Kids and Healthy foods

Have you tried preparing meat and vegetable loafs? :) They're a great way to incorporate vegetables in a way children would eat them... Also, preparing sandwiches with greens and some french fries on the sides can be a great way to introduce new flavors. Try eating with the child so he or she will see how you enjoy the food. :D Good luck!

Finally they have come out with some less expensive whole wheat breads, and they make whole grain noodles (instead of the gross tasting whole wheat noodles!) I found when my kids were little that they would eat pretty much what they saw me eat, which was oatmeal, whole wheat bread/toast, potatoes with the peelings and the challenging part, vegetables! My son used to love eating broccolli as a finger food! I thought that was great. Some kids like peas if you let 'em play with the peas a little. I always gave my kids cheerios on their high chair tray because they are made out of oats, which is a whole grain.. there's other cereals too that have oats listed first on the ingredient list.. You probably know that.. I always thought applesauce was good.. But that wasn't what you asked! And fruit is so expensive! But that's how I got my kids to eat healthy.. fruit.. then bread.. Everybody says bread (whole grain) isn't good for you, but it's a mainstay of the bible so I'm not agreeing with that ideas.. I could tell you about my grandkids' eating habits.. Of course that's when it gets really tricky when the children are a little older.. I don't want to frighten you! All I can say is don't get talked into buying things like frozen chicken nuggets and the like! and lots of desserts.. Are you a creative cook? If you like to cook you can make yummy and healthy and fun foods!

Have you tried "decorating" the food for your toddler? I have seen some articles to decorate the food for kids, and it makes the toddler like the food, as it's so pretty and cute. I have done once with my son, as he saw a book with a picture of having the tomato and egg as a mushroom or boat, he asked me to make one for him. I just prepared the food, and make the mushroom or boat together with my son. But, my son likes to eat those food, so I don't know whether this really helps. Perhaps changing the style of cooking may help too?

It can be hard to encourage your child to eat healthy food, but I think that one of the things that you should do is to try and mix healthy foods into the things that your child likes to eat. If s/he likes spaghetti bolognese for example then you could try and chop some vegetables into it. This might mean that your child wouldn't notice that the vegetables were in there and they would eat them without even thinking about it. If they ask for bread then try swapping it for brown bread as this is a lot better for your child.

Teaching a child to eat is part of overall teaching. When I was a child and when my children were little, kids did not expect to have food made at their whim. They were supposed to eat everything in the plate. I remember I didnot like some food, but I had to eat it. I have learned now why I didn`t like those foods. Veggies were bland because they were overcooked. I now saute them or cook them al dente, mainly by steaming them. Children can learn how to eat if you tell them to eat at least a couple of bites from any new food. That`s what I have done with my grandchildren. There are thousand ways to eat a potato. Why don`t you show them what`s going on at your kitchen? THey are more interested in something if they are part of it.

My other brother don't like veggies so my mom usually blend or cut veggies into small pieces so that my brother won't notice them because the moment he sees veggies in meal, he would make my mom get canned goods for him. I remember that my mom would usually make chicken omelet and my brother loves it not knowing that my mom included veggies in it. But of course, it is much better if the kids would know that they are actually eating veggies. We also don't eat much fruit even if they are already available so my mom would make an effort to make fruit salad, buko pandan, fruit shakes or mango jelly for us.

I'd probably try to make the healthy meal seem like fun for the child. Maybe I'd arrange the food on the plate such that it looks like a smiley face, or a train or a rocket ship or similar and make up a story about it. If that didn't work, bearing in mind the child is asking for bread/cheese/noodles/spaghetti (which aren't bad foods in themselves as they are good carbohydrates which our body needs for energy....it's what we put on them that makes them poor in nutritional value), I'd probably grate some cheese over the food and maybe now and again serve it with noodles or spaghetti, or perhaps hot bread instead of the baked potato. Not sure if any of that would work, but that's what I'd try. If it didn't work, I'd probably be tearing my hair out in frustration.

Sorry but I think you have it pretty good for your toddlers. My nieces are even worse off than that. We try to feed them well too but they won't eat anything we give them almost. We just want them to eat anything at that point. If your child is asking for spaghetti and not top ramen or something like that you're doing good.