Most toddlers want to be involved with whatever their parents are doing, including meal preparation. Involving your children with the food they eat can lead to healthy eating habits, but not all food is suitable for toddler participation. Let your toddler help with minimal prep work and simple snacks to teach him about healthy eating habits and basic cooking skills.
Cooking With Toddlers
Involving your toddler in food preparation can lead to healthier eating habits. Picky toddlers may avoid healthy foods if you just plunk a plate of vegetables on the table, but if your child feels as if she is involved, she may become more invested in the meal and be more likely to eat. If you make meal preparation fun and lively, your toddler may become even more excited about the prospect of eating. Also, showing your child how food is prepared will give her the foundation needed for a lifetime of healthy meal preparation.
Baked Goods
It is unsafe for a toddler to operate appliances such as a stand mixer or to take baked goods out of a hot oven, but your little one can still participate in healthy home baking. Allow your child to dump measuring cups full of whole-wheat flour or sugar into the mixing bowl and give muffin batter an initial stir with a wooden spoon. Stick to healthy baked goods such as whole-grain, fruit-packed muffins and quick breads or fruit and oatmeal squares to give your child a taste for healthy grains. Alternately, you can help your child mix and shape no-bake cookies to avoid the dangers of a hot oven.
Toddler-friendly Meals
A toddler-age child is too young to prepare a meal himself, but that doesn't mean he can't help with simple lunch and dinner entrees. Keep your toddler well away from knives and hot pans, but allow him to participate in some of the meal's prep work. Let him take whole-wheat tortillas out of the packaging in preparation for a healthy Tex-Mex meal that you make with lean ground turkey. Toddlers can also tear lettuce for a salad, sprinkle low-fat cheese onto baked potatoes or whole-wheat pasta or crack eggs for an omelet. Even a small level of participation will help your toddler feel involved in the meal.
Simple Snacks
The simpler the food, the easier it will be to involve your toddler in the preparation. Something as simple as spreading peanut butter on a slice of whole-wheat bread or a stick of celery will give your child a sense of involvement and accomplishment. Other healthy spreads such as low-fat cream cheese or hummus are also toddler-friendly. Let your child help wash fruit or vegetables and spoon dip into a bowl for a quick snack. Other simple tasks such as pushing down the lever on a toaster to make whole-grain toast or putting berries on top of yogurt will give toddlers the thrill of helping.
