11 Proven Ways to Get Kids to Eat Vegetables

Check out this fantastic post on getting kids to eat vegetables on Summer Tomato!

I have found that all of these tips can be successful.

A couple of other things that I've found helpful is first not ever assuming that a kid won't like something. Offer something as neutrally as you can, even if it's something that you can't stand don't let that colour how you present it! Avoid ever saying something, "oh you won't like that". I overheard this exact comment spoken by a mom recently in the grocery store when a child asked about brussels sprouts.

Something else that I've found useful is giving dishes fun names or naming them after your child's interests. For instance, we eat 'Rugby Soup'. This is really Broccoli and Cauliflower soup, but when we have it, L yells 'Rugby Soup!' and runs over to the table.

Good luck!

Activity: Food Memory Game

I was originally going to include a photo in this post of L enjoying playing this memory game, HOWEVER he is covered ears to toes in a strep rash and in a couple years he probably won't appreciate having his picture posted on the internet covered in gross red splotches. We took him grocery shopping and a man in the parking lot saw him and made a disgusted face! Even though Ldidn't notice, I still felt like giving him a big cuddle and that guy the dirtiest look I could muster :(  Anyhow, I hope you like this little game I made as much as we did!

How to Prepare

Follow the link below to get started! Just download the images and either print on cardstock or laminate the sheets after printing and then cut apart (I don't have a laminator but I've become a big fan of these self-laminating sheets).

How to Play

This memory game is suitable for young toddlers all the way up to older preschoolers, depending on how you play it. For younger toddlers make this into a simple matching game using only one set of images. Have all the pieces facing upwards, pick out one image and ask the child to find another one just like it. For this age group also use this as a word excercise identifying both the foods pictured and what colors they are.

For older toddlers and preschoolers, start out the memory game by choosing only two sets of cards (4 cards total) and lay them face down. Flip one card face up. Pick a second card and flip it up. See if it matches the first card.  Continue to flip up cards until one matches.  Take the matching pair of cards and put them next to your child. Put the rest of the game cards face down again and repeat the game.  Try to remember the cards you have flipped over. Make sure to keep the cards in the same place in the layout.

To make the game more challenging as your child is ready, take one turn flipping only two cards, so that your child has to remember where the matching card is. You can then add more sets of cards until you are able to use both entire sets.

Also...

You can also use these cards as part of a refrigerator/pantry scavenger hunt to find the corresponding item when the memory game gets boring!

Download the full-sized game cards here! 

The Things They Say

I'm home with Luc because he's sick today (oh, the petri dish that is daycare...) and for lunch I made him a tuna  salad sandwich and I put a couple sweet gherkin pickles on the side. He's had them before but it's been quite some time and when I called him over for lunch he looked at them and said, "Ewww, doggy's poop!". He then proceeded to make grunting sounds and said "I no eat poop" and threw them on the floor. No explaining that they were pickles and edible would make him believe it!

Lunchbox Labels

Luc has a cousin today! He is very cute and has the most adorable chubby cheeks. It's just too bad that he was born halfway around the world in Australia so we only get to look at photos of the little guy instead of getting to meet him in person. :( I'm happy for my sister-in-law and her husband on their new family but it's also sad that we live so far away from one another that our children will never really get to know each other. Skype and email are wonderful,  but they don't really make up for visits only being possible once every few years. Oh well, we'll do the best we can to keep our families connected!

When Luc started daycare, everything was so last minute since I only had two weeks (!) to find a daycare and get everything ready before I started my new job. I ordered some Name Bubbles to label his clothing (which have been absolutely fantastic because they stay put in the wash but are removable is you want to sell your kids' clothes or use them for your next child). Somehow, while I was ordering however I completely forgot to order labels to put his name on lunch containers.

