Healthy Food for Kids:
Feeding Suggestions

1. Make a "snack tray": Most of our kids are too busy to stop to eat, or even go to the bathroom. They also eat like birds. So, feed them like birds! Leave out a snack tray for your little grazers to come eat from. Shredded carrots, frozen peas, shredded cheese, and organic sprouted bread (you can cut bread into fun shapes or even use cookie cutters to make little bread creatures) are all great choices. Healthy food for kids that can be served as finger food makes an ideal snack tray for grazing.
   
   I have found these fabulous bento style lunchboxes that make perfect grazing trays. You can simply pop them back into the fridge when the grazing slows down, and take them back out later for more snacks. These Easy Lunch Boxes are sturdier than the reusable/disposable ones you find at the store, and they don't warp in the dishwasher. They are FREE of BPA, PVC, phthalates, and lead, and have cooler bags made to fit them perfectly! (These are also obviously ideal for school lunches, and even family picnics - each cooler holds three of the bento boxes.)
   
   
   
   
   
   


2. Repeated exposure: At every meal, put small amounts of what you're cooking for everyone else on his plate, along with a serving of something he is more likely to eat. By repetition and consistency, you are modeling healthy eating habits and showing your child that well-balanced meals are "normal". *This is a slow process, so just be zen about it and keep on going. (Ha! I'm taking my own advice at our house.) Eventually, you will be to a point where "healthy food for kids" is one and same as "healthy food for adults". How freeing to cook one meal for the whole family!



3. Food shop with your child, at the source: Take your child to the local farmer's market with you, and have him help you select food for your family. Talk about where the food comes, who in your family likes the different fruits and vegetables - you can even check with the farmers about coming by the actual farm at some point. Talk about exciting for your kids! This is a great thing about getting a CSA box; it introduces your child to the concept of farm fresh food in a very natural, matter of fact way. (Here is a cute little book about healthy food for kids, which talks about the source of the food, and a child picking it and eating it. Very adorable!)







4. Allow "proportional" amounts of dessert: This applies to slightly older kids, once reason and rational thought are available. Basically, if 1/2 the dinner is eaten, then a 1/2-sized portion of dessert is given. I do this with my daughter, and it works beautifully. My goal is for her to learn her own body's needs, and not to overeat or overstuff in order to get dessert. I do not want her to "clean her plate" if that is more food than she needs. I also don't want her to skip her meal and eat a huge dessert. The "proportional rule" addresses both those issues and hits a happy medium for our family. Healthy food for kids can certainly include dessert, as long as things stay in balance.


5. Peer pressure: Get together for "lunch dates" with kids who eat well. This introduces an atmosphere of light peer pressure and is also a fun social occasion for you and your children. Eating can be a very social activity, so capitalize on that by surrounding your child with others eating healthy food for kids, and friends whose families put healthy eating high on their priority lists.


6. Cook together: Have your child cook the food with you, then serve it. (There are some fun recipes for children on that page.) When he helps make healthy food for kids, he will then be more interested in eating it, and will also feel proud and accomplished. Try incorporating a few "cooking dates" with your kid each week, and see what happens.


7. Silly shapes: Try making food in silly shapes! Healthy food for kids can be as crazy and funny as you want it to be! I like cutting food up with a cookie cutter (dino, bear, princess, ballerina) or use baking pans that make cute shapes (I have a William Sonoma pan that makes tiny carrots, peas, cabbages, and radishes and I use that to make healthed-up banana bread bites). The novelty of the shapes seems to change the child's way of thinking about the food item. A slice of banana bread would not interest my three year old, but a funny little carrot-shaped muffin made with the same batter would certainly get picked up, played with, and most probably tasted and eaten. You can be even sillier and give your child rabbit ears to wear, while serving a plate with shredded carrots, frozen peas, and banana bread carrots, for example.


8. Build those appetites: Try a long, fun hike with a packed picnic. Your kids will eat when hungry enough, and there's nothing like mountain hiking to build a great appetite. A day at the beach will also do the trick. So cap off a big adventure day with a smorgasbord of healthy food for kids! This can be a good time to try slightly more adventurous foods, like a tomato/mozzarella salad or veggie "sushi". Plus, everything tastes better when you're very very hungry.