As parents, we have all had to face the fears of feeding a picky eater. So here are some tips on how to get your picky eater to eat the healthy food you want.
Let's start at the beginning. In order to produce good healthy eating habits, it's best to open your kids up to new foods at a young age. Most of the time, when a child says "no" to food, it's because they don't know what it is. Feeding your little ones a variety of food at a young age allows palate memory and encourages openness to trying different things in the future.
For children, everything is more appealing when it's a game, even when it comes to food. A fun way to get your children to eat is to create veggie animals. Your kids will focus on the animal and not so much the foods that create it. Do you remember how fun it was to eat the head of a gummy bear? Try using the same jokes by encouraging your child to eat broccoli hair or a carrot nose!
If those tricks don't work, try sneaking some veggies into your favorite recipes!
Eggs, Cauliflower and Broccoli - Where's the veggies? Sneak cooked cauliflower rice and finely chopped cooked Broccoli into scrambled eggs. Start with small amounts and add a bit more each week. These veggies don't change the texture of the dish and the kids won't notice the change in taste over time so will keep enjoying a lovely breakfast!
Mac and Cheese is a GREAT place to hid all sorts of veggies. Prepare your favorite Mac and Cheese recipe (whether from a box or homemade) and load in the veggies like spinach, broccoli, or even peas. This will make your mac and cheese loving kids happy and you can always make extra for lunch the next day.
The BEST is always Spaghetti Sauce. I've liquidized a wide array of veggies over the years and added them to the sauce making sure the texture remains unchanged. Cooked mushrooms and carrots are easy to hide!
Shepherds Pie, or any pies are great places to hide veggies. The trick is to chop them supper small so children can't identify them. Make the kids favorite fillings bigger and cover the pie with potato or pastry to hide the veggies even more! Works like a charm!
What are your favorite ways to encourage picky eaters?
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