I know I’m not the only one who struggles when it
comes to feeding children healthy meals! I have
two nieces and a nephew who I babysit quite
frequently that do not like to eat their vegetables. My youngest niece is a very picky
eater who will not eat her food if it is touching or mixed. Even simple sandwiches
are out of the question! Countless times I have found myself lecturing them on
how important it is to eat healthy, but then I thought there must be an easier way.
Try these fun and easy tips that have helped me along the way to make dinner
time more fun and less stressful:
1. Be a role Model
Show your child that you enjoy healthy eating and cooking
because they will be more likely to follow your footsteps.
Sure, everyone likes their snacks and treats! But, show
them that these foods are only good in moderation.
2. Involve Them
Invite your child into the kitchen and have them help prepare dinner. Since it is
something they helped cook, they will be proud of what they made and be more
inclined to eat it.
3. Try Something New
Make the eating experience more fun by letting your child pick out a new food
in the grocery store and help prepare it at home. My go to is always a new fruit or
vegetable every week, especially since most children don’t want to eat them!
4. Be Creative
Take your creativity to the cutting board or use cookie cutters to cut fruits, vegetables and sandwiches into fun shapes that will interest your child. When you’re four years old, eating a sandwich cut into the shape of a star is much more fun than a regular square!
5. Breakfast for Dinner
My absolute favorite thing to do from time to time is have a big stack of pancakes for dinner. That is something I would always ask for when my mom would ask the question, “What should we have for dinner?” What is more fun than having breakfast for dinner? Bring out your creativity and form the pancakes into fun shapes.
Moral of the story: Show your child that cooking and eating healthy is fun and rewarding!
