Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Eat more veggies, PLEASE!


How many two year old's want sugar all the time? My daughter loves to ask for candy and has just recently discovered soda. And veggies with dinner, it's the end of the world. 

So I got this tip from my pediatrician of all people (who knew doctor's had good advice?) She told me to try taking an ice cube tray and filling each spot with a healthy snack a couple of carrots, some cheese, some crackers (goldfish are yummy) and things like that, and then put the tray somewhere the child can get to it anytime. so during playtime she stops and eats some raisins, or better yet snap peas. and you don't fight with her at all. she gets good nutrition and starts some healthy snacking habits. MAJOR TIP: make sure the veggies and fruits outnumber the carbs. If the tray is mostly crackers that doesn't help increase the fresh fruits and veggies they take in. Besides our kids get plenty of carbs all day long anyway. I am going to try this over the weekend when we have time for playing all day at home, I'll let you know if it works well or if she only eats the things she already liked from the tray. 

I found this image on another blog. Its a perfect tray, this one tried it as a meal replacement, that's a good idea but I like the idea of just snacking on it. 

I have also seen lots of parenting books that say: Let the kids make their meals with you. Apparently any kid will eat anything they made themselves.  Sophia has been cooking with me for about six months and she is always fun to cook with. She loves to dump stuff into the bowl or the pan, once she put an entire can of tomatoes into the pasta, while the pasta was still cooking, and she put the can in too. it didn't taste as good as I would have liked but she was very happy with it. She also loves to spice things, she thinks everything needs pepper and the more the better. We are learning about the right amounts but its great fun and a bigger mess, and takes longer when we make the meals together. 

7 comments:

Liz said...

OMG! I LOVE this idea! I am going to try this with Bubba this week.

jem's mom said...

We use muffin pans, but same idea. The kids eat it up.
I noticed your from Aluquerque, NM...so am I, well Los Lunas NM. I saw your comment/blog address on Jim and Danaly's blog, how do you know them?

Katie

The Queen said...

Wow, I have been battling my son with the sweets. This is a great idea, thanks for sharing!!

Lindsey said...

Katie, I don't know Jim and Danaly at all I saw a link to their blog on another blog and thought since the topics were all the same I could maybe garner some readers by commenting.

I hate fighting with my daughter about sweets, it would be so much easier if they just never found out about candy, but I love ideas to try and make them eat good food and enjoy it, then no one has to fight.

Anonymous said...

This is such a cute idea! I think I'll try it at mealtime to see if my son is more interested in sitting still and eating. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

What a great idea! May have to use that one! Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Scary Mommy said...

This idea is simply genius. I am totally trying it with my picky eaters!!