Tantalize both your and your child’s taste buds – one food at a time
“Kid-friendly” products sold today, such as Lunchables®, Go-gurt®, and chicken nuggets are, unfortunately, not very health-friendly. They are laden with more added sugars, fats, and artificial ingredients than your child may need in an entire day. However, you can satisfy the entire family by presenting healthy foods in a manner that will please both adults and children alike.
“Deconstruction” is a term coined by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida, referring to a style of literary analysis. It is essentially a way of looking at the individual parts of a commonly-accepted whole, and how they interact with each other outside of that whole. In line with that concept, restaurants started serving “deconstructed” food; that is, parts of a sum.
You may have recently seen deconstructed salads on salad bars. The original “constructed” salad is served alongside a collection of each its individual ingredients. Those who are not feeling creative, or who enjoy the combination of flavors of the original dish, can take from the constructed salad. But those who really want more black beans than chicken, or who don’t like olives or green peppers, can create their own similar, yet personalized salad, from the choice of deconstructed ingredients set next to the constructed inspiration.
In a similar manner, children feel ownership over food that they help create and are more likely to eat it. They also have very specific, personal tastes. Serving food to them in a deconstructed, separated manner, such as the salad bar described above, is an easy way to please each individual palate and to enjoy unique variations of a similar meal together as a family, without having to make a separate “kid-friendly” dish.
When preparing a family meal in this way, keep the following ideas in mind. With just a small amount of preparation, you can easily turn healthy “adult foods” into kid-friendly ones as well.
* Cut the food into small pieces that suit the childrenÂ’s small hands and mouths.
* Cut up a few fruits, but donÂ’t mix them into the fruit salad from which the ingredients originated.
* Make separate dishes of lettuce, tomato, carrot, black beans, corn, cheese and crushed chips, and let each child make his own fiesta salad.
* Cook a variety of vegetables, and let them make their own stir-fry combination.
* Put toothpicks or wooden skewers on the table. Let the kids make fruit and cheese kabobs for a healthy snack – or meat and vegetable kabobs for dinner. Make or buy a dipping sauce for the side.
* Cook sweet or savory items in mini muffin tins for manageable kid-friendly servings.
* Whether it is a fruit or vegetable combination, offer a variety of brightly-colored foods – and even cut them into different shapes – to make the meal or snack appealing and delicious.
* Work together – let the kids help. It will make your job easier – and they will learn and enjoy themselves in the process.
Lunch Tip
* For school lunch, buy a plastic storage container with separate compartments for individual foods, as well as for a dipping sauce. Cut many of the foods in advance so that preparing lunch in the morning is quick and easy.
* Find a low-sugar, natural yogurt for an easy dipping sauce. Cascade Fresh Vanilla Yogurt is one brand that has great flavor without much more sugar than a plain yogurt.
* Or try this quick, homemade sauce:
Fruit Dipping Sauce
* 1 cup low fat cottage cheese
* 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
* ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1-2 teaspoons skim milk
* Slices of your favorite fruits – apples, pears, bananas, strawberries, etc
1. In blender container or food processor bowl, place the cottage cheese, peanut butter, and cinnamon. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Stir in enough milk to make dip of desired consistency.
2. Serve the dip immediately or cover and chill it for up to 24 hours. Serve dip with fruit slices of your choice.
Laurie Barenblat is a Nutrition Educator and Healthy Lifestyle Coach in Dallas, Texas. She offers creative, yet simple ways to help her clients create a healthier lifestyle with a focus on weight loss. She helps people change their habits so that today, tomorrow, and far into the future they will be looking and feeling their best. In addition to coaching individual clients, Laurie is a speaker, writer, and frequent contributor to the media. Visit her website http://www.lauriebarenblat.com and sign up for her free monthly newsletter.
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Kabobs & Other Light Grills $10.81 Kabobs & Other Light Grills |
