Cooking Meals for Kids

I’ve been trying to get my kids to eat more vegetables lately and eat more balanced and healthy meals. Here are some tips I’ve found that I hope will help us…

1. Introduce the new vege along with something else the child likes such as bread or fruit.

2. Introduce one new food at a time to avoid confusing or overwhelming the child.

3. Children are primarily concerned with the taste, texture, color and general appearance of their food. Don’t overcook veges, serve them seasoned but crisp and fresh.

4. Serve small portions and serve some to everyone at the table.

5. Serve vegetables as finger foods, kids like to touch and eat with their hands.

6. Set a good example, your kids need to see you eating veges too!

7. Let your kids help select and prepare the vegetables that they are going to eat.

8. Offer veges throughout the day to help increase daily intake, maybe carrots and celery sticks with dip for snack.

9. Mix vegetable purees into soups and sauces, such as spaghetti sauce or chicken noodle soup. Carrots, green beans, and sweet potatoes are good vegetables to start with for this.

10. Patiently present foods repeatly until they are accepted. It may take up to 10 tastes before your child with achieve food acceptance. Although, I keep serving broccoli to my kids and I am still waiting for them to say they like it!