Today I’m featuring guest blogger, Tara Abu-Klam. Tara is a 3rd year dietetics student at Ryerson University. She’s active both in her school and community, running a school program called “Be Well”, geared towards the promotion of healthy living through social interactions and workshops. She describes herself as having gone from being a picky eater herself to a full-fledged foodie with great ideas to make food fun and appealing.
So you have a child, eh? And they have an issue with swallowing healthy food? Well, one thing you should know is not to worry, kids do that! The second thing you should know is that kids have imagination and like to play; they played with their food the first time you gave it to them, so your role as a parent should include embracing their imagination and go with the flow.
Let’s get to business, if you want the Tupperware you send with your kids coming back empty, well you better make the inside creative and fun. I’ll be suggesting some tricks for the important foods, some of which were inspired by my mother and grand-mother, others are just from the imagination of my inner-child.
Oranges: carve the skin only into shapes (usually eyes and mouth). This allows them to peel the orange easily while keeping it fresh and, of course, fun.
Sandwiches: write a message inside their sandwich using the minimal amount of dressing (ketchup, mayo etc.). This keeps them interested and curious of what their sandwich will tell them once opened. Here’s a tip: write the message on the side with the bread. Ketchup or mustard work best…the message soaks into the bread so it can still be legible when lunchtime arrives.
Soft Fruit: kiwis, peaches, plums etc. you can cut them up into flower-shapes and place them neatly in a container. This makes it really easy for them to eat without worrying about peeling or taking out the pits. Chef’s tip: take a
knife and poke into the middle making a zig zag (you’re not slicing from the outside) Once you’ve cut through the whole fruit, you should be able to lift the top half off from the bottom, yielding 2 flower-shaped pieces.
Veggies and Dip:
sliced carrots, sliced cucumbers, celery etc. mixed together in a container. Another container has a healthy dip (hummus, Greek yogurt, zesty orange dip). And provide them with a funky food-pick to make it easy, clean and fun to eat their veggies. Dips and toothpicks are both big favourites for kids!
Cookie Cutter: those should be your best-friend! Shape their sandwiches, their cookies, their burgers even their fruits and vegetables! The sky is the limit really.
Messages:
now this one depends on how old your kids are and how close you are with them, but you can leave small simple cue-cards hidden in their lunch bags to tell them something funny, sweet, or encouraging, maybe a short story or even a promise. Okay, this may not get them to eat their meal, but at least they will open their lunchbox!
Spaghetti:
poke the spaghettis through the meatballs before cooking them. This will make it easier to eat, you can even put a challenge on the container to eat the meatballs without breaking the spaghetti string. Chef’s tip: start with partially cooked meatballs with the raw spaghetti poked through; cook the spaghetti and meatballs together in boiling water until done; strain, add your favourite sauce, and serve!
Rice: try making sticky rice shaped into balls which can then be dipped into chili or masala.
I hope this opens up your imagination, too, and you can come up with your own ideas as well. Already have some ideas? Please share! I’d love to hear them, as I’m sure many other parents of picky eaters would, too.
Now let’s just hope your kids will be the ones eating their fun, delicious and healthy food and not their jealous friends!
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