Eat well, live well: How do we get children to eat well?

Well, for the first time in my life I can say I have been scooped by the New York Times. I was asked to write about how to feed kids and, a week later, in their magazine of October 12, 2014, they have an article on what to feed kids.

And I would have to agree with the basic statement by Mark Bittman that what we should be most concerned with is that children are eating real food, not processed junk. Real food includes pizza made with flour and tomato sauce and cheese. It includes macaroni and cheese. It includes spaghetti and meatballs. But, it shouldn’t rely on those foods. And, it also has to include vegetables and fruits.

The most important thing I say to parents, and I try to say it to them when their children are very young, is that it is the job of the parent to offer (and offer is the operative word) a variety of nutritious foods, in a developmentally appropriate form, in a pleasant environment. Unfortunately, it seems that in our culture the developmentally appropriate form got translated into bland and low texture even up to ages when children are fully capable of chewing and handling strong flavors; some very small children prefer the taste of olives and salsa, and the texture of steak and salad. I believe that our children should be offered the foods that we eat, and that having children should serve as motivation to clean up our own eating somewhat.

As children grow, their sense of taste changes and, as with all learning, we should stay ahead of them by offering opportunities for new experiences. And we should encourage them to take advantage of those opportunities. The advantages of moving children towards healthy eating habits include the earlier development of taste for a variety of foods, increased ease in maintaining a healthy weight, as well as helping them to sleep well, learn well and decrease their risk of developing chronic illnesses.

Children’s nutritional needs are not that different from our own. They need carbohydrates for energy, fats for the development of healthy hormones and nerve transmission, and protein to grow muscle and build enzymes and other chemicals that support various functions in our bodies. They need minerals for strong bones, nerve and muscle function as well as energy production. They need vitamins for energy production, digestion and immune function.

And, just like adults, they benefit from the phytonutrients in plant foods that support cellular communication, help to detoxify harmful substances, and are involved in repair and strengthen the immune system. Artificial sweeteners and colors, hydrogenated fats, high fructose corn syrup and many other food chemicals interfere with the healthy expression of our genes, as well as our digestion and metabolism.

With this background, the question becomes, what do we actually feed our children?

Some 3 year olds will happily sit down to a meal of salad, broccoli, chicken breast and brown rice; others demand mac and cheese and nothing else.

Here are some guidelines to get you started:

1. Make vegetables fun

• Enjoy them yourself
• Roast them in olive oil, salt and pepper so they have added taste
• Serve them raw or cooked with luscious dips

2. Include children in decision making and cooking; the kitchen is really one large laboratory where they can learn lots of lessons

• Plan a rainbow plate and let them pick the representative of each color
• Allow each child a favorite food night
• Allow each child to have an alternative if they have tasted and truly do not like the prepared meal –- the caveat is that they must do the preparation, even if it is just reheating, and you get to control what are acceptable alternatives
• Don’t become a short-order cook

3. Take kids to the farm. This is good for supporting their developing immune system and they may be more likely to eat foods they have picked – sometimes as soon as they have picked it. Be aware that this sometimes backfires when it comes to animals and they refuse to eat meat from the animals they have met.
4. Don’t make dessert dependent on eating your vegetables –- best is that most desserts are simply more nutritious foods; the not-so-nutritious ones should be rare treats

• Apple crisp is a good dessert, and, even a good breakfast (see recipe below)
• Frozen grapes make a great sweet treat

5. Teach children why they should eat well; it should be because it tastes good, but it is also good if they know it will help them to grow big and strong, to do well in school, and be better at whatever is important to them.
6. Don’t back down. For the most part, children will not starve themselves, so you do not need to feed them their favorite non-foods to prevent starvation. If 90 percent of the food you make available to your children is nutritious, they will learn to eat nutritious food. If they have issues with food textures or are truly not eating, you should probably consult with a professional who can help you determine if it is a problem that needs attention (it frequently is not, and that can be reassuring to know) and, if so, what the physiological or psychological issues may be and how to address it.

Asking that children taste a food, to stretch her or his taste buds, is like giving them a project that is just beyond their abilities –- like letting go of the bicycle for the first time they ride without training wheels. It gives them the opportunity for new experience, one they may or may not enjoy, so be ready for rejection, but anticipate success.

Here are some creative ideas for increasing the nutritional value of foods:

• Make pumpkin pancakes
• Make zucchini bread
• Make flourless peanut butter cookies
• Chop or puree a variety of vegetables into tomato sauce
• Buy chips made from real vegetables
• Use cheese or eggs for added protein

And here are some meals that can be fun:

• Stir-fry different color vegetables with tofu, shrimp and/or chicken – carrots, snow peas, red, yellow and green peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, spinach; serve over purple potatoes or black rice
• Bake chicken pieces next to a tray of sweet potatoes, beets, broccoli, tri-color fingerling potatoes
• Make a cacciatore – sauté onions, garlic, celery (include the leaves), add broccoli and cauliflower in 1” pieces, cover with canned tomatoes; add basil and oregano and chicken pieces, nitrate free sausage chunks, and meatballs and simmer for at least an hour; you can serve this over pasta or garlicky greens, or both.

And here are a couple of my favorite recipes:

Apple Crisp

Peel and core

• 6 large apples (I usually mix and match for a variety of taste and texture, but one of my favorite single apples to use are the local golden delicious)

Slice into half inch thick slices and toss in

• ¼ cup of orange juice or apple cider and
• 1 Tbsp of cinnamon.

Spread in an 8” square baking pan

Combine

• 1 cup granola
• ¼ cup butter or coconut oil

Spread this mix on top of the apples

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until apples are soft and bubbling

Roasted Root Vegetables

1 large sweet potato

2 red beets

2 golden beets

3 large carrots

1 rutabaga

3 parsnips

2 handfuls pearl onions, peeled

Cut everything but the onions into 1” squares

Toss all vegetables into a large bowl and coat with olive oil

You can add seasonings – cinnamon makes it sweeter, rosemary more savory – or let the flavor of the vegetables be on their own.

Spread on 2 large cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until vegetables are fork tender