The 9 Secrets to Making Your Child a Healthy Eater

1.  Smuggle nutritious foods into old favorites. Mix mashed peas or pureed spinach into your hamburger mix, grated carrots into peanut butter and cooked zucchini into pancakes. Add a little wheat germ to your pizza dough, biscuits and cookies. Be creative with your trickery. You’ll surprise yourself.
2. Give food silly names. Children love whimsical things and will usually try something new if it has a funny name. What kid could resist a glass of “Mooseberry Juice” at lunch or a “U.F.O.” for breakfast?
3. Let kids help. Even small children can help in the preparation of some of the things they eat. If a child has helped make a snack, he or she if more likely to eat it.
4. Go easy on sugar salt. Try to omit sugar and salt from recipes you make, or at least decrease the amount used. The results may not taste as food to you, but if your child is raised without sugar and salt, she or he will never miss them. Use alternatives such as dates and raisins, for adding sweet flavor whenever possible. If you have to sweeten anything, use honey instead of sugar …only because it is sweeter and you don’t need as much. Keep salt and sugar off the table, and look for unsweetened products at the market.
5. Cut back on fats. Substitute lowfat yogurt for ordinary yogurt, lowfat milk for whole milk, and use “light” cheese when you can. Turkey lunch meats are good lowfat substitutes for ham and other lunch meats. When a recipe calls for nuts or seeds, you may want to reduce the quantity (they have lots of fiber, but unfortunately are high in fat). You’ll find that cutting back on the fats in a recipe frequently doesn’t affect the overall flavor!
6. Educate your child about basic nutrition. Talk about foods that help children grow strong and stay healthy……and those that don’t. Classify foods at the market or on the table, into the four food groups. Play simple games that teach about these foods.
7. Serve small helpings and cut everything into small bites to fit small mouths. It’s not so overwhelming when there are small amounts on a plate. A child will ask for more if desired. Make everything look as appetizing as possible. Sometimes it’s fun to make a face or a design with the bites of food. Try anything to create a happy atmosphere and stimulate a child’s imagination and desire to try the food. Ask your child to try everything. Don’t force her or him to finish everything.
8. Let “props” help sell what you’re serving. Everyone knows that kids love bright colors, animals, clowns, funny straws and above all, variety. Use this knowledge when serving your child’s meals. A different plate or a funny bowl with a picture on it just might stimulate a child’s desire to try something new. Avoid the same old thing. Collect a variety of small colorful plates, cups, bowls, glasses and placemats.
9. Make mealtime and snack time a social event in a pleasant atmosphere. A child is much more apt to try new things under these circumstances. Don’t get angry … it only makes a child more stubborn about trying new foods. Maybe he or she simply isn’t hungry, but will be a willing-eater at the next meal. Try to avoid pleading (“please eat”), threatening (“No dessert if you don’t eat your salad”) or guilt-inducing (“Think of all the hungry children in the world”), they won’t help.

  Mom, Dinner Time Does Not Have to Be Stressful.

This article was taken from Healthy Snacks for Kids by Penny Warner – Nitty Gritty Cookbooks