When I visited my grandparents, meals were special. So many fresh, wholesome foods, fresh from the market or farm. We enjoyed family meals together with lots of chatter and full tummies. When my grandchildren come to visit, they want microwavable macaroni and cheese or fast food. For lunch I offer sandwiches with fresh ingredients. They turn me down. For dinner, I offer meat and a couple of veggies. They’re not interested. They want macaroni and cheese and chicken fingers. Where did it we go wrong during the past 50 years? Could it be the processed foods, fast foods, instant foods, microwavable foods, read-to-eat foods…. In my grandchildren’s words, “Duuhh.”

According to the USDA’s My Pyramid Food Guidance Plan, children (and adults) need to get nine cups (8 oz.) of fruits and vegetables, three cups of low fat dairy, grains and protein daily to maintain a healthy diet. The challenge is to get them to eat those foods willingly with enjoyment. It seems that children are usually eager to order from the kids menu offered by family restaurants. Why is that? Family restaurants are generally good at adding special touches to appeal to children. They know what’s really going to make a difference for young ones is creating something special. This works for eating out and also eating at hom. Grandchildren enjoy cooking with grandparents. it is a time for enjoyable communication and bonding. Grandparnets have something to offer their grandchildren - they can teach them to cook while reinforcing basic math, reading, and following directions skills. Since young children have a tendancy for short attention spans, the trick is to make it easy and simple.

5 Tips for Kids’ Meals:

1. Ahead of time, buy a special gift box or bag at a dollar store for some of their meals and present the meal in it along with a small prize inside, too. For other meals, serve foods on brightly colored or odd shaped dishes. Brightly colored disposable plates can be found in the shape of animal faces. Childrens dish sets of their favorite character can motivate them to eat, too.
2. Give children several choices for their meal. Collect children’s menus from the restaurants you visit. Have your grandkids tell you which meals are favorites. Design your own children’s menu for your grandchildren to choose from. Let them choose what they will have for lunch. Let them help you prepare the meal, too. What a great treat! They’ll love it.
3. Think like a kid when preparing food for them. My granddaughters like to dip foods in the form of different shapes easy for both toddler and teen hands to handle. So Provide healthy dips for fun finger foods. My grandchildren love to have their own appetizers that they can dip. Put meatballs on sturdy, plastic toothpicks and give them a variety of bar-b-que, marinara, and ketchup for dipping. Fruit can also be cut out in finger size strips and served with a dipping sauce. I was out to lunch today with friends. My healthy sandwich of turkey, turkey bacon, swiss cheese, and lettuce was served on thin french bread. The sandwwich was served with fresh fruit and a strawberry puree for dipping. Yummy. Nothing was left on my plate!
4. Serve food in eye catching shapes. Make fun looking sandwiches by cutting out shapes with cookie cutters. These cut-outs can be centered around a theme or season. I used to make Mickey Mouse and Thumper pancakes for my children. They would find sandwiches in their lunch boxes cut in the shape of a heart with a note telling them that I loved them. Other times the note would tell them they were special accompanied by a star shaped sandwich made with their favorite ingredients.
5. Make fun names for everyday foods. I served apple slices with a peanut butter dip. Another favorite was the Ants on a Log: celery filled with peanut butter, and raisins. Just giving it to them wasn’t as interesting as naming it with a BUG theme. All it takes is a little imagination to get kids to eat what they should.

5 GRANDCHILDREN’S DIPPING RECIPES

Fruity Dippers

  apple
  cantaloupe
  grapes
  strawberries (top cut off)
  ½ cup vanilla yogurt
  Two 4-inch wooden skewers

• Slice apple and cantaloupe into ½ inch thick slices.
• Using a small star cutter cut 2 stars out of the apple slice and the cantaloupe slice.
• Skew a strawberry, apple, grape, cantaloupe, grape on to wooden skewer.
• Serve in a bowl with vanilla yogurt. (You might want to cut pointed end of skewer before serving to children.)

30 Mighty Meatball Dunkers

  ¾ lb. ground turkey
  ½ lb. lean ground beef
  1 ¼ tsp. chopped garlic
  2 tsp. Italian seasoning
  2 tbl. finely grated Parmesan cheese
  2 tsp. tomato paste
  ¼ tsp. salt
  1 egg

• In a medium bowl mix all ingredients until just incorporated.
• Roll into gumball sized meatballs.
• Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees.

Cheese Sauce

  ½ tsp. butter
  1 tbl. + 1 tsp AP Flour
  1 cup whole milk
  1 ½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
  1/8 tsp. garlic powder
   pinch of salt

• In a small sauce pan melt butter over medium/low heat.
• Whisk in flour and stir until you smell a nutty fragrance.
• Whisk in milk.
• Whisk in cheese, a ½ cup at a time.
• Whisk in garlic powder and salt

Crunchy Chicken Dippers

  1 cup all-purpose flour
  salt
  pepper
  4 egg whites
  1/2 cup 2% reduced fat milk
  1 1/2 cups cornflakes
  1 cup (4 ounces) reduced fat, shredded Cheddar cheese
  6 chicken breast filets; cut into strips
  Non-stick cooking spray

• Preheat oven to 375˚ F
• Set up three bowls with the following: 1) flour mixed with a pinch of salt and pepper; 2) an egg-wash, made by   beating the eggs and milk together; 3) cornflakes mixed with cheese.
• Coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• Dip chicken pieces in flour, then into the egg-wash, then roll in the cheesy-flakes mixture, coating the entire piece of chicken and place on the baking pan.
• Discard any unused cornflake mixture after coating chicken.
• Bake for 25 minutes, turning halfway through to ensure even browning.
• Serve with ketchup, BBQ sauce, or Lite Ranch dressing for dipping.

Butterflies Dippers

  Knife and cutting board
  1 plate or wax paper
  2 large thin twist pretzels
  2 thin pretzel sticks
  1 dried fruit leather
  ¼ cup vanilla yogurt spread out in flat dish for dipping

• Dip two twist pretzels in yogurt to make the butterfly wings and lay end to end on plate or paper to create butterfly shape. create the wings shape.
• Cut fruit leather in the shape of butterfly wings and lay on top of pretzels.
• Dip the two pretzel sticks and place in the middle where the two pretzels touch.
• Place in freezer for about an hour to help set the yogurt.

Note: Parents should handle cutting the fruit leather but kids can dip and decorate the butterfly

Fish Stick Fiesta

  fish sticks
  cream cheese
  sour cream
  salsa
  chedder cheese

• Make a fun and colourful dip for fish sticks by combining cream cheese, sour cream, salsa and cheddar cheese.
• This dip takes only minutes to prepare and can be prepared in advance. When the kids arrive home, simply microwave some fish sticks
• Dip and enjoy!

Posted by Nana on March 28th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
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