watch the kitchen forum for the next few days...I will post recipes geared towards this thread

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Avoid Fruits~N~Nuts....you are what you eat!!!

COLORED TORTILLA CHIPS

1 Tbsp. Food Color AND COLOR
1/4 C. Water
White Corn Tortilla Shells

mix together food color and water.

PAINT ON BOTH SIDES OF SHELLS AND LET DRY ABOUT AN HOUR.CUT WITH PIZZA CUTTER INTO TRIANGLES AND DEEP FRY.

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Avoid Fruits~N~Nuts....you are what you eat!!!

this is a great article!!!

Hide and Eat Recipes | Scholastic.com

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Avoid Fruits~N~Nuts....you are what you eat!!!

For some reason my kiddos will eat better from different plates .... ie. somedays we have meals in muffin tins or I bought plastic lunch trays that have 4 different compartments ..... they love having the food served that style and they will eat things in that that they didn't eat the day before. My kiddos love cucumbers but cut in strips not half moons go figure. So try to think outside the box.

I think it is interesting all of the different comments and replies. It just goes to show how different children are and their personalities. One thing we have experienced with our children is that they go through so many stages and they, like us, have their likes and dislikes. We always encourage our children to at least "try" something new. They are more likely to try it if we put it on our plates first and start eating it. They think that it is a treat that we are keeping from them. Also, if we are sitting in the living room eating something they are more likely to try it. I do not have any problem with my children eating vegetables. They will go to the refrigerator and get out the carrots and celery and the hummus or vege dip and eat it on their own. They will also eat salad. They love it. My children are 5, 4, 2 and 14 months. No the baby does not eat salad, yet. But I have not found anything that he does not like. And I also think that it has a lot to do with the way we parents eat. From the time that we are carrying our babies while pregnant, to when we are nursing, for those of us who did, to feeding them in the high chair. Be persistent. If they don't like something one time, wait a while, try again another time. But, don't pressure them on it. Feed it to them in a relaxed environment. I truly think that those who did nurse, however, do have a better time getting their children to eat different things, because breast milk always changes. they are used to eating different things when fed breast milk. But, that is not to say that all kids who were formula fed are picky eaters. I had to do both with my first one and she is an excellent eater. don't give up, for those of you who struggle. Try frozen peas, cold beans, harder vegetables or veges with parmesan cheese. There are a number of ways to get kids to eat vegetables, and it probably wouldn't be the way you would eat them. I certainly hope this helps someone, and it is just my experience that works for our family, that I am sharing.

What a good topic! It is so hard to maintain a healthy family eating habit when kids clamor for everything but what is healthy so much of the time. You ladies help me stick to my guns, so thank you. Here are a few things that (sometimes) work for us.

Sometimes I will sneak minced spinach into spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. If I don't use too much it generally works. Also, cutting baby carrots into strips works well for my two year old, who wouldn't eat carrots at all until I did that. Sometimes the "packaging" of an item can help -- cutting a healthy sandwich (or veggie, etc.) with a cookie cutter, coloring plain white milk with food coloring, or for that matter, coloring anything with food coloring.

My kids do not seem to have sensory issues, so I don't know if this helps, but I do try to add new things to their diet each week. I require them to try two regular sized bites. I tell them that it takes two bites to tell whether you like something or not. Sometimes it is a battle to get them to eat the two bites, and sometimes they are quite willing.

I stopped buying unhealthy snacks/cereals for the most part. We eat a lot of oatmeal for breakfast, sweetened with honey and blueberries (or or strawberries, applesauce, or maple syrup with cinnamon). At first, the kids (2,4,6) balked, but it has been so long now that it is normal to them. You could try adding a lot of honey at first and gradually lessening the amount.

Good luck!!!

another idea is always a family "taste testing"...sometimes it's easier to get kids to try NEW things when EVERYONE is doing it. (Try a veggie tray with a kids favorite on movie night.)

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Avoid Fruits~N~Nuts....you are what you eat!!!

My ds is strictly a meat and potatoes kind of guy. No fruits, no veggies. The only trick I have ever succeeded in is adding one head of cauliflower to about 4-5 potatoes and mash them up as though making mashed potatoes. I add everything I would normally add to mashed potatoes. He has never mentioned the vegetable at all.

Hello all!
I thought I would post my 2 cents worth - hope it helps some. I know I got a few more ideas from reading the other posts as well.
When I cook broccoli I shred the stems in my food processor and then freeze them in an ice cube tray. When they are frozen solid I put them in a large ziploc baggie and put them back in the freezer. Add one or two to meatloaf, spaghetti sauce etc. Same for zucchini.
My kids favorite desserst are apple sauce (unsweetened) or yogurt with "sprinkles" - aka wheat germ! There is a honey flavored out there also but we just use the plain.
I make jell-o with fruit juice instead of water and add chunks of fruit as well. Or a small bowl filled with fresh fruit and topped with vanilla yogurt and "sprinkles".
Mashed cauliflower is a family favorite - email me for the recipe if you would like.
I use ground flax or wheat germ in whole wheat pancakes. Any extra pancakes are ina baggie in the freezer for quick breakfast or lunch.
After school snack for my 11 DS is a whole wheat tortilla with PBJ and a banana rolled up inside it.
Each meal I offer at least 2 veggies, cooked or raw and 2 fruits. Id: sliced carrots and cucumbers and slices of apples and kiwi.
I'm sure there are more but I can't think of any at this time. Overall my kids aren't picky eaters. But we have rules about it and are pretty strict. May some like common sense but you know what they say about common sense nowadays: you have to have a bit of everything offered - main menu item, side, one fruit, one veggie & slice of homemeade WW bread with butter. When your plate is clean you can have seconds on what you like. No faces! If you don't clean your plate you don't get snacks in between this and the next meal. With new foods you are required to have a taste (for the little ones), if you don't like it you don't have to have anymore but you have to at least try it.

Kat

I just wanted to say how grateful I am for all the suggestions here. My DD is the pickiest eater I've ever seen, and it's so hard to get her to eat healthy. I love alot of the ideas you have written here for hiding nutriants or adding healthy ingrediants!! I wish she would eat mashed potatoes so I could try the califlower thing...she gagged on them once when she was about 8 months old, and hasn't touched them since. Same with Mac & Cheese...won't touch it! No spaghetti...No noodles whatsoever....but that's not as bad as not eating many veggies.

I think I'm going to buy some flax meal and wheat germ now after hearing all these great ideas! I also have a container of coconut oil (consistancy of Crisco) that I've been wondering what to do with. I heard it's very healthy, and you can even spread it on TOAST! (Haven't got up enough nerve to do that yet. Just seems like I'd be spreading LARD on there! ha)

Let's keep this post alive with more great ideas!! Wish I had something to add!! Thanks again for all the great inspiration. I'm going to get in the kitchen today and try some of these!! I think I'll make Smoothies first...and hide some things in there!!

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