What comes to mind when you think of
toddler food? If you think of prepackaged snacks or jars of chunky baby
food in your grocery store's baby food isle, then think again. You want
to have your child eat the same thing as the rest of the family most of
the time, but there are other times when grown up food is neither
appropriate nor the healthiest option.
There are times when you can get a little
creative with your picky eater, especially at snack or lunch time.
That's when toddler food is the best choice. So why not have a little
fun with it and get your picky eater to eat?
Here are some general rules of thumb:
1. Toddlers like finger food.
Now is not the time to worry that they'll grow up not knowing how to use
a fork and knife if they don't practice. Give them their food cut up in
bite-size pieces so they don't have to work too hard for it. This works
well for teenagers too, but I digress...
Good finger foods are peas, carrots,
bananas, sliced grapes, gelatin wigglers with fruit, green beans,
natural all-meat hotdogs, hard cheeses, cream cheese wrapped in natural
lunch meats and sliced, medium pasta shells stuffed with something, or
small homemade granola wedges. They don't all have to be in the same
shapes either. Cut sandwiches into squares and triangles, and cut
carrots into slivers.
2. Toddlers like to choose.
Give your toddler options, but not all the options. They get to pick two
things and you get to pick one thing on the snack menu. And don't just
ask them what they want, phrase it like "Do you want apple slices or
grapes?" Do you want grilled cheese sticks or peanut butter on bananas?"
This works pretty good with the picky eater.
Once you and your kids male your
choices, put the food on a special plate or on something different than
usual. This will make the food seem extra special and that can only help
with a picky eater.
3. Toddlers like foods that come
with cool names or good stories.
My kids were willing to try broccoli after my sister told them a story
about broccoli trees. They ate it up, so to speak. They also like it
when I tell them which foods I was crazy about as a child and how I
liked them fixed.
Try naming some of your toddler food,
just for fun. Amanda's Amazing Apple Spread or John's Jumping Green
Beans might be the perfect thing for today's menu.
