Why Adding Variety is Important When Preparing Food

By KC Kudra | December 30, 2009

If you have small children, you probably already know that it can be a real chore to feed them. This is especially true if they are picky about what food they will and will not eat. It is important to ensure your children get enough nutrition from their food and luckily, there are ways of convincing them to eat even if they don’t want to. It is a good idea to have a few favorite dishes on standby, such as crockpot chicken noodle soup, hotdogs, pizza, homemade chicken noodle soup, and chicken nuggets with cheesy mashed potatoes.

Even though it may be a chore, when you are preparing dinner, prepare several different dishes so your child has choice of what he or she wants. You could try asking them what they are in the mood for on occasion to get a guaranteed winner night with no fitting over them eating anything let alone enough.

Your child should be encouraged to take a bite of everything you make, regardless of whether he likes the look of it or not. A lot of children will state, “I don’t like that,” when looking at a dish they have never even tried. If you get your child to sample everything, they will usually like the dish in question and ask for second helpings.

Another good way to convince your children to eat is to give their food the names of their favorite fictional or cartoon characters. Bart Simpson Stew or Special Spiderman Salad will bring a smile to your child’s face and encourage him to eat the meal. Children identify with shows they like and if they think they are eating cartoon foods, they will be happy to finish the meal.

Making dishes that are colorful and fun is a great way to encourage a finicky eater to actually eat. When you use bright and colorful ingredients such as green, yellow and red bell peppers, and give the dish a name like Christmas casserole, or if you make a veggie lasagna and call it Diego’s delight, you will have a better chance of a having a peaceful dinner.

Children are very particular and even though they are little, they know what they like. If something does not look appetizing to them, you will have very little chance of getting them to eat it. They do not understand that it is good for them; they depend on you for that.

If you enjoy cooking, you can let your child help you with meal preparation. If they feel like part of the cooking process, they will be happier to eat the results. Children would prefer homemade chicken noodle soup to “the stuff in the white and red can.”

If there is a food, your child doesn’t like, but it is necessary for the recipe, you can mince it in the food processor when your child is in another room, before adding it to the pot. Your child won’t be able to see or taste it in the final dish but they will be getting the nutrition from the hidden ingredient.

When you are feeding your child, sometimes you will need to use alternative ingredients or different methods. The main thing to remember is that when dealing with kids, you do need a certain amount of flexibility. The chicken noodle soup your child would never eat before can become his favorite if you let him help you prepare it and give it a cartoon name.

Chicken soup recipes are a wonderful way to give your family a wonderfully warm and filling meal for lunch without a lot of fuse. Learn how do you make chicken corn soup.

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