First I tried writing his name in permanent marker. That turned out decidedly ... non-permanent. I tried using a regular label maker to make printed labels. It was easy and they looked great but they just really didn't stand up to the dishwasher and I didn't want to be always stuck hand-washing everything. I then tried using my old-school embossing label-maker like this one, and it worked great! The two Lock and Lock food containers below were labeled about 5 months ago and have been used virtually every day and they still are perfectly legible.

So while, the personalized Name Bubbles are really cute, this not only saved me $20 but I can use the label-maker for other projects. Yay for multipurpose! Also, I rather like the retro look of them anyhow.

Luc is 2!

Actually he turned two on the 6th, but we've been out of town since then without...gasp...internet access! I can't believe how big my little boy is getting. He seemed to lose his 'babyness' overnight, and what he can do and how well he can communicate now just amazes me compared to only a month ago. 


Yesterday he told me that there where "birds flying in the air" complete with flapping arms. This was his longest sentence yet and contained two words he's never said before! 

Luc had a small but very happy birthday party at home with people close to him and managed to get completely spoiled. For the party, I made these really yummy-- but not even a little bit healthy-- cupcakes. I went classic with Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Icing. I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe which I highly recommend as it's not only super quick and easy, it'll stay super moist for 3 days covered at room temperature . Also, they must've been good because Luc learned the word 'cake' solely from seeing and eating these on his party day. 


So when you're feeling indulgent, you can find the recipe here. To make it into cupcakes simple cut the cooking time to around 12 minutes, keeping an eye on them and checking with a toothpick until it comes out clean. 


I always make my own icing because not only does it take about 5 minutes but I find that the canned ones taste like plastic. I love this cake recipe iced with a Chocolate and Espresso Icing but that's not exactly kid-friendly, so I tried a Vanilla Buttercream Icing that turned out wonderfully. Next time I make these, I'm going to try subbing out the vanilla for peppermint extract and make Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream Icing...YUM!

Seeds Banned!

It's been so long since I've posted, anyone reading might have thought something horrible had happened to my hands that I couldn't cook or type. So...that isn't what happened. What has happened is a combination of lack of inspiration, busy schedules, failed cooking experiments, and one small boy with an enormous amount of energy!

My son's daycare has just informed us that we can no longer pack any seeds or seed butters in his lunches and snacks! While on the one hand I want to be respectful of children with allergies, on the other hand it's a huge pain in the ass! Nuts and seeds are so healthy and I do try to encorporate them regularly in Luc's diet. Since he started daycare, as I've posted previously on here, I've subbed Sunbutter for nut butters so that I can continue making some of his favorite snacks. Well...I guess I need work on developing a bigger repertoire of seed and nut free/ easily packed/easily eaten independently by toddlers snacks....sigh...

Where Food Comes From: Visiting the Urban Farm

If you've been following this blog, you have probably already noticed from this post's book round-up that I feel strongly about importance of kids making the connection between farm and fork. This is knowledge that has become increasingly lost as we become more urbanized. In 2008, humanity passed an important milestone that for the first time ever, globally more people now live in cities than not.

Although we should make the effort to get our kids outside of the city once in a while, many cities have urban farms of various types, from historic showcases to real working farms (even our family's CSA produce comes from within our city's limits!), to help give children a sense of where food comes from. The photos below are from our weekend visit to Riverdale Farm, a 7.5 acre slice of downtown Toronto that is a representation of a historic Ontario farm complete with cows, goats, horses, a donkey, chickens, turkeys, pigs, geese, ducks, and rabbits -- but it was the tractor that was Luc's favorite part!
Below are a few samples of other urban farms that you can visit with your family, and with a little reseach I'm sure you could find near you!

Riverdale Farm  Toronto, Canada
Maplewood Farm Vancouver, Canada
Vauxhall City Farm London, UK
Phillipsburg Manor New York, USA

The Girls





 

It is Luc's opinion that nothing runs like a Deere








Pastoral perfect in downtown Toronto

Amazing Play Kitchen and Market Stall Ikea Hack

Check out this amazing play kitchen and market stall hack over at IKEA Hacker using the RAST bedside tables! I'm currently looking for a great play kitchen for Luc and if only I had more time on my hands and were as ambitious as this DIYer I would totally make these! 

