Marketing to Kids at Home
A recent article in Self magazine offered ideas on how to ‘market’ healthy foods to kids at home. There are some good ideas. I particularly like the one about keeping cut-up, easy-to-munch veggies at eye level in the front of the fridge. What else have we learned about feeding thousands of kids and helping them make better choices at home?
Put up a chart and give a sticker for every new vegetable they try. (Works best with the little ones)
Get older kids to help make dinner by giving them their own dish to create (and name!). A cold salad can be tossed without fear of fire. Kids shouldn’t be scared of knives, they should be trained how to use them.
Maybe your younger tike would love a chef hat or a cool apron with their name on it (both available online), to excite them about being in the kitchen and away from the computer.
Snacking after school should really be limited to the things you KNOW are good for them (apple slices, celery with peanut butter, edamame). (I feed Jack a lot of nuts and peanut butter at home, since nuts are ‘that which should NEVER EVER be brought to school.’ Frankly, I think we should bring back nuts!)
Try roasting veggies instead of steaming or even sautéing. The sweetness really comes out when you blast a carrot or even a cauliflower floret in a super hot oven. (Can you say kale chips? 2 year old Jack gobbles them up!) I spray all my veggies with ‘Pam’ and am not shy with the salt. (If this is a concern in your family, there are tons of reduced salt seasonings. Try ’em out!)
Create ambiance at the dinner table. No, I’m not talking about breaking out the Spode china (though I sometimes have the energy to do just thatâ¦sometimes.) Lighting a candle takes 5 seconds, sets expectations and my toddler gets a thrill by blowing it out at the end. If he balks at the third bite of broccoli I just tell him he can blow out the candle if he finishes the cruciferous veg. (He also likes to try to say, ‘cruciferous,’ and that alone can be enough to move attention away from the ensuing vegetable battle.)
These work at my house, but by all means, tell us what works at your house!! Together, we can outsmart them! 😉
