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How many times have you worked so hard on a dinner… planned it, cooked it, served and then… NOTHING! Your kids won’t touch it, not even a bite. We’ve all been there. I used to think they just didn’t like the dinner, but then… how could it be. They ate it last week. Where was I going wrong???
I finally figured it out. It wasn’t my cooking. It wasn’t them being too picky. It was something else. The culprit…. snacks! Too much snacking before dinner was filling up their little bellies.
Now that I had the situation figured out, I started chatting with other moms and racking my own brain to figure out how to let them snack (because a hangry child is no fun), but yet also make sure they are eating a well balanced dinner. The consensus was Veggies! It’s all about the veggies!
Here are some great tips to feeding your kids healthy well balanced meals/snacks which include all the veggies.
Before I could completely tackled the dinner debacle, I had to adjust my thoughts on snacking. After nap, a snack is a must! So, I came up with two hard and fast rules on when and what to eat in the late afternoon.
WHEN:
The last snack of the day is served no later than 4:00 pm.
WHAT:
Afternoon snacks are more protein based. ~ greek yogurt and berries ~ peanut butter sandwich ~ peanut butter and graham crackers ~ cheese stick ~ frozen yogurt tube.
These simple rules make afternoon snack fun and simple and reliable. Let’s be honest, when kids know what to expect, life is so much easier!If your house is anything like mine, as we start inching closer to dinner time, everyone starts to get hungry again. I am not sure if it’s always hunger or that we are in the kitchen… so let’s eat, or mom is busy so let’s ask for food… or maybe it is hunger, but it always strikes! So that’s when my snacking game has really kicked into overdrive.
Everyday isn’t the same. I have used, and still use, all of these strategies, all of the time. Right now we are on a raw veggie kick, I think because it reminds us of summer and we are desperately longing for some summer sunshine and warm weather.
🍽 When my kids were really young and just learning to eat, I often saved a portion of our dinner from the night before to serve as an appetizer while I cooked dinner. They always loved being part of the action and having some food on their tray. They almost always gobbled the leftover appetizers down completely and then when dinner came around would pick at and eat a bit of what was served. That was not a problem, since they had already eaten a well balanced meal!
I would serve them a smaller portion of “dinner” and save the rest for the following day. It was a perfect way to make sure I was serving a variety of healthy foods before bed!
🍽 Another strategy that I started to use as they got older was to cook the veggies I planned to serve for dinner first and serve them as an appetizer. It’s a great way to get those veggies in before all the other delicious food. Now you might be thinking, but my kids never eat their veggies. Well… is it maybe because you are serving them along with all of the other yummy dinner options and so they eat the meat, starch, and whatever else you have first. Then by the time it comes to the veggies they are too full to finish them up? Hmmmm… now that’s something to chew on!
🍽 It’s not always feasible to have our veggies cooked and ready to munch on before dinner, so another great option, that I’ve been using a ton, is to have some raw veggies prepped and available to snack on before dinner. This little trick is the easiest and has also helped me! I seem to grab a carrot or pepper now too rather than grab a few bites of my husband’s chips and salsa… Busted babe! He’s a chip scoundrel!
When prepping my veggies for the week, I usually prep an extra contain for pre dinner snacking. It’s simple, I just cut up the usuals like carrots, peppers, broccoli, and then add in whatever else we have for the week. This last week we had cauliflower and snap peas too. The kids love these raw veggies so much that sometimes I have to replenish the stash by Thursday evening. That’s a mom win for sure!
Before dinner, I try to serve the veggies without too much dip, but of course have been known to offer ranch dip, hummus, or cream cheese to liven it up a bit. Once I serve dinner, if they don’t eat much of the dinner veggie, I’m ok with that. I know that they got plenty in before dinner. I just save if for lunch the next day or their appetizer before dinner. It’s all a win win in my book.
🍽 Even when I’m on my best dinner game, and the kids haven’t snacked too much or at least had healthy snacks, there are still nights when they eat next to nothing for dinner. Our plan is simple. I try not to force feed them or make them eat when they are truly not hungry. So, we save their dinner and when hey are sooo hungry 30 minutes later… easy… “Your dinner is waiting for you.”
So, this plan doesn’t always go over so well. Especially in the beginning. But, if you stick to it, and they know you mean business, it’s a great strategy!
🍽 Another great trick, especially when you are serving something new or more adult-ish, is to make sure you serve at least one item you know your kids will eat. For us that’s cottage cheese, applesauce, broccoli, peppers, cheese sticks, or apple slices. That way you know they are at least eating something.
Feeding kids can be so tricky. One moment they love a food the next see ya… it all hits the floor. But if you stay consistent and treat food a fuel for the body, you’ll be surprised at what your kids will eat! It may not be on your time, but they will eat it.
Check out these two posts from my favorite Mommy Dietician Blogger, Emily at My Everyday Table. She has some great ideas on feeding kids.
How to Get Kids to Eat Vegetables
If you have a baby just starting food, you’ll also want to read my series on What Grace ate. It’s full of tips and recipes for that first year of food exploration.
Feeding Kids Must Haves
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