Fun Food Ideas
August 16th, 2007I don't have them.. but I need some.
I've been trying to come up with some ways to prepare meals for the kids, to tempt them into trying healthier foods. Cassidy and Alex, being pretty adventurous eaters don't usually require "tricks" to get them to try something. Dyan and Connor, on the other hand, ages 5 and 3 really require some coaxing.
For example, Dylan could live on spaghetti, boxed Kraft shells and cheese, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Though he does share Daddy's fondness for good slow cooked oatmeal, and he does love all kinds of fruit, I'd really love to get this kid to eat some veggies, and not have to hide them. I'm a little shocked still that he can be this opposed to vegetables since his tastes and texture preferences are very similar, if not identical to Richard, who loves vegetables of all kinds.
I've already decided that once school starts, we're going to go the way of bento style lunches. Cassidy really packed on weight last school year, and while I don't think its all the horrible school lunches, packing a fun healthy lunch for her will at least help. I think she'll balk less at her packed lunch if I pack it in a fun creative way vs, the old American standard of PB&J, a yogurt cup, banana and juice box.
So I'm toying with the idea of a fruit and veggie fondue night, maybe to take place on our regular pizza night. And I think I'm going to try making some onigiri balls, with some sort of veggie hidden inside. One thing is for sure, my kids love foods they can eat with their hands. And they love dipping foods.
Ideas? Someone? Please?
August 16th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I have a great website that I will send you in a private email. Has helped my daughter a bunch!!!
August 17th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Tell them they can only eat the less nutritious stuff before they get the goodies. And don’t have the non nutritious food in the house at all. My kids balked against whole wheat bread for about a year. I stopped buying it so they had no choice. Now they almost like it! Also pack milk instead of juice. They need lots of milk. Juice boxes and juices in general are mostly sugar. Juices are almost as bad as soda which my kids are not allowed to drink except on special occasions and parties.
August 17th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
How about mashed potato sushi? I pack this in my own lunch sometimes because it’s a great bite size way to eat leftover mashed potatoes.
Even tastes great cold, so you don’t need to worry about reheating.
Directions on my Bento Yum Blog.
August 17th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
i’m terribly curious to see the site kaki sent you (if you don’t mind sharing). and let’s see…my 5yo is super picky but this has gone over very well, as has zucchini bread flavored with cinnamon, the veggie chips from the bulk aisle at whole foods have been a hit too. i’ve also found getting them involved in the preparation has been a good thing. some of their faves are quiche with bacon (though when they turn away veggies hit the batter!), we make our own pizzas and i put out fresh toms/squash/etc for “decorating’, and quesadillas with grated veggies and beans (yay for protein!). hope this helps a bit.
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:02 pm
http://www.laptoplunches.com/
Have you seen this site? They have a newsletter too. Like my friend once said, it’s pretty cool to admire the creations, but I’m a little scared and intimidated by the ladies who have the time to take photos of their children’s lunchboxes!
Inspiring nonetheless…