Getting a Child to Eat Healthier

Hi Everyone! No I didn’t completely drop off the earth life simply got busy. This has been a crazy summer where I have been trying to get as much done outdoors as possible to make up for not getting as much accomplished last year.

Mixed in with the work on my home I have also been asked to help or at least give direction to others wanting to do some DIY on their homes.  Turns out an old lady in a wheelchair who builds furniture and restores an old house will inspire others to learn new skills and improve their homes as well. 🙂  I’ll tell you all about this in coming posts. I won’t promise you a post a day like I used to write but I’ll try to post at least once a week until things slow down.

Each of my grandchildren has particular likes and dislikes when it comes to food. My oldest granddaughter loves salads but her brother doesn’t. He grew his own lettuce and was excited to try it but still didn’t like it.

This summer the lettuces took hold and grew prolifically in my garden. The youngest granddaughter who hates lettuce of any kind, even if it’s just sitting on the edge of her plate has to have it removed before she will eat from the plate, decided she was going to try my lettuce.

At first all she would try from the garden were the strawberries but this year the lettuce was there and had to be sampled. Pretty soon she was picking and eating it so fast I was concerned there wouldn’t be any left. Her mother was shocked to see her eating a piece and held her breath waiting for her daughter to spit it out, she didn’t. Her father when told she ate my lettuce declared that she would only do that at my house.

One afternoon she asked me me two questions. Could she spend the night and would I make her a salad.

She made a huge production out of it. First she cut wild flowers (and weedy flowers) to dress up the table.

When that was in place she clipped the lettuce and found a cucumber, another food she previously declared gross when introduced to it, big enough to pick and of course had to pick all the ripened strawberries to have for dessert.

She put on her apron and helped to rinse and dry the lettuce and slice the cucumber.

The berries were next, she carefully washed each one and set them on a “pretty rag” for dessert.  I have a mix of ever-bearing strawberries with the more common June only berries which gives us a small taste late in the summer but not much more until they spread in another couple of years.

The table was set with cloth napkins, the only kind found in my house and we sat down for dinner. She served us giving herself the largest serving of veggies and sat down to eat.

As we finished dinner she asked if she could call her mom. The first words out of her mouth were “Can you buy me salad? I like salad.”  Mom was thrilled and did just that. Since that afternoon mom has been making her different salads trying a new one for lunch each day. So far I’m told the caesar salad is the best.

My tips for getting a child to eat healhier

• introduce healthy options as early as possible
• don’t force them to do more than taste a food the first few times while their taste buds adjust to a new flavor
• allow them to help prepare the meal
• Make a production out of it. Use the good china, cloth napkins, fancy glasses and set the table with flowers or a candle.
• Grow a couple foods in your yard or in a container. If you can, give children their own small plot or container to plant any food they choose.
• Finally, be patient. Taste buds change and what might not taste good today might next month or next summer.

What tips do you have to interest children in healthy food options?