Snack Stations

This is an idea from Real Simple for creating snack stations to make grabbing snacks for your kids a snap. I'm contemplating preparing stations like this to streamline snack time...that is if I can get my organizational act together. I'm trying to decide what I would include in my snack stations, as some of the choices below wouldn't be my choices. 


So far, I would definitely include: 


- mixed dried fruit
- a healthy savory cracker
- a healthy sweet cracker or cookie
- hummus or homemade yogurt ranch dressing
- peanut butter
- cut up raw or lightly steamed veg
- cut up fresh fruit


Please share you ideas of what would you would add as a must-have to keep on hand for quick snack prep? 

Of Birthday Parties and Small Victories

This weekend we attended a friend's daughter's first birthday party! Luc had a fun time playing and it was a lovely party. It was also one of the first times that he's been exposed to non-'healthified' cake and candy. I was unsure what his reaction would be to this traditional birthday fare, but I also don't want to be the 'out there' mom who packs alternative food to every occasion. 

All the kids were sitting around the kiddie table to eat cupcakes. The other kids pretty much just licked off the icing, but Luc examined it for a minute, then picked the whole thing up to eat. He didn't seem extra interested in the icing. He ate most of it, but I helped him finish it off. :) There were also Smarties on the table that some of the other kids were grabbing and so I put one in front of Luc to see what he would do and he played with it for a few moments and then disregarded it and continued to eat his cupcake. I think he didn't realize it was edible since he's never seen candy and it looks nothing like anything he's ever eaten! 

I know he won't always be so indifferent to junk food and sweets but I still took it as a small victory that he was largely uninterested this time.

What have done/or are planning to do when your little ones encounter junk food?

Bringing Up Bebe

We've been having some behavioral issues with Luc lately and just the other day I commented to my husband that I want to know the French secret for raising well-behaved children. Every time we've been in France we've been thoroughly impressed by how well behaved kids are, especially when it comes to eating habits.

When we head out to a restaurant in France and the table beside us has children seated with them we know that we don't have to worry about food flying our way, screaming, or anything else our own child does. It seems as though children never make a scene in a restaurant no matter how leisurely the meal... and this happens with no crayons, no kiddie menus, and no portable DVD players. 

I thought I would share this interesting article on the difference between French and American attitudes to feeding babies and child-rearing. So, while I admire the amazing manners that French children display, I definitely adhere more to the American style of feeding/raising children....so I guess I shouldn't expect Luc to behave like anything other than a typical North American kid!

What strikes you as interesting/surprising about this article?

Great Tip for Feeding Toddlers Soup

I love making soups. I love eating soups. However, I do not love trying to feed my toddler soup. But, I also don't like making separate meals if I can avoid it (exceptions are made so that we can enjoy an occasional spicy meal!) . Today there was a great tip on Parent Hacks for dribble-free soup that I'm going to try!

For those of you with toddlers, how do you tackle soup?

Book Round-up: Teaching Kids Where Food Comes From

I believe that it's important for kids to make the connection of where food comes from beyond the grocery store. With the increase of the world's population that live in cities, children are losing sight of the fact that actual people grow our food. We have come far from the era where most of us lived on the family farm and the majority of us are exclusively consumers rather than producers of our food. This disconnect is important because food is something that we not only rely on for our health and well-being, but also has significant cultural value and the choices about how that food is produced have major impacts on the environment that our children will grow up in.

Many kids don't know what eggs are, that apples grow on trees, that bacon comes from pigs, that milk comes not from a jug but from a cow, or that vegetables grow in dirt. Thousands of 8 year olds in the UK think that cows lay eggs.

Beyond making the connection with books and with your kids in the kitchen, give your munchkins the opportunity to appreciate hands-on the sights and smells of food production by taking them on a visit to a farmer's market, take a trip to a local farm, go on a family u-pick trip, volunteer together in a community food garden, or start your own veggie patch and get their hands in the dirt. Children are naturally curious to explore and understand the world around them, it's up to us to offer the opportunities to develop a healthy appreciation of real food and where it comes from that will hopefully last a lifetime.


