Search Sort Posts:  Oldest to newest Newest to oldest

10-31-2005, 9:12 PM bridget Joined on 10-21-2005 Be nice - I'm new! Eating healthy? Does anyone have any good ideas for getting kids to eat healthier snacks? I find that using logical arguments usually does NOT work. Any sneaky tricks?    Report

11-05-2005, 9:05 PM Chosen7Stone Joined on 10-21-2005 Tallahassee, FL Super Sitter!! Re: Eating healthy? CHOICE is the keyword when it comes to getting kids to eat their healthy foods.  If you're able, take the child to the grocery store produce section...tell them to pick out their five favorite fruits or vegetables (a good time to practice counting and the difference between fruits and veggies, too!), buy one of each, and take them home.  (If he/she chooses to go the veggie route, make sure to let them pick a salad dressing, too.)  Then, chop them up, and let him/her build his/her own salad!  Let the child mix the fruit up in a bowl, or lay out the veggies in a nice platter. Letting them run the show (with your guidance) is the key...offer as many options as possible, even down to which fork they want to eat with. A twist is building their own trail mix.  Trail mix is easy to make...cereals (Chex and Cheerios are good), raisins or other dried fruits, nuts (if they're not allergic), even MnMs...again, let the child build his/her own trail mix.  They can put in as much cereal, raisins, etc. as they want (well, maybe limit the chocolate candies...) *Love in Christ from Mary* 1 Peter 2:4-5 Vote my agency, Seminole Sitters, the "Best Overall Business" in Tallahassee for the 2007 Tally Awards at EverythingTallahassee.com!!!    Report

11-13-2005, 8:53 PM Icy Joined on 11-13-2005 Be nice - I'm new! Re: Eating healthy? I'm typing these from a book   Bagel faces Spread cream cheese over half a bagel. Use vegetable or fruit pieces to make hair eyes, and a smile   Ants on a log put peanutbutter on a celery stick, and put raisens as ants    Report

11-14-2005, 1:21 PM Chosen7Stone Joined on 10-21-2005 Tallahassee, FL Super Sitter!! Re: Eating healthy?  Icy wrote: Bagel faces Spread cream cheese over half a bagel. Use vegetable or fruit pieces to make hair eyes, and a smile I really like this idea!  Too cute!  I might do it myself.  With Philadelphia coming out with all those flavored cream cheeses, I think fruits like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries (any kind of berry, really!) would be delicious.  Even pre-prepared/cooked fruits, like those warm, gooey, cinnamon apples. *Love in Christ from Mary* 1 Peter 2:4-5 Vote my agency, Seminole Sitters, the "Best Overall Business" in Tallahassee for the 2007 Tally Awards at EverythingTallahassee.com!!!    Report

02-14-2006, 1:15 AM morbidbliss Joined on 02-11-2006 Atlanta, Ga Along for the Ride Re: Eating healthy? I know this may seem silly but something I've learned is to put out something a couple things you want them to eat, one of which you know they like, and one they are stubbern about.  Tell them they can't have the thing they are stubbern about but they can eat all the other one they want.  More often then not they will go for what they "can't have".  I even tried this once with pretzels and ice cream.  None of the children ate much ice cream, but every time I "turned my back" on them they were getting into the pretzels. However, I don't do this unless I have to, because I don't think that any parent wants this type of behavior instilled into their child.    Report

02-16-2006, 1:35 PM Chosen7Stone Joined on 10-21-2005 Tallahassee, FL Super Sitter!! Re: Eating healthy? lol  That cracks me up!  I learned a lot about this phenomenon in one of my psychology classes, and the same applies to adults!  We want most what we can't have! *Love in Christ from Mary* 1 Peter 2:4-5 Vote my agency, Seminole Sitters, the "Best Overall Business" in Tallahassee for the 2007 Tally Awards at EverythingTallahassee.com!!!    Report

06-09-2006, 8:31 PM oldestchild726 Joined on 06-10-2006 Be nice - I'm new! Re: Eating healthy? Slice up apples and put cinnamon and a little bit of sugar on top. SO GOOD!!A healthy snack slightly sweet. Make sure to put a little lemon on the fruit, so it doesn't brown. Don't worry you can't taste it.    Report

06-14-2006, 11:11 AM curiousgeorge Joined on 06-14-2006 Be nice - I'm new! Re: Eating healthy? Also try carmel apples.yum!    Report

06-15-2006, 9:38 AM sister_2_1 Joined on 06-15-2006 Be nice - I'm new! Re: Eating healthy? One of the healthiest treats I make for the kids I babysit, and i even make them for me is fruit smoothies. what you do is you fill a cup with ice until the whole cup is filled, and dump into the blender. Next, add about 6 -9 strawberries, more if they are really little . Then add a whole banana. Next add about a cup of milk, depending on how much ice you put, you might need to add more milk. Now add 2 tsp. of sugar. Next add a half a cup of vanilla or strawberry yogurt. Blend it all up for about 2 min. serve to the kids, and you can have a glass too, and enjoy.    Report

04-08-2007, 12:26 AM shamrocknyc Joined on 03-27-2007 NYC I Know My Way Around Re: Eating healthy? Letting them have options is always a good thing, I'm sure we can all agree that trying to force a child to do something is not only harsh but also totally fruitless. One thing that helps is if there isn't a lot of junk food in the house. I know we have no control as baby-stters over what the parents buy, but it's easier to feed them healthy food if they aren't busy thinking about the chips and cookies in the kitchen cabinet. It's not always realistic to cater to everyone's desires. If you're dealing with feeding several kids lunch, things get a little crazy when they all have different ideas about what they want. I've always inventoried the kitchen and come up with two or three choices of things I'm willing to make for lunch and they vote. If there's one straggling voter that cannot be convinced to join the majority, he or she could choose to have a sandwich or a bowl of cereal and fruit or something.    Report

06-16-2007, 3:56 PM ginastags2315 Joined on 06-15-2007 NJ Be nice - I'm new! Re: Eating healthy? The kids I baby-sit love this: Ladybugs - Slice a red apple in half.  Spread peanut butter on the top, and then put raisins on the peanut butter for spots.  Then use toothpicks for the antennas.     Report

06-17-2007, 7:57 PM Chosen7Stone Joined on 10-21-2005 Tallahassee, FL Super Sitter!! Re: Eating healthy?  ginastags2315 wrote: The kids I baby-sit love this: Ladybugs - Slice a red apple in half.  Spread peanut butter on the top, and then put raisins on the peanut butter for spots.  Then use toothpicks for the antennas.  CUTE idea!  Do you have a picture of the snack? *Love in Christ from Mary* 1 Peter 2:4-5 Vote my agency, Seminole Sitters, the "Best Overall Business" in Tallahassee for the 2007 Tally Awards at EverythingTallahassee.com!!!    Report

06-24-2007, 9:49 PM soccergal2 Joined on 06-25-2007 Be nice - I'm new! Re: Eating healthy? Sadly, it looks like all of my 'cute ideas' were already mentioned, but anything that looks fun is normally good. Also, while making the fun food, let the child help, maybe with putting little garnishes. They'll get so excited about helping, that they won't be able to wait and taste their masterpiece!    Report