (or 4 egg whites)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or ¼ cup oil + ¼ cup applesauce)
½ cup grated carrots (about 1 medium carrot)
1 ¾ cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium)
½ cup golden raisins (optional. Can substitute chopped dates or chopped dried apricots too)
Preheat the oven to 365, grease and flour, or spray muffin pans. Combine eggs and oil, mix well. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Gently stir in egg mixture. Fold in the carrots, zucchini and raisins. Scoop the batter into muffin tins and bake 12-14 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely. For a loaf instead of mini-muffins, bake in loaf pan approx 55 minutes, for regular size muffin about 20 minutes. Keep a batch in a Ziploc freezer bag and take out just a few at a time to heat in the microwave or defrost at room temp until snack time.