Healthy Foods for Kids?

yes! i have suggestions!
fruits. vegetables. lean meats. protein-rich whole grains. organic dairy products.
khairete
S.

We do the fresh fruit cut up and veggies. If I slice up apples and put on table, kids eat it. If I say go eat and apple, they won't. It's weird, but it works.

I put out baby carrots. I peel up clementines. I cut up celery and put cheese cubes in it or PB. Cut up cauliflower. My kids don't even need dip. It's that it is there on the table.

Hard boiled egg. Hummus and whole wheat pita chips or whole grain crackers. Hummus doesn't have to be spicy.

We have been making our own pizzas lately using Naan bread - small individual portion size. So you can control what goes on top.

I don't do nuggets any more. I did when they were little and when my kids were weird about real chicken I realized I needed to get healthy. So chicken drumsticks, wings, chicken breast .. my kids have switched over.

If you can't control what they eat at grandparents - send over a bag of grapes or fruit tray just for a snack.

fresh fruit
cheese
nuts
raw vegetables
hummus

Updated

fresh fruit
cheese
nuts
raw vegetables
hummus

Updated

fresh fruit
cheese
nuts
raw vegetables
hummus

Add fresh fruits and veggies, maybe salads, fruit salads, yogurts, cheeses. Good luck.

Pizza can be a healthy meal depending on what's on it, unless it is frozen or over processed. Why not get your kids involved in preparing their own meals with healthy ingredients. What things do your kids like and experiment with different combinations. You might also consider a childrens cook book to spark their interest.

I would also talk with the grandparents and see if they are up for helping with different options.

Cut up fruit and veggies. If you put them on toothpicks the kids will think its cool.

If either grandparent knows how to cook something (or used to know), like homemade spaghetti sauce, or bread, or mashed potatoes (not out of a box), or even an ethnic dish that they haven't made in years, ask that grandparent about that recipe. If the grandparent is still physically capable, have him or her make it alongside your kids. Don't use shortcuts. Use real tomatoes and do things like they would have been done way back in the day. Or if the grandparent isn't able to help, just ask for the recipe and make that meal or dish with your kids at their grandparents' home. Start making a heritage cookbook while your kids' grandparents are still around to tell stories. Ask the grandparents what they remember eating when they were little, what their parents made, what their favorite foods were, what they first made when they were young newlyweds, etc.

Buy your kids a kids' cookbook. Emeril Lagasse has written a good one. Browse through cookbooks at Barnes and Noble (real books, with real pages, not an electronic image on an iPhone). Have your kids pick a book that they like that doesn't involve 100 ways to serve Twinkies or a week's worth of meals from Hamburger Helper. The book has to use real ingredients.

Challenge your kids to choose one new food a week. Pick a fruit or vegetable that you have never used and figure out together what to do with it. If they're old enough to read, have them try to read the label on a cream of mushroom soup can or on the ranch dressing dry mix or on the taco seasoning packet. Then ask them how the same thing could be made, without maltohydrodextro-something-or-other.

Don't view mealtime as the only together time. Commercials on tv show the family rushing through meal prep (open a can, dump the glop on something else that comes from a can, pop biscuits out of a tube, heat up a take-and-bake pizza, throw animal shaped nuggets on a plate), so they can sit at the table and talk. You know what? You can have those same talks while making a real salad, and making a homemade simple vinaigrette. Even the littlest kid can wash cherry tomatoes and rip lettuce with their hands. If you like chicken nuggets, find out how to make them from scratch, from real chicken. Pizza? Make real dough and let your kids play with it and feel it and shape their own little pizzas and make simple pizza sauce. Shred the cheese. Cook the sausage. If everyone likes ranch dressing, figure out how to make it (greek yogurt, buttermilk, garlic, fresh dill and parsley and chives). Make chicken stock and make soup. Talk while you're cooking and chopping and mixing. Just take what you like and make it without all the sugars, processed foods, artificial flavors and colors, and talk and learn while you're creating.

Some of our old favorites:
Spaghetti, simple rice and meat type dishes, chicken noodle soup, peanut butter or turkey sandwiches, grilled cheese, meatballs with BBQ sauce, scrambled egg and cheese on an english muffin, quesadillas, bean, rice and cheese burritos, edamame, sushi, nuts, healthy yogurt and cereal (watch out for high sugar!) and smoothies made with frozen fruit and 100% juice..
Fresh fruit: my kids LOVED grapes, watermelon, kiwi and all types of berries, especially strawberries. And I know it's silly but they were way more likely to eat apples, oranges, etc. if I cut them in slices, so that's what I did. They weren't crazy about vegetables or salad until they were older but they would eat corn on the cob, cucumber slices and baby carrots,

How old are your kids? What do you eat? How about start with that. If they are picky try serving them what you are eating, but customize it a bit. (I have a son who doesn't like green peppers, so when I make stuffed green peppers I make a portion of the rice, meat and cheese mixture for him in an individual casserole dish and serve him a veggie he does like on the side.) I found that when my kids were little and picky I took them to the buffet once in a while and let them choose what they wanted, and they always tried and liked something new.

tacos, spaghetti, veggie paltter with dip, i hand bread my nuggets and bake them so i know they are a bit healthier than the sotre bought stuff. we also make our own pizza from scratch (homemade dough, and sauce with storebought mozzarella) topped with one meat, one veggie and mushrooms (green peppers or tomatoes are a hit)

My kid is picky but love hummus (nothing too spicy, just the "regular" variety.). You can give them carrots to dip into it or whole wheat crackers.

PB&J
Grilled cheese sandwich
Cesar salad
soup & sandwich
hot dogs

Here are the snacks we like:
Sugar snap peas and hummus.
Cut up fruit...a mix is fun like cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes.
Cheese and crackers
Yogurt
Mixed nuts
Raw almonds
Homemade popcorn
My daughter loves both pickles and olives
Apple slices with peanut butter to dip in
Celery with peanut butter