Previous Tips of the Week:

Choices

Never ask open-ended questions like 'What do you want for dinner?' They can always answer “a banana split.” Instead, offer limited choices like, “Would you prefer peas or broccoli with dinner?” But if you’ve got a picky eater on your hands, you’ll need one more tool in your bag of tricks. Try sneaking healthy foods invisibly into kids’ favorite meals, like pureed veggies in their pasta sauce or even pureed avocado in chocolate pudding! 

Breastfeeding Babies

Breastfeeding helps babies appreciate the flavors of all the foods you eat and may lead to them having less picky palates when they grow older.  Some studies have found that babies who were breastfed for 6+ months were less likely to become picky eaters.

Whole Foods Grown in Nature

Teach kids the difference between whole foods grown in nature and those synthetically manufactured in a factory.  Play the “where did this come from” game at the table, identifying which foods were man-made and which grew naturally. You’ll find it much easier to teach kids about the importance of eating the right foods, like fresh fruits and veggies, when you’re not invested in having them eat them right then and there. Take the pressure off the situation by simply hiding some healthy foods in their favorite meals. Then you can relax while you’re teaching them, knowing they’re already getting some real nutrition.

Ice Cream Cone Decoy

Kids eat with their eyes as much, or even more so, than we do. So use kid favorite foods such as wafer ice cream cones to lure children to eat better. Stuff the cones with veggies, yogurt, fruit, even scrambled eggs. For about 15 calories and almost no sugar, wafer cones make almost anything fun to eat.

Dilute Juices

Always dilute juices by at least 50% with water or herbal tea.  Do this right in the bottle so the kids don’t notice. This little trick will cut calories and sugar enormously. You can provide an even greater benefit using the same sneaky technique by pureeing healthy veggies, like spinach and broccoli, and easily hiding them in their favorite meals. Find out how easy it is by poking around this website!
 

Whole Fresh Fruit

It’s better to eat whole fresh fruit than to drink fruit juice because it has more fiber, and it hasn’t been processed.  This means that most of the valuable nutrients are retained. Your children get plenty of sweet juices at school, so don’t serve them at home or in their lunch box. If your kids won’t eat fruit or veggies straight up, you can easily puree them and hide them in their favorite meals. Find out how easy it is at www.TheSneakyChef.com!

Protein and Fiber are the Key to a Lasting Breakfast

Think eggs, low fat cheese, turkey bacon or yogurt, paired with whole grain toast, high fiber cereal or oatmeal. You can also easily hide healthy foods in kids’ favorite meals, like sweet potato puree in spaghetti sauce, for example, without them ever knowing. Find out how easy it is by poking around this website!

According to a Harvard Medical School Survey

 children who eat breakfast do better academically and emotionally in school, resulting in better grades, behavior and attendance. Kids who eat more nutritious foods, like fresh fruits and veggies, have improved attention span and more balanced behavior and moods. But kids often won’t eat these foods straight up. Find out how easy it is to sneak these healthy foods into kids’ favorite meals (without them ever knowing!) by poking around this website.

Think of Snacks as Mini Meals

and try to provide a balance of protein, complex carbohydrates and good fats.  For example, fruit paired with a slice of low fat cheese and a handful of almonds will provide for more sustained energy than fruit alone. You can also easily hide healthy foods in kids’ favorite meals, like pureed cauliflower in mac n’ cheese, or spinach in brownies (without them ever knowing). Find out how easy it is by poking around this website!

Smell eggs after cracking

to be sure there is no off odor, as eggs have ample opportunity to spoil in transit from the point of shipping. But once you've got a good egg on your hands, don't stop there-eggs offer a great place to easily hide super healthy ingredients that kids will gobble up (without ever knowing!). Find out how easy it is to sneak healthy foods into your kids' favorite meals by poking around this website!

 

An Emory University Study

asked 23 children to go organic, and after only 3 days, the kids’ bodies no longer showed traces of 2 common pesticides: malathion and chlorpyrifos.  Once the kids went back to their usual diet, the chemicals returned. Find out more healthy tips for kids like this, plus how easy it is to sneak healthy foods into your kids’ favorite meals (without them ever knowing!)

 

Teach Kids to Eat off a Plate

They'll eat more, and get more out of what they eat. Once you’ve got them seated, make sure they're eating some superfoods along with everything else they want.

 

Involve Kids in Shopping, Prepping & Cooking

Involve kids in shopping, prepping and cooking.  This gives them a greater sense of control and makes them more likely to eat whatever dish they helped prepare.

 

Substitute nutritious liquid for water

when boiling foods, such as simmering rice in vegetable broth. These days, it’s more important than ever to find ways to get added nutrition into kids’ meals any way we can. Find out how to easily sneak healthy superfoods into kids’ favorite meals (without them ever knowing!) 

 

A study by University of Adelaide

in Australia found that fish oil improves the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) without any of the side effects of drugs like Ritalin and Concerta -- and it does so more effectively. Good nutrition from fresh fruits and veggies has been also been shown to do the same. But kids often won’t eat these foods straight up. Find out how easy it is to sneak these healthy foods into kids’ favorite meals (without them ever knowing!) on our free recipes pages.

 

Absolute best tools in my kitchen

are my 3-cup mini food processor and kitchen shears (scissors). A small mini food processor like this one lives on the counter so you’ll reach for it every day. Use it to puree fresh veggies for you and your family, and then easily sneak them in to your kid’s favorite meals (without them ever knowing!).

 

According to a Harvard Medical School survey,

children who eat breakfast do better academically and emotionally in school, resulting in better grades, behavior and attendance. Kids who eat more nutritious foods, like fresh fruits and veggies, have improved attention span and more balanced behavior and moods. But kids often won’t eat these foods straight up. Find out how easy it is to sneak these healthy foods into kids’ favorite meals (without them ever knowing!)

 

To get kids to eat more, don’t over-feed them liquids at mealtime,

and then, give them water only and not milk.  Only serve milk in between meals. To make those between meal servings of milk special, try flavored milk. 
 

Kids who skip breakfast have a more than 250 percent increased risk for developing tooth decay,

according to a study of more than 4,000 children aged 2 through 5 years published in the January 2004 Journal of the American Dental Association.  Oatmeal is a good food to start the day and made even better with some sneaky tweaking!

 

Give the kids a straw so they can drink the milk at the bottom of the cold cereal bowl.

This is a good idea because most of the vitamins and minerals added to the cereal leaches into the milk and is left at the bottom of the bowl.

 

Organic Milk the Best

The biggest selling organic product is milk. Everything a cow eats ends up in its milk, so it's best to buy organic.
 

Teach kids that strong colors in nature mean strong bodies and health.

The pigment that gives fruits and veggies color also means more antioxidants and nutrients. Think blueberries, red grapes, cherries, peaches, watermelon, carrots, red peppers and tomatoes. You’ll find it much easier to teach kids about the importance of eating the right foods, like fresh fruits and veggies, when you’re not invested in having them eat them right then and there. Take the pressure off the situation by simply hiding some healthy foods in their favorite meals. Then you can relax while you’re teaching them, knowing they’re already getting some real nutrition.