Relish! Review and Giveaway
It’s Worth The Fight.
No matter what we do, sometimes the battle over our children’s eating habits seems more trouble than it’s worth. It doesn’t take a PhD to know that too much junk food is bad and more fruits and vegetables are good but sometimes the struggle is so tough that we slowly give up. Next thing you know the entire family has a weekly menu consisting of chicken nuggets, hot dogs and mac and cheese.
We could drone on and on about the benefits of trying to get your kids to eat healthy and we could serve up a nice helping of guilt and anxiety. But we’re not going to do that. Some kids just don’t like the texture or taste of vegetables and many kids just need to be prodded a little more than others.
Here is a list of strategies and tips that we’ve found work for a lot people. If you have picky eaters, peruse this list and perhaps you’ll find one or two strategies that actually work. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up.
- The number one rule is to be patient. Studies show that it takes 10-20 “encounters” with a particular vegetable to get your child to tolerate it.
- It’s just as much about texture with vegetables as the taste. Soggy, dingy vegetables are a big turn-off with kids. Steam your vegetables just until cooked but make sure they are still crunchy and colorful. Putting vegetables in an ice bath after cooking keeps the color bright.
- Kids like raw vegetables! Cut up some carrot sticks, cucumber rounds, cherry tomatoes, and sliced bell peppers and serve with ranch dressing or even hummus. You can even make a face using the cucumber rounds for the eyes, carrot sticks for eyebrows, cherry tomatoes for nose and mouth and arrange the pepper strips to form the face. You can even drizzle ranch dressing as the hair. I know it’s a lot of work but might be worth it.
- Using your blender or food processor, puree vegetables (like broccoli, carrots, beans) and include them in spaghetti sauce, hamburgers and soups. Begin introducing muffins and breads with carrots and zucchini and other vegetables.
- Start with sweeter veggies like corn, beans and peas. Slowly introduce bitter vegetables like asparagus, Brussels sprouts and kale later.
- Make the “no thank-you bite” a strict rule at the table. Tell your kids they have to have one small bite of the vegetables every night.
- Set a good example. If kids see you eating healthy vegetables, it’s much easier to teach them.
- Kids love stir-fry. As long as you keep the vegetables crisp, kids tend to really gravitate towards stir-fried meals. Add crunchy water chestnuts and/or nuts to it. Same goes with pasta and soups. Remember to keep the veggies crisp and colorful!
- Introduce good healthy foods and vegetables at a very early age, it will pay off in the end. And never make a separate meal for your kids, it makes more work for you and might backfire when your kids get older.
Log on to Relish! and get ready to treat yourself to weekly dinner menus that are customized to your own tastes. Choose the Express Menu and download our picks for the week or choose what you would prefer from our Custom Menu. We offer a selection of vegetarian, kid-friendly, quick, low calorie and simple-gourmet menus. Just click the five you’d like to prepare during the week and your recipes/side dishes and grocery list will be assembled for you! Every day food just got easier.
I used Relish! this week, and what a difference it made! The grocery store shopping was done in no time, and each night we simply choose which meal we want.
Relish! Has offered up one FREE YEAR of this service to one Prissy Green reader!
To enter tell me the single hardest thing about planning dinners.
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