healthy food

Kid-Friendly Broccoli Recipes

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN: 2 EASY, BREEZY SUMMER SALADS + 1 COOL DIP

When kids sink their teeth into healthy foods like vegetables, fruit, lean meats and whole grains, they develop a taste for those foods that will stay with them for a lifetime. To get kids invested in healthy eating, the next best thing to having them grow their own healthy foods is to have them cook it. One of my favorite resources is The Mayo Clinic Kids’ Cookbook (Good Books 2012), which introduces kids ages 8-12 to the kitchen–not only with fun and healthy recipes but with nutritional information, cooking abbreviations, conversion charts, kitchen equipment and safety tips. Most kids love kitchen projects. Let them at it!

FUN WITH VEGGIES: ART, BOOKS, ACTIVITIES, SONGS

Does your child turn up his nose at vegetables? Would she rather miss out on dessert than finish her greens?

Children often do not like trying new foods. Sometimes we have to talk them into taking just one bite of something new–and do it every day for a couple of weeks, months, maybe even longer–before they decide that maybe it isn’t so bad after all. And might actually be delicious! (It doesn’t hurt to dream….)

COOKING UP SOME HEALTHY FUN

If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be starting a blog dedicated to healthy foods, healthy cooking and healthy eating, I would have said she was crazy.

I mean, I’m not known as the healthiest of eaters. (My family, friends and housemates will corroborate.) Sometimes I skip meals. Sometimes—especially if I’ve skipped a meal—I stop at a drive-through for a burger. Sometimes I open a can for dinner and call it good. I have a weakness for pie and ice cream. Red wine. Dark chocolate. And I’ve never thought of vegetables as my closest friends.

So how do I explain Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli and Once Upon a Parsnip, picture books that feature veggies, of all things?