Healthy Food Choices For Small Children
Tips For Picky Eaters
Some children will eat anything a parent places on their plate. Such children are easy to please. They will gobble down anything edible from plain mashed potatoes to the most exotic ethnic food. Other children challenge their parent’s culinary skills and persistence. They might demand peanut butter for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They may insist on eating only carrots or bananas for a week. They eat but they fail to eat enough healthy foods.
Picky eaters can pose a difficult dilemma for parents. How do you help your child develop a broad palate without turning every meal into a battlefield?
Start Early
Most experts suggest starting solids at six months. At this time chose varied foods for your baby. An excellent way to do this is to make your own baby food. Just about any vegetable or fruit can be pureed to the right consistency. Use small amounts and cook thoroughly. Good choices for small children include peaches, apricots, nectarines, asparagus, sweet potatoes and apples. Additional choices to help expand your baby’s tastes might include fennel, endive, tapioca, chickpeas or different proteins such as lamb, mackerel or cod.
Not all vegetables should be fed to young children. Consult with the pediatrician for more specific information. Feed only one new food each day in order to monitor just in case an allergic reaction occurs.
Older Toddlers
Older toddlers can be enticed to eat with small amounts of various foods. Many toddlers love to have lots of eating choices. Give your small child a little buffet of healthy foods such as hard boiled eggs, kid friendly pasta, carrot sticks, whole grain rice and red pepper cut into long strips. Ideally these ingredients should be part of a larger meal shared by the whole family. This allows him the chance to decide exactly what he wants to eat while still ensuring he gets adequate nutrition. Older children will appreciate that younger siblings are still eating the same food as everyone else. Make healthy food choices as enticing as possible.
Older Children
Older children who fuss and pick may appreciate a nice smorgasbord of their own. Providing them with lots of choices can be a great way to encourage healthy and varied eating. Several kinds of food lend themselves quite easily to this idea. A taco bar is a nice dinner that kids usually adore. Prepare the taco shells in advance and set them out on the table. Surround them with different toppings and let your kids feast. In addition to old favorites like shredded beef think about using veal or fish instead.
Chose non-conventional vegetables like Chinese cabbage or turnips. Explore the world of condiments by offering items such as Japanese wasabi mayonnaise or French mustards.
Offer them the right food choices and watch their culinary horizons expand greatly.
Healthy Food Choices
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