To encourage children to eat healthier is not always easy, especially if you have fussy young eaters at home. To help you, here are some easy ways, including nutritious recipes to make for your kids at home – some are sneaky food swaps that are so yummy, they wouldn’t notice!
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Smart Solutions – Cute Food For Kids 1
Anything with cheese instantly becomes more attractive to kids, so if you are trying to get them to eat more veggies, why not try a cheese broccoli dish or our Comforting Cheesy Fish Porridge recipe.
The ultimate comfort dish! This fish porridge is yummy (thanks to the cheese) and also healthy (thanks to the omega-3 fatty acids from the salmon).
A colourful dish is bound to be more attractive to kids. So whether it’s a pasta dish or a rice bowl, be sure to add lots of bright colours – try tomatoes, green peas and grapes. And don’t forget to present the dish on bright coloured serveware.
Colours makes a dish appetising for kids. Pack your kids this quick, healthy and vibrant-looking pasta salad for a nutritious meal.
Kids find it hard to eat dishes with large portions, so for example if you are trying to get them to eat more fish, serving a whole slab of salmon is not as palatable as say small salmon patties.
These Japanese-Style Salmon Patties can be shaped into smaller patties, and are so tasty, they will be a new family favourite (and they just take 30 minutes to make).
A flavourful dish is likely to go down better with kids. Inject more flavour to dishes with ingredients such as soy, sesame and herbs to instantly make them more moreish.
This flavourful Sesame Chicken With Soba Noodles recipe will be a hit even with fussy kids.
Kids are more likely to eat their food if they had a hand in preparing them. So get them to help you with easy prep dishes like sandwiches, salads or open-faced tarts.
Get the kids to help you make this delicious ricotta and ham tart – it’s so easy, they’ll love making it too!
It’s all about the presentation and packaging, if you serve up a dish in a fun and attractive way kids are more likely to be more tempted to dig in.
Pack leftover chicken, vegetables and herbs in a jar, whip up a yoghurt dressing then serve it to the kids as a fresh, healthy snack when they need it.
There’s something about “adult-looking” food that entices the kids. Of course, they may not like every adult food, but they must definitely would be very keen to eat something that looks interesting and something unlike their usual food item. One example is sushi. These are kids-palm-size and easy to eat. And you can sneak in some greens as well.
This recipe come with lots of healthy ingredients like quinoa, brown rice, barley, avocado and cucumber, and it looks like sushi! Make it heartier by adding tuna flakes.
One day, your kid can be really into broccoli, and the next, declare war on broccoli (cue tantrums). One way to get kids to enjoy vegetables is to go for the crunchier greens that have mild flavours or do not have any bitter aftertaste. Think cucumbers and xiao bai cai.
These hot and crunchy fritters come with zucchini, and cheese (see point #1), and make for the best snacks! Serve them with your favourite dip for a delicious lunch-box treat or as a dinner side.