0-2 YEARS

Spot's Harvest by: Eric Hill


Very cute, simple and bright book in the beloved Spot collection. Spot and his monkey friend pick apples and pumpkins and enjoy their harvest as pie and hot apple cider.









Growing Vegetable Soup: Lap-Sized Board Book by: Lois Ehlert

Incredibly bright and graphic, this book follows a father and child as they plant, water, tend, and eventually pick vegetables. They take the vegetables home and make them into tasty vegetable soup. Even has a recipe for that soup at the end of the book! Such a good book.




3-5 YEARS

Out and About at the Dairy Farm by: Andy Murphy

Fun and concise introduction to where milk comes from. Introduces children to calves, heifers, and milking cows and is filled with facts to appeal to this age group. It even includes a recipe for homemade ice cream!











Pancakes, Pancakes! by: Eric Carle

In this super cute book, a very determined little boy wakes up hungry one morning and decides that he would like pancakes for breakfast. His mother sends him out on their farm to gather all the ingredients she needs to make them: milk from the cow, eggs from the chicken, and flour from the mill. 




4-8 YEARS





Oliver's Fruit Salad by: Vivian French

Oliver helps his grandfather grow and pick fruit from the garden, but he refuses to eat any of it. That is, until Oliver helps grandpa make a big and delicious fruit salad that proves just too much to resist. This bold and colorful  book helps encourage kids to try something new.










The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons


This book describes all the families of vegetables from how they are grown to how they get to the supermarket or farm stand. Filled with interesting facts as well as information for kids on how to take care of their own garden. A wealth of information presented in a fun kid-friendly format. 





The Milk Makers by: Gail Gibbons

Describes every possible step in the making of milk, from what the cow eats all the way to your family's breakfast table. Very detailed and accurate but also still very entertaining and easy to read.







 
 9-12 YEARS

Bread Comes to Life: A Garden of Wheat and a Loaf to Eat by: George Levenson

This book, written in rhyme covers a lot of ground, following a mystery baker growing wheat, grinding flour, mixing, shaping, and baking bread. Full of fantastic photos and includes a recipe for whole wheat bread. A perfect intro before getting your children to help you make their very own loaf.




For Parents


Kitchen Literacy:How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From by: Ann Velesis



Written by a noted historian, this book traces the path that has led people to become disassociated from the origins of their food, from the role manufacturers, to urbanization, to transportation systems. This book is fascinating fun read and a good start, but it doesn't fully delve into what we can do and issues of poverty as much as I would like. However, I would still recommend it for those who are interested in this issue.




Disclaimer: If you click through on these links and purchase these books from Amazon, I will earn a dollar or two -- which goes towards my food budget. However, that has nothing to do with why I have posted this selection of books and by all means, if you are interested in them take them out from your local library or purchase them from your favorite seller.

Activities from the Kitchen: Ball Bash

My son had so much fun with this one, as you can see from this video! This is a great activity for burning off some excess kid steam particularly on a bad weather day when stuck indoors. This activity is dead easy, inexpensive, quick to set up, and a fun way to practice hand-eye coordination. 

 To set up the Ball Bash you will need:

- a ball (beach balls are good for toddlers as they are large and easily batted 

           around, preschoolers might prefer a smaller and more challenging  

           ball-just make sure that there's somewhere to attach a string to)

- a wooden spoon, paper towel tube, or similar

- some kitchen twine

- a piece of duct tape

Attach the string to the loop of the beach ball nozzle, making sure it's secure. Tape other end of string to the ceiling just out of your child's reach. Hand your child the wooden spoon and let the whacking begin!

