We are back from a wonderful tour of our favorite east coast cities. I always have a hard time getting a balance in the kids' diets while we are traveling but my tried and true "veggies first" always helps. I can't claim this idea as my own, since my sister-in-law and I started it together about 8 years ago on one of our first beach trips.
We realized when our older girls were starting to get picky, that their eating habits were even worse when we were traveling. There was a plethora of chicken fingers at the restaurant stops and hot dogs for the busy dinner gatherings. It was then that we began serving our kids dinner appetizers. When they came in after hours of playing hard on the beach and dinner was an hour away, we would give them a beautiful plate of fresh veggies. The veggies would always disappear.
As the kids have gotten older and our numbers have grown, the veggie plate has gotten fuller and disappeared quicker. Clearly it makes good sense to feed the kids veggies when they are the most hungry but it wasn't something I had been in the habit of doing. We still serve "veggies first" and it makes my heart sing to hear the kids crying out for more red pepper or cherry tomatoes.
Great tip! My 5 year old has become a picky eater...but we've discovered that this pickiness is mostly at meals and not at snacks so we get tons of good stuff in him at snack time. He eats more fruits and veggies than most kids his age because we are sure to take advantage of every time he saunters into the kitchen sighing, "Mom, I'm hungry."
ReplyDeleteThat is a super way to make snacks nutrient-rich and help him feel more and more at ease with eating fresh fruit and veg. If he is picky at meal time it is often b/c one of two things - not hungry enough and too tired. Look at his snacks and either make them super nutritious (like you are) or time them so they don't interfere with his dinner appetite.
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