As a parent, I am challenged to make sure that my kids are eating healthy meals and snacks. Here are just a few things that we love to eat at our house.
Porcupines- We make them with hummus and pretzel sticks. Put a spoonful of hummus on a plate and arrange the pretzel sticks to stand up all around. You can also get creative and use round mini Ritz crackers for eyes. I have also used Goldfish crackers in the hummus for a change. You can substitute peanut butter for the hummus.
Chocolate French Toast- Okay, this may not seem all that healthy but my kids love it as a special treat. Make French toast by dipping the bread in egg and a little bit of milk, BUT one side only! Place the egg side down on the pan and add chocolate to the plain side of the bread. The recipe that I found called for a chocolate candy bar but I wanted to use less chocolate so I take mini chocolate chips and spread a thin layer on the plain side of the bread. Take another piece of bread, dip only one side in the egg/milk mixture and place it egg side up, on top of the other piece of bread with the chocolate. Flip it to cook both sides and sprinkle with powdered sugar when both sides are golden brown and the chocolate is melted. Cut into squares or triangles and enjoy!
Fruit Pinwheels- This is how I get my kids to try new kinds of fruit. I cut fruit into different shapes and arrange them to look like pinwheels on the plate. (Flowers were not very exciting to my boys but girls may be impressed.) We also play a game with fruit where the kids close their eyes, I give them a piece of fruit and they try to guess what color it is.
Food Faces-This works with almost everything that I give them and I can work in all kinds of healthy stuff. Arrange food items on a plate so it looks like a face. If that alone is not enough to make them want to eat it, play a game where you call out a facial feature and they have to find it and eat that part.
Ghost Toast-This can be used for toast or sandwiches. I use cookie cutters to cut shapes in the bread. I used to use all different cookie cutters and specifically holiday themed. However, I am asked for “ghost toast” all year round probably because they love to say it. If you kids are not crazy about sandwiches, try rolling the meat and deli cheese for “salami, turkey (or whatever kind of meat or cheese) roll ups.”
My common theme for getting my kids to eat what I want is the way that I present the foods. I also focus on talking about the different food groups and the importance of including each of them at every meal. If my son doesn’t want to eat corn at dinner like the rest of the family, then I ask him to choose a different vegetable for that meal. I may offer choices but insist that my kids eat balanced meals and healthy snacks.
It is not easy but you are building a foundation for healthy eating. Keep trying new foods and new ways to present them.