When Preparing Meals For Kids

July 19, 2012 By

Most if not all of the kids, especially toddlers are hard to feed.  They are pretty choosy with their food and if their preferred food isn’t on the plate, they will not eat at all. This is the phase where the parents or guardians will need all the creativity they need in order to encourage their little ones to eat healthy meals for kids.

What one needs to remember is when you are going to prepare a meal for the kids, you need to be patient.  They may not show their delight when broccoli and carrots are served, but with patience, they will eventually eat them.

Another technique is to encourage the kids to eat whatever is served at every single meal.  Plan their meals as well as snacks.  And since they grow quite quickly, they will eventually have to eat a lot more.

Kids are attracted to colors. And the more colors and textures there are in their meal, they are most likely attracted to it and will most likely eat it.  Don’t be discouraged if your child won’t eat it right away.  Sometimes they tend to not eat a meal if they are not familiar with it.
Let them choose one meal in a week.  This will make them feel like they also have the chance to pick their favorite dish. Ask for their opinion on what to do with the chicken or fish.  This will make them involved and they might even enjoy meal time.

Kids are curious individuals. You can take advantage of this by involving them in your cooking.  Having them stir or add an ingredient, even making them wear an apron as well as a chef’s hat can be a good way to keep them interested in food.

When the whole family is on the table or when it’s meal time, be positive.  Tell your child how much you appreciate their help and how you enjoyed cooking with them or even how delicious their food choice is.  This way, you will witness your picky eater go through a life change.

Filed Under: Eating Habits Tagged With: , ,

Preparing Snacks and Fun Meals For Kids

June 28, 2012 By

Do you always have to tell your kid to finish their food and you end up having to throw half or some of it because they simply can’t finish it?  Maybe it’s time that you try a different strategy. A win-win strategy where mom will be pleased that their kid finished their food and the kid is happy because mom is happy. 

You don’t have to serve them fast food meals or unhealthy meals; you just have to be creative with how you present their food. Think of ways to can encourage them.

One way is to make the food attractive.  If you are serving meat, cut it into different shapes or smaller shapes that will encourage them to eat it.  Vegetables can also be cut into smaller pieces. Carrots for instance can be cut into basic shapes to attract the kids.  If you keep their meals pint-sized and interesting, they will likely focus on their food and eventually finish what’s on their plate.

According to pediatricians, children who are picky with food only eat small portions of their food.  Do not load up their plate because instead of encouraging them, you discouraged and overwhelmed them.

Here are some other ideas on how you can make snacks and fun meals for kids.
Sandwiches – Can be cut into small and different shapes like round, cube size or triangular.  It may even help if you added lots of naturally colored food like tomato, pickles and lettuce.
Celery and Other Vegetables – If you want them to eat celery, since it is a very nutritious snack or meal, you can cut it into mini portions and with peanut butter dressing.
Chicken or Fish – Depending on how it is cooked, it would still be important to serve it in small portions. Make sure the fish won’t have the bones in them still. Add interesting shaped vegetables with either  fish or chicken and you will surely get their attention.

Another way to encourage your child or children to eat is to buy them a plate and different cutlery sets if possible.  If they are excited about their plate and unique cutlery set, they will most likely want to see it and use it.

 

Filed Under: Eating Habits Tagged With: , ,

Healthy Meals For Kids

June 15, 2012 By

Kids could be very picky with their meal choices.  They can easily throw tantrums or simply play with their food if they aren’t motivated to eat it.  Some parents even go to the extent of buying them toys to motivate them to eat – Toys such as rcmodelaircraft, Barbie, xbox, video games, dollhouse or even a TREX 450 PLUS SUPER combo, that only they can appreciate.

Just imagine how many meals there are in a day and how much that toy buying spree would cost in a month.  Luckily, there is another way to really motivate them to eat.  Parents or guardians just have to be creative when preparing meals for kids.  And who knows?  These recipes may actually even delight them.

With these recipes, your family will be able to have that delicious, nutritious and hot meal in just 30 minutes.

Main Meal: Broccoli Chicken Vegetable Sauté ( Four Servings)

Ingredients Needed
* ½ cup thin sliced carrots
* ½ cup milk
* 1 cup cut up broccoli
* 1 cup sliced mushrooms
* 1 cup cream of broccoli soup
* 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
* 4 chicken breast halves
* Salt and pepper to taste

Steps In Cooking
1. Cook the chicken using 1 tablespoon of olive oil in skillet for about 10 minutes, or until each side of the chicken is brown.
2. Remove the chicken from the pan, but it keep it warm.
3. Cook the broccoli, mushrooms and carrots in the same skillet for five minutes.
4. Keep stirring.
5. While stirring, add the milk, appropriate amount of salt and pepper in the soup.
6. Stir until it boils.
7. Once it is boiled, put back the chicken to the skillet.
8. Simmer for five minutes.
9. Serve this with pasta or rice.

Dessert: Chocolate Ice Cream With A Twist ( Four Servings)
The good thing about this dessert is it surprisingly doesn’t contain sugar and your kids will be eating fruit without them knowing it.

Ingredients Needed
* 3 tablespoons of water
* 4 peeled bananas
* 4 squares of Baker’s all natural unsweetened chocolate

Steps In Cooking
1. Mash the bananas in a medium sized bowl.
2. Melt the unsweetened chocolate with water on top of a double broiler.
3. When chocolate has melted, add it together with water to the mashed bananas.
4. Mix and stir the ingredients altogether.
5. Then put in the freezer before serving.

Filed Under: Good Nutrition Tagged With: , ,
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