Easy Recipes for Busy Families
Easy Family Recipes
Keep Variety in Your Meals for Picky Eaters
When you have small children, feeding them can be a chore, especially if they are picky eaters. Their nutrition is very important, and there are ways of getting them to eat even if they do not want to.
Even though it may be a chore, when you are preparing dinner, prepare several different dishes so your child has choice of what he or she wants.
Encourage your child to take a 'no thank you' bite of each of the dishes that you prepare. This way he or she will at least taste the food before disliking it. Nine out of ten times, he or she will like the dish and possibly ask for more.
Another way that you can encourage your child to eat is to give the food names of their favorite cartoon or fictional character. Atomic Betty beans or Patrick pancakes can bring a smile to your child’s face and a full belly. Children identify with their favorite shows, and if they think that they are eating their favorite cartoons food, then they will most likely clean their plates.
Making dishes that are colorful and fun is a great way to encourage a finicky eater to actually eat. When you use bright and colorful ingredients such as green, yellow and red bell peppers, and give the dish a name like Christmas casserole, or if you make a veggie lasagna and call it Diego’s delight, you will have a better chance of a having a peaceful dinner.
Children are very particular and even though they are little, they know what they like. If something does not look appetizing to them, you will have very little chance of getting them to eat it. They do not understand that it is good for them; they depend on you for that.
If you like to cook, one way that you can encourage your child to eat is to let them prepare the meal with you. When you do this, they will see the ingredients that are being added and feel like they are a part of the cooking process. they are more likely to eat what they prepare because they are proud to have done it.
If you know your child does not like something and it is a necessary ingredient, then wait until he or she is out of the room and run it through the food processor until it is finely ground up and then add it to the pot. He or she will never know it is there.
When you are trying to feed your child, it is sometimes necessary to use alternative methods.
