Is your child declaring war on broccoli? Don't rush to hide the vegetables in puree.
The chef from the Food Revolution project has proven that children eat what they helped create. We'll tell you how to turn your kitchen into a playground where carrots become magic wands.
Food is a game for all the senses. Let your child touch, smell, and chop up food (yes, it will be messy!). A study by Appetite Journal confirms that children who help cook are 50% more likely to try new foods.
Why not turn your grocery shopping into a fun adventure? Take your child to a farmers market or grocery store where you can touch, smell, and pick out fruits and vegetables together.
Tell them how tomatoes grow, where milk comes from, or why carrots are so sweet. This will not only broaden their horizons, but also spark interest in what's on their plate.
Have a "color food day": all food should be green or red.
Suggest to your child, “Let’s make a soup that changes color!” Add a little turmeric to cauliflower puree and watch it turn sunny yellow.
Nutritionist Karen Le Billon advises in her book, French Children Eat Everything: Don't make a cult out of food.
If your child refuses soup, just say, "Okay, but the next meal is in 2 hours." No persuasion or threats.
Serving food is an art. Turn your plate into a canvas and your ingredients into paints. Make “rays of sunshine” out of boiled carrots, “waves” out of cucumbers, and “stars” out of berries.
A child will eat a "picture" with more enthusiasm than a regular salad. And if you add a story to it - for example, that it is a "magic forest where vitamin treasures are hidden" - dinner will become a real adventure.
"My son hated fish until we started making "star cutlets" out of it using a cookie cutter. Now it's his favorite dish!" Marina, mother of 4-year-old Timofey, rejoices.
A child should not "clean the plate." His task is to learn to listen to his body.
