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Family Cooking And Entertaining Secrets - Kids Eat Everything
from:I'm a chef and mom of four girls. My husband and I are also "foodies". We enjoy trying exotic cuisines. We bring home "odd" ingredients. I cook at least one homemade meal per day, many days two or three. As our kids have gotten older, our meal preparation has gotten easier and easier. This is not because our children are busy and not interested in eating as a family anymore. It is exactly the opposite. They are interested, engaged, excited and curious about everything I do in the kitchen. They ask to help. They beg to help. We step on each others' toes, splash food on each other, bump backsides, band-aid our little accidents and clean up our spills together. We shop at grocery stores, the farmer's market, specialty stores and farm stands. They have traveled long distances with us just to try a unique sandwich or handmade artisan cheese. Our kids ask for seaweed as a snack or figs from our tree in the backyard. What have we done to create these little culinary curious beings? Let us start from the beginning.
The fact that my husbands' sperm fertilized my egg probably had something to do with the fact that our kids are the way they are. You take two people who love food as much as we do and you are bound by nature to get kids who have some interest. Next was in-utero. I was one of those women who ate and ate and ate during pregnancy. I gained 60-70 pounds with each of my pregnancies. I followed the general guidelines cutting out caffeine and alcohol. But sushi and fresh cheeses were just the beginning of what I ate when they were inside my belly. I have read articles that talk about how pregnant women should eat healthfully but eat a wide range of food so that the growing fetus is exposed to as many flavors in the belly prior to birth. Although there is no proof, my suspicion is that my babies have the genetic makeup and taste for a lot more than chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese, although those could be tasty sometimes too. I also nursed my children for one year each and continued to eat a wide range of foods. Who knows how much of the foods I ate got into the breast milk, but it couldn't hurt!
When the kids began to eat baby food, I made some of my own. Sure, we bought Gerbers, Beechers and Earths Best but we tried to turn what we were eating into baby food as well. As they grew and started eating finger food we always gave them what we were eating. Whether it was shrimp or asparagus, enchiladas or pad thai, sweet potato or salami, kiwi or artichoke hearts, Caesar salad or steak, they got it in little tiny pieces on their high chair table. Our philosophy from the very beginning was not to make the kids "special meals". They ate what we ate, period! And this worked out nicely until they started asking for the more expensive ingredients and dishes like truffle cheese and "hunks of salmon".
By the time my now nine year old was ready to start kindergarten, I knew that the typical P B and J and a fruit roll was not going to do. I started to think that if she was involved in the process of making her lunch and choosing what to put in it, maybe she would actually eat her lunch. When I was growing up, my mom tried to keep us healthy by buying food that had carob (covered raisins) or whole wheat (bread and fig bars). Instead of eating my lunch, I would toss it in the trash and use my allowance to buy chips, cookies and chocolate milk. I even got busted for bringing boxes of Jell-O and eating the sugar like it was the old Lick-A-Stick candy. I was determined to do what I could to teach my kids about making good choices when it came to food but enjoying what they ate.
Every year, we take the kids to the store to pick out their own lunchboxes. Lunchboxes come in so many colors, themes, shapes, materials, sizes and even price ranges. And during July and August, it seems every market, toy store or super store has a whole aisle dedicated to those little lunch holders. It may seem like something so small, but picking out your own lunchbox is a highlight of summer for my kids.
Next I taught the kids the recipe for lunchbox success. These were my simple rules that made packing their lunch easy. Every lunch must include:
1. the lunchbox
2. a ice pack
3. a drink
4. a fruit
5. vegetable
6. something with protein
7. a treat
We will start with the drink, since the lunchbox and ice pack is pretty self explanatory. In a perfect world, every child drinks cold milk for lunch. Arielle, one of the four, knew differently from the time she was little. After not wanting to nurse for three weeks after her birth, her poor mother pumping every two hours and trying to nurse her the hour in between, she finally decided to latch and nurse. She nursed for a year but never took a bottle and went straight to sippy-style cups. In addition, she would not drink any form of milk, no cow's milk, no soy milk, no formula, NOTHING. She didn't like water either. In an attempt to not give her sugar filled apple juice all the time, her doctor suggested diluted cranberry juice which had a lower sugar content than apple juice and was good for her urinary tract. She drank watered down cranberry juice for a while until she was introduced to the juice box. Once she could drink from a straw, those little boxes were with us wherever we would go. They were easier than taking sippy cups and they stayed fresh. At the time, however, the only products were 100% juice or the other juice-like stuff. Everything had sugar and/or corn syrup. Now there is another alternative that works well for the kids. They take either a water bottle, which they like to freeze and slowly drink throughout their day, or they take the flavored water beverages. These are low in calories and sugar but are tastier than straight water. I don't think they even realize that they aren't drinking juice. Sometimes they buy milk at school or bring a thermos with milk in it too. I'm ok with any of these options.
