Tempt child's tastebuds at early age
Do you have a hard time getting your kids to try new foods?
Are you finding yourself preparing three different meals for three different children just so they will eat? Are chicken nuggets, pizza, hamburgers or macaroni and cheese you children’s main diet?
As I cook for my clients and a private school in Yuma, I hear this complaint over and over from parents. But parents, I see what your children eats and what is in your freezer and pantry. We as parents need to wake up to the nutritional needs of our children. By becoming aware of these needs early in their life, you will most likely skip the above-mentioned problems.
Parents' lives are busy and the food industry has made it easy for them to feed their children, starting from infancy. The only real problem with this is that children do not develop palates that encourage them to try new textures and tastes. They become used to the oversalted, soft foods found in cans and in the freezer section. They refuse to eat if they are not familiar with the foods. Many children I ask do not know where milk comes from or cannot name many of the fresh vegetables that I showed them. But they can identify every sugared cereal shown in a bowl.
OK, now that I’ve got your attention and you are saying “What do I do to change this problem?,” let’s talk about what to do.
I was hired by a client to make baby food. For the first few months of this new job, I would steam vegetables and fruits, puree and freeze them in ice cube trays for mom or dad to defrost and warm for baby. When the child was about 6 months, I found a food grinder like one I had used for my children at Burlington Coat Factory. I presented this to my clients and told them that they did not need to pay me to make baby food anymore but could just start adding food from their meals that I was preparing each week.
This was over three years ago and I am pleased to say that this child eats anything and everything you put before her. She thinks that food from cans tastes horrible (no texture).
Now I know you as parents are busy with your jobs and children’s extracurricular activities. The last thing you want to do is come home and fix dinner. Those fast-food places look so easy and so does the canned food aisle or the frozen food section at the grocery store.
Many parents say they hate to cook, but think of what you are doing to your children by making it easy for you. We are raising a generation of unhealthy children. Obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease are on the rise. If you haven’t yet, you need to watch “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.” You can find it on the Internet at Abc.go.com/shows. Just click on the show's name.
I would love to offer to you a few ideas on getting your kids to eat healthier. The added bonus to this is if you are helping your children eat healthier, the chances are you will be, too. This is an added benefit to the whole family. Take time to sit around the table turn off the TV and enjoy each other and the food you have prepared together.
Let your children cook. Encourage them to participate in the meal planning and the meal preparation. Start them young and keep them interested. Take the prepared foods that they want to eat and make them homemade. Pull a chair up to the counter and let kids make the meatballs or bread the chicken. If they help make it they are going to be more excited about eating it.
Start a small garden. Kids from all over the neighborhood would come to my house when my kids were young so they could eat carrots, peas and tomatoes from the backyard. My carrots never were able to grow more than an inch or two long because they would be pulled up and eaten before they had a chance to mature. But I loved the kids coming in telling me how much more wonderful the warm carrots tasted than the ones from their refrigerator.
If you don’t have room for a vegetable garden, how about a few herbs in pots on your patio? Basil, parsley, dill, thyme, rosemary and oregano are a few that grow well in Yuma. Once you have them growing, have fun with your children tasting the leaves and imagining what foods you can make using the herbs.
Make food and eating fun.
I am including a few recipes that I have found my clients' children love to eat. These recipes are healthy, easy to make and your children can help in the preparation of them.
Healthy Spaghetti Sauce
Adapted from "Food to Live By"
Makes about 6 cups
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 small carrots coarsely chopped
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 zucchini, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup of dry wine (optional)
5 pounds of ripe tomatoes, peeled or 2 cans (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dry
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dry
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper or 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1-2 teaspoons sugar
Place garlic, carrot and zucchini in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, add onion and continue to pulse until minced. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan over medium low heat. Add the vegetable mixture and cook stirring frequently. You want this to be soft but not browned, about 11 minutes. Add the wine and stir well, loosening any bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and let reduce for about three minutes.
Add the tomatoes and their juice to the pot. Add spices and simmer gently until the flavors become concentrated, about 35-45 minutes. Add salt and pepper. At this time you need to taste for sweetness, and if the sauce is too acidic, add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar. This sauce can be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for three months.
Oven Baked Chicken Nuggets
This is where you can get creative. Look in your pantry for a coating: Potato chips, crackers, dry bread crumbs, crispy rice cereal or cornflakes will work. You may also add any herb to your chicken coating from your herb garden.
8 chicken pieces, skin removed
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of butter
1 cup of coating such as bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in 13x9-inch baking sheet. Place pan in the oven until butter melts. In food processor or blender, combine bread crumbs, cheese, onion powder salt and pepper, process until everything is well blended together. Place mixture in a sealable plastic bag. Coat pieces one at a time in melted butter and place chicken in bag. Seal and shake coating each piece. Place chicken on prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes if bone-in chicken, 30 minutes if boneless or until cooked though and crispy.
This tastes wonderful with creamy mashed potatoes. Only use half cauliflower with half potatoes add a little crème cheese butter and mix well.
Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins
These muffins are a healthy version of a doughnut. They can be prepared in five minutes and ready to eat in 20.
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
2/3 cup honey
4 tablespoons oil
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper cups.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, honey, oil and vanilla. Add flour to mixture and mix with light strokes until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Do not overmix. Batter will not be smooth.
Divide batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in one or two of the muffins come out clean, 15-20 minutes. You can add a cup of berries at this time.
While the muffins are baking, melt 1/2 stick butter and place in a bowl just large enough to hold a muffin. Combine sugar and cinnamon in cup shallow bowl. As soon as the muffins are done, dip the the tops one at a time in the melted butter and then dip again in the sugar mixture.
Set on a rack to cool.
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Karla Billdt works as a personal chef and owns Karla's Kreations.
