Back by popular demand… another one of these cool cookbooks – Better Homes and Gardens, Kid Favorites Made Healthy - is this week’s prize. It has 150 yummy recipes “kids can’t resist” like this one for Fast Fajita Rollups.
So, how do you win? Just tell us in the comments below… what you do to try to make your kids’ meals healthier. Everyone who comments will be entered in a drawing to win. Contest ends this Friday, July 25. Good luck!
My kids refuse to eat vegetables. However, they love scrambled eggs. So to make their breakfasts healthier by getting in a couple of servings of veggies, I grate yellow squash and mix it in the eggs. I then put low fat grated cheese on top and they never know the difference. For a good, healthy snack…I mix strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, and rasberries in a bowl and top it with light cool whip. Works like a charm!
I always use Splenda instead of sugar when
I bake
During each meal of the day, I make sure the kids plates and or cups have at least one thing represented from all major food groups.
My son loves anything that is crunchy, so I try to pick veggies that are crunchy in texture to encourage him to eat his veggies. I just cut it into small bite-sizes.
We recently gave up foods containing high fructose corn syrup in our house, and I’m (slowly, slowly) working to really revamp our diet. It’s hard with kids, though. You can tell them that eating healthier is better for them in all ways until you’re blue in the face, but they don’t care. All they care about is food that tastes good and that their friends won’t laugh at. So, that’s the challenge.
I would LOVE to win this cookbook because it fits into my overall goal of healthier eating for the kids and the family as a whole!
My husband and I are back on the Weight Watcher counting points system so we’re really into portion control right now. So, recently I’ve started making sure my kids are eating correct portions as well.
If anyone has ideas on how to get a VERY picky 12 year old boy to eat (at least try) green vegetables, I’m up for suggestions.
When I ask my six year old little sister what she wants to eat, most of the time she asks for healthy food. But sometimes she’ll ask for cereal for lunch, or instant noodles, or frozen fish sticks. When she does that, I tell her that she can have it if she has something else with it (i.e. yogurt, cheese, green beans, corn etc.) It works!
I also try to encourage her to eat good food because it will “make you stronger and help you grow big bones!” She likes that.
Wow – great ideas everyone!!
dfarris – what a great idea to grate yellow squash and mix it with the eggs!
ladyjay – maybe try a little of what dfarris does???
cathy – getting them to eat something other kids approve of is important, unfortunately huh?
naker – sounds like you got a great system down!
Naker—You should try my old method…I just held down the siblings and forced stuff down their threats…that way they would have to eat and couldn’t cry. Ha!
It works…but in a few cases, it did seem to cause some serious life issues—all well, at least they got their nourishment.
My kids are a bit older now, and I realize that their tastes have definitely changed over time. When they were younger, I would explain (in an entertaining way, of course) why the food we were eating was so good for them, and relate it directly to how it was helping their little bodies. They seemed interested and willing to give the food a try if they knew exactly how it was helping them personally. If they didn’t like it, I didn’t make them eat it. The other thing that I think helped was that I just chose not to buy certain junk foods, so nothing was lurking in the cabinet or fridge tempting everyone. I guess it helps they weren’t too picky either.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a toddler who loves fruit and vegetables. Lately, however, she’s been wanting sweets all the time (thanks to a grandmother who gives in all the time). So now whenever she wants sweets, I give her a sweet fruit: strawberries with a tiny bit of light whipped cream, for example. It usually calms her cravings, and she’s still eating healthy.
For me, I’ve been substituting veggies for sweets. Carrot sticks, cucumbers, radishes and a nice salad instead of french fries or something like that. We started our own garden this year, and are very happy with the results as well. Also, lots of sugar free popsicles and things like that for the hot days when you want an ice cream…
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Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you don’t live at home anymore. Ha!