DIY Non-Toxic Potty Cleaning Spray

What goes in must come out. So while this isn't food it is a useful recipe. It uses mostly ingredients that you will have on hand in your kitchen and you can whip up while you're in there anyway. If you're like me and are uncomfortable using toxic cleaners around your munchkins, this cleaner works great and you don't need to worry about what you are exposing yourself and your family to. This spray cleans, disinfects, and smells good while doing it. This also isn't a job for your regular all-purpose cleaner since something acidic works better with....um....protein based messes. Just dump out the dump, rinse with hot water, spray, wipe and rinse again.

DIY Non-Toxic Potty Cleaning Spray

- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1 tsp liquid dish detergent
- 1/2 tsp lemon essential oil
- 1 1/2 cups warm water

Grab an empty spray bottle from your recycling (or buy one for the purpose). Measure out your ingredients in a liquid measuring cup and carefully pour in spray bottle, or alternatively, use a funnel. Shake before using.

* Will keep indefinately

1st Week as a "Working" Mom

So I have now completed one week of being a working mom. It is certainly going to be huge adjustment for all of us. Luc is happy to go to day care and is visibly excited in the morning which certainly makes me feel better about this lifestyle shift. We are still working out new routines to make the best of our now even more limited time....it make take a little while.

I promised myself that I would continue to post regularly...which I've obviously not lived up to! But I am commited to continuing to post here, it's been really helpful for me to keep my ideas and recipes sorted and to keep me inspired to cook new things. What's is going to help me keep up with this blog  (once I DO get my act together) is that my son's daycare doesn't have a kitchen and I have to plan and pack all of his food for each day. I'm actually glad I still get to have so much control over what he is offered to eat, although it does take a fair amount of time out of my already packed evenings.

Long story short...bear with me while I sort out our new life :)

Appeasing Picky Eaters

I am still going nuts stressing over finding day care, however I said I would take a spot at one, and while it's not ideal I guess we'll see how it does since I start my new job March 8th and frankly I'm out of time and don't want to get caught without a spot. Also, Luc has a TERRIBLE bug and....well...let's just say we've had to roll up the rugs. So since life is still too crazy to come up with anything great of my own to share with you I'm going to share a great post written by someone else!

If you have a picky eater in your house, head on over to Makes and Takes and read some great tips here.

DIY Baby Wipes

I had been meaning to try making my own baby wipes for ages. Not only are commercial wipes expensive, but they are made from mostly polyester fibers that take at minimum 300 years to biodegrade, and the majority of them contain ingredients that are questionable (i.e. parabens) especially for having around your little one's most delicate bits. 

I know that most granola types would promote using reusable cloth wipes. In a perfect world I would use cloth diapers and cloth wipes. However, we have a tiny washing machine and a terrible dryer and I am already completely overwhelmed with laundry, which is often a twice a day event around here. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!

Most of the instructions that I came across for homemade baby wipes involve painstakingly removing and then folding sheets from an entire roll of paper towel into a box. Who has the time? Then I happened upon instructions at White House, Black Shutters that literally take 5 minutes to make. But best of all, they work amazing. You do have to use Bounty paper towels just as Ann Marie says...I tried a couple others that were good quality but they were still total fails. While Bounty are expensive, I got mine on sale for $5 off. When I did the cost comparison calculation, I can make 1680 homemade wipes for the cost of 477 commercial ones!

The only changes I made from the original instruction was to make only one container at a time...just to ensure that I would have no issues with mold and to add a couple drops of tea tree oil to the solution to stave off diaper rash.

Check out the full instructions here!

Keeping Baby Busy While You Cook

Keeping a munchkin who is too young to help out in the kitchen happily occupied is always a challenge...especially with some kids who may be a little less than patient. Luc has a really short attention span...which probably has a lot to do with my emphasis on quick and easy recipes. I'd love to get a  Learning Tower
since I've heard such great things about them, but with a small kitchen, we just don't have the space.

Anyhow, Ohdeedoh just had a great post about strategies to help. Check it out here.

What do you do to keep your baby or toddler occupied while you're cooking?