Food is a source of enjoyment for kids and adults alike. Families pass down favorite recipes for just this reason. Following the introduction of processed foods and big agriculture, America's children have increasingly struggled with being overweight. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 percent of high schools and 19 percent of middle schools served brand name fast foods. Making homemade food appealing to today's children is dependent upon simplicity and creativity.
No-cook Meals
Key to a parent's nutritious repertoire are meals requiring little to no cooking time. Boiled eggs provide one of nature's few complete non-meat proteins. Combined with fresh vegetables, fruits and a granola bar, they become a complete meal. Especially tasty raw vegetables kids often enjoy are peeled carrots and cucumbers. Pair milder flavored veggies with favorite salad dressings for dipping. Because they are portable, no cook-meals make for healthy "fast food."
Creativity
Parents can take advantage of children's innate creativity by concocting fun recipes with whole nutritious foods. Holidays are exciting for younger children. For example, the cookbook "Halloween Recipes & Crafts" lists healthy recipes such as "Eerie Eyeballs," and "Caterpillar sandwich." Older kids can share interesting holiday facts, such as the difference between Halloween and Mexico's Day of the Dead. Engaging discussions slow down meals, giving everyone the time they need to feel full and avoid overeating.
Kids in the Kitchen
From the make-believe shopping cart to toy foods, kids have fun pretending to be adults. When preparing a meal around kids, they often ask to stir and measure. Young children learn partly from observation and imitation and they need hands-on experience to gain new skills. Adolescents enjoy cooking a meal start to finish, but appreciate having an adult handy to answer questions and help with the stove and oven.
Simple Recipes
Cooking nutritious meals with kids can be simplified by utilizing recipes with fewer ingredients. Rozanne Gold, author of "Kids Cook 1 - 2 - 3: Recipes For Young Chefs Using Only 3 Ingredients," offers more than 125 recipes with only three ingredients to make meal preparation family friendly. From 'Green-As-Grass-Spinach Soup' to 'Pineapple-Glazed Salmon Steaks,' Gold's one-page recipes are nutritious and realistic for children cooking with adults.
Basic Foods
One key to good nutrition is to use whole, primarily unprocessed foods. Nina Planck, author of "Real Food: What to Eat and Why" points out that a key way to know if a food is a substantial, "real" food is to consider whether it has been eaten by humans for thousands of years. Basics include beef, pork, poultry, fish, vegetables, fruits, legumes, tubers and grains. Planck recommends adding other "real" foods such asbutter and cold pressed olive oil.
Imaginative Presentation
Children are particularly affected by presentation, so thinking of fun ways to present wholesome meals is an effective strategy. Hollowing out a dark whole wheat round loaf of bread and filling it with chickpea dip, or hummus, can be a hit with the younger crowd. The kids can create a diving board out of veggies, and dive carrot stick divers into the pool. Kids enjoy giving recipes silly names such as "quicksand hummus." Fronds left on celery make convenient "trees." Parents should encourage this kind of creativity and let their child's imagination do the rest.
References
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: School Health Policies and Programs Study
- "Halloween Recipes & Crafts"; Christine Lyseng Save, Rosa Poulin, Tamara Eder; 2003
- "Kids Cook 1 - 2 - 3: Recipes For Young Chefs Using Only 3 Ingredients" ; Rozanne Gold; 2006
- "Real Food: What To Eat And Why"; Nina Planck; 2006
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