Mealtime can be trying for parents and kids. The struggle to feed your child healthy foods is sometimes too much to stand and you give in to their demands for fast food or junky snacks. If your child refuses everything you serve, try creative techniques to help you sneak variety and nutrients into her diet.
Hide It
If your child refuses to eat vegetables and whole grains, sneak these foods into recipes they will eat. Try blending spinach into blueberry smoothies -- the dark berries mask the green spinach, which has a mild flavor. Puree carrots into marinara sauce and serve over whole-wheat spaghetti noodles. Make his favorite muffin recipe, but add 1 cup of shredded zucchini and use unsweetened applesauce in lieu of half of the oil.
Make Healthy Favorites
If your child only likes certain foods, indulge his cravings in a healthy manner. Stop making trips to a fast food restaurant to purchase chicken nuggets and make your own by dipping chunks of boneless, skinless chicken breast in egg whites and whole wheat bread crumbs, then baking at 350 degrees F until fully cooked and crispy. Create homemade macaroni and cheese with whole-wheat pasta and a sauce made with low-fat milk and reduced-fat cheese. Offer peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but on smooth textured whole-wheat bread instead of white bread and use natural peanut butter and all-fruit spread.
Make Food Fun
Most kids will turn up their nose at a plain-looking plate of brown rice, grilled chicken and boiled vegetables. Make the food you serve look visually appealing for picky kids. Fill sandwiches with healthy fillings such as deli turkey and mashed avocado, light cream cheese mixed with shredded carrots and bell pepper or nut butter and bananas. Cut into fun shapes with a cookie cutter. You can also cut slices of melon and apples into shapes with cookie cutters. Other ways to make food fun is to offer dips with vegetables and fruits and serve healthy grilled meats skewered on a kebab. You can also arrange food on a plate to form a picture --- try, for example, serving a hard-boiled egg bunny with carrot ears, tiny cheddar cheese eyes and a pea nose on a bed of shredded lettuce.
Compromise
Allowing your child some control in deciding what to eat can help them overcome pickiness. Try giving your child choices at meals. For example, create a taco bar with an array of topping choices such as grilled chicken, black beans, shredded low-fat cheese, plain, nonfat yogurt, shredded lettuce, salsa and mashed avocado. Let your child build his own taco, but challenge him to use at least three ingredients. You can also create a healthy make your own pizza bar with whole-grain English muffins, sauce, low-fat cheese, veggies and uncured meats or a burger bar with mini turkey burgers, whole wheat buns, tomatoes, avocado, low-fat cheese and veggies.
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