Debut a new food each week. If your
kids are picky, you’ll have to be persistent. Have
them try a new healthy food at home first, says
Karen Spencer Dees, PhD, a professor of holistic
nutrition in Framingham, Massachusetts, who
uses this strategy with her four young children.
If kids don’t like a food at first, reintroduce it a
week or two later, prepared in a new way. After
repeated exposure to a nutritious food choice,
kids will often start to choose it on their own.
Sneak in nutrition. Ground flaxseed, for
example, can be added imperceptibly to yogurt,
applesauce, or dips. Finely chop walnuts and hide
them in a trail mix, or tuck a few cooked greens
into a wrap.
Use those leftovers. Plan dinners and
lunches will follow. Heat up leftover soups, stews,
or whole-grain pastas and pack them in an
insulated stainless-steel container. Top extra
baked or sweet potatoes with favorite veggies
and grated cheese. Cut leftover cooked
chicken, red meat, or fish into kid-friendly
cubes; pack them solo or use them in
sandwiches and wraps, suggests Thompson.
Or choose lean and lower-sodium lunch meats.
Get the kids involved. Take your child
shopping and let her choose new, whole foods
to try. Then set up a food-tasting buffet and
have her record favorites on a chart for Mom’s
or Dad’s reference.
Stick with it. Whatever your approach,
don’t give up, Thompson says. “Your child’s
brain is such a magnificent organ. But in order
for it to be at its best, you have to feed it well.”
Kid-friendly staples
VEGGIES
baby carrots, bell pepper
slices (red, orange,
yellow), sugar snap peas,
jicama, broccoli,
potatoes,
sweet potatoes,
cucumbers, black
olives (water-cured)
FRUITS
strawberries,
blueberries, black-berries, apples, plums,
kiwifruit, oranges,
grapes, cherry
tomatoes, avocados,
melons, dried fruits
DAIRY
plain yogurt,
cottage cheese,
unprocessed cheese
NUTS
almonds, walnuts,
cashews
NUT BUTTERS
almond, walnut,
cashew, peanut
BEANS
black, red, kidney,
pinto, garbanzo
PROTEINS
eggs, chicken
or turkey breasts,
wild-caught salmon,
lean red meats, soy
WHOLE-GRAIN
PRODUCTS
bread, tortillas,
pitas, crackers
THINGS TO HAVE ON HAND
; Applesauce (no sugar added) ; Unsweetened
coconut flakes ; Popcorn kernels ; Honey (raw,
unfiltered) ; Stainless-steel insulated container
Stainless-steel water bottle ; Reusable cold pack
