Feeding Children Right!

Hannah_Banana

Oh my gosh! That little frog is SOOOOOOOOO cute! (I have a *slight* obsession with frogs). I will be making these this weekend for a family get together. Thanks so much for those fun ideas!

rachmaree

I don't have kids (yet) but there are some great ideas on here!

bcattoes

Oh! And does anyone have opinions about cooking with molasses instead? Since its chock full of nutrients etc, especially iron. Anybody know if this might be a good "sweet" alternative?

Eh - molasses is just a byproduct of the process by which they make white refined sugar. I'd avoid it, personally, and stick with raw honey and raw maple syrup.

But molasses is not even close to being the same as white sugar. Molasses has a very high nutrient content and is a good healthy sweetener. In moderation, of course.

purnurple

feed them sugar free jello cups. they are a dollar for 4 and easy to grab. also try feeding them yogurt. when i was a kid my mom gave me the flavored water at walmart. they come in bottles and are sugar free. its jsut water but with minerals and vitamins naturally added. for instance the grape has grapes in it. shocking i know.

DianaPowerUp

I give my kids for snacks:
fruit - they love fruit of all kinds
yogurt (that has no HFC or artificial anything in it)
string cheese
occ. sunchips or cheezits (treat)

Lunch always comes with fruit and dinner with veggies. We have a one bite rule too. Our oldest is finally eating eggs, and I'm hoping the younger 2 follow suit soon. It's like monkey see, monkey do.

TripleJ3

For on the go or even easy at home I buy those baby food pouches. I know it sounds funny but they do make applesauce based ones geared for older kids too.

They can be pricey so I mainly use them for big errand days or when I know we won't be home much but I like the Happy Baby brand and Ella's Kitchen.
They are so so good. Theres a banana pumpkin one that I could just eat all day long. I used to only find these at Toys R us and health food stores but now I see them at Super Target and Hy Vee for those that have those chains.

Obviously you can make your own pureed food at home but these I always have on hand for quick healthy snacks. Usually just over a dollar a pouch which isn't bad but I have three kids so it adds up. I do buy the fruit only ones for my 7 and 5yrs school lunch. I'd rather spend the money on those than just buy more cheap garbage.

I'll even buy the pre-packaged apple slices and grapes.

mpfand

Costco sells this large tub of Winnie the Pooh crackers that are very low in suagr. They taste like animal cookies to me, but they're called crackers. My husband and I snack on them. lol My two teenagers like them, too. My kids love all fruit. This time of year it's easy because there is alot that's in season and readily available. During the winter when berries and melons are expensive and don't even taste good anyway, I buy large bags of frozen mixed berries at Costco. They're just frozen berries without any added sugar. My kids love them. They'll eat them as is or I'll make parfaits. (mixed berries layered with vanilla yogurt and granola) My kids also like to snack on string cheese, Pirate's Booty, Veggie Straws, granola bars, frozen Go-Gurts and popcorn.

dumb_blondes_rock

my friend is pretty into health foods and she gets organic cheddar bunnies(they come in variety of flavors) or she gets those veggie straw/fries.....she also has him eating a lot of trailmix or just nuts in general...not sure how the refined sugar i in those snacks, but her son is a pretty healthy kid

hbrekkaas

We have a hard time finding snacks that everyone can have, so I end up making everything myself. My youngest two have dairy, nut and soy allergies between them so we can't just grab a box of granola bars on the way out of the store. My 3 year olds allergies are much milder, but she can't have yogurt or cheese or nuts, my son can't have any dairy or soy.

The pre-bought snacks they can have are:
Vegetable thin crackers,
Graham crackers
PriceSmart store brand animal crackers
Pretzels
SunRype Fruit Source fruit bars
Tortilla chips

They eat alot of fruit, and muffins. They love muffins. Zucchini, carrot, banana, fruit, oatmeal. It does't really matter what kind, they love it. (I make them) They won't eat veggies but we keep offering them anyway, one day one might take a bite.

And my 8 year old LOVES veggies. Cooked or raw, mixed or alone, she doesn't care, she loves them. Her favorite are carrots and lettuce.

We also have fairly strict rules about when they are allowed to eat. They get breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and then bed. They do not pick their own food or take things without asking (that rule is more for the 8 year old then the little ones) and they get what is served for dinner or they get nothing. Its hard enough to cook one meal in however many ways I need to to accomodate allergies, I won't cook a different meal on top of that because someone doesn't like it.

mamato4kids

I find that if I stock my kitchen with only healthy stuff, they will eat it. I just found keifer yogurt with strawberries or blueberries, at first they turned their noses to it, now I can't stock it fast enough! Food companies are getting smart too, my kids love the squeezable yogurts and applesauce...
Point: our tastes change, so will theirs

TripleJ3

I wish I knew some special foods for kids. My daughter is 2 (3 in July) and NEVER wants to eat ANYTHING. I have to argue with her at every meal and she still won't eat. She should look like a skeleton by now. I'm close to tears every day with this crap. I can't take it anymore, she has been like this every since starting solid foods...so it's been about 2 years now that I have been going through this three times a day. I'm so frustrated I could explode.

I have 3 daughters and run a daycare in my home. Yes I offer a big variety and my own children see how healthy and adventurous I am. It never fails that if I have something on my plate only, made just for me I have kids scrambling, begging and crying wanting what I have. If I put the same food on their plate as mine they want nothing to do with it.

I'll purposely make extra just for this reason then eventually I'll get request to make those foods for them. Try not to make a big deal of it. My oldest daughter is almost 8 and used to be extremely picky. She takes after her Dad. The older she gets and the more she sees what I eat and that I am always talking about something new I'm trying, the more she's atleast trying new foods which is what I'm after. I have never been picky ( I would beg my Mom to make me brussel sprouts and I liked veggies plain, no cheese!) but even some of the foods I did disliked as a child I have grown to love.

When my girls tell me they don't like it I sometimes say thats ok, I didn't like that when I was a kid either but now I do. It seems the less of an issue I make of it the better. I set an example, we discuss foods often especially since I'm a foodie and we all love the Farmers Market.

All the kids love fruit and veggie stickers, stamps and books. And I'm not opposed to hiding veggies and protein. I figure its no different then all the times I use baby food puree or applesauce in place of oil. I don't run down the list of ingredients in spaghetti sauce (theres more then just tomatoes in there) or other dishes I make as long as you still offer them individually also. I make a pumpkin curry soup that's heavenly and you would never know its pumpkin in there unless I told you. It just makes it creamy.