Next is the fruit. The fruit selection in our house changes throughout the year. We grow our own blackberries, strawberries, Mandarin oranges, apples, peaches, plums, nectarines, lemons, tomatoes (yes they are a fruit) figs and grapes. Additionally, I hit the farmers market every Sunday and come home with any other type of fruit that I do not grow here at the house. Their new favorites are kiwis and jujubes. Although we only live on a 10,000 square food piece of land, I grow lots of fruits, vegetables and herbs in pots or in the ground. The kids love to pick and eat their own food. There is something about watching things grow and ripen and then picking and eating them. So, they get to choose whatever fruit they want to take. They either put the fruit in a baggie or a small plastic container or take the whole piece of fruit. I look for small pieces of fruit when I buy them so that the fruit is just enough for them to eat and not waste. They enjoy the baby size apples or pears. They are so cute!
Next the vegetables. There are generally six or seven standard vegetables that they choose from. These include Persian cucumbers, baby carrots, celery (with ranch or peanut butter), mushrooms, jicama, sugar snap peas, and cooked artichokes. We eat lots of roasted vegetables in our house like squash, pumpkin, onions, asparagus, brussel sprouts, corn, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini but the above mentioned veggies are the lunchbox favorites. Because they have so many options, there are never fights about what they should take.
Now for the protein. I offer the kids yogurt, cheese, turkey, peanut butter or tuna. Sometimes we have leftovers from dinner the night before and they will take pasta with meat sauce or some steak or chicken. Usually they make sandwiches on white whole wheat bread or rolls. If they want yogurt and a slice of cheese, they can take that as well. Three of my four children love tuna so they take tuna on a sandwich or in a small container with some crackers. I believe strongly that the protein in their lunch helps them get through the end of the day with energy until they come home and can have a snack. Sometimes I buy beef bologna or salami but I try to stay away from the more processed and fatty meats.
Finally for their favorite of all the choices and my favorite as well..... the treat. I let them take almost any small treat that they want. If its November, they usually take a piece of Halloween candy. Sometimes it is a fruit snack or a couple of cookies. Occasionally they take some chips or a granola bar. I really give them free range to hunt out the treats in the cabinets and take what they want. I feel that if they are eating a lunch comprised of all the major food groups and are happy about it, then the least I can do is give them something they feel is special. My husband and I feel that if you prohibit the junk food than the kids will hunt it out, crave it, sneak it or ask for it at their friends' houses, much like I did as a kid.
Bringing up children with sophisticated palettes is really not that complex. Giving kids access to all types of food from the exotic (Yellow Tail sushi) to the mundane (P B and J), from different cultures and food groups, from bland to spicy (think flavorful versus "hot"), from junk to Jell-O creates willingness to try new dishes, openness to experimentation, feeling as satisfied eating a juicy ripe nectarine as a Hershey Bar. They get as excited when I bring home 10 artichokes (to eat as our dinner) as a container of reduced fat ice cream (they don't know the difference). Here are my seven tips that will help you raise kids that will try new things, who will eat what you place in front of them, and who will be excited to help in the kitchen.
1. Start young. Eat different things during pregnancy and nursing. Even if there are foods that you do not like or you have never tried, try to eat as many different types of food as you can.
2. Give your kids what you eat. Do not make "special meals". If you set up this expectation than the kids will never want what you have.
3. Let your kids shop with you and decide on meals together.
4. Encourage your kids to make their own lunch.
5. Remember to model good eating habits. If you drink Diet Coke for breakfast, your kids will want to drink it too. You don't think I'm talking about me, do you?
6. Have at least one family meal together per day with no television or distractions. Strive for one extended family meal per week. We celebrate the Sabbath every Friday night and often invite friends or family to join us for this special meal.
7. Be creative. It can be a picnic on the floor of your living room and under a tent in the kid's bedroom. It can be a meal of artichokes or just corn. One time when I was little, my parents were running late from work and told me to have the dining room table set with bowls and spoons for when they came home. In the grocery bags they carried in that night were 5 flavors of ice cream and every topping for an ice cream sundae that you can imagine. What about pancakes for dinner?
When families start good eating habits when their kids are young, it can help them their whole life long. Learning to help in the kitchen and ultimately teaching kids how to cook is a skill that kids will use for a lifetime. It started out so simple, just teaching them how to prepare their own lunch. The result has been living with four kids who love to cook, love to help in the kitchen, try just about any food put in front of them, eat the same meals that we eat, and have an interest in good health and eating habits. I hope that this article will inspire you cook and eat together with your kids.
Dawn Walker of http://www.chefdawn.com
Your Personal E-Chef Live: Everything about Cooking, Food, and Family. Bring back dinner parties!
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