Every kids knows that when they get caught sneaking a cookie they are, at the very least, going to ‘the look’ from their mom, but more probably a scolding of sorts. They also know that if they get caught sneaking strawberries out of the fridge, their mom will assist them and ask them, ‘would you like some water or milk with your snack?’ They’ve learned which foods are ‘bad’ and which foods are ‘good,’ but do they know why?

I think that Alex and Soph do know why–I mean, they should, because we talk about it all the time, but once in a while they tend not to pay attention. I’m one of those parents that tries really hard to always give a reason for the answers I provide, not just ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ I really want them to understand the why’s behind the decisions I hand down. I think this is because as a child, when I was told something was the way it was, ‘because I said so’…well that just wasn’t an answer in my book. Now as a parent, I get it. There are many times when I’d like to say, ‘because I said so,’ and occasionally I do, but when it comes to food choices I always have a reason behind my ‘yes’ or ‘no. ;D

There are two primary ‘reasons’ I try to focus on when explaining the why’s of food with the kids. The are:

1. Balance – All foods should be eaten in a fashion appropriate to the nutritional needs of the eater. For the kids, I explain this be letting them know that all foods (even the ‘bad’ ones) are taken into consideration in this balance. If you get too much of even a ‘good’ food, it can be problematic.

   I also use balance to their benefit when it comes to candy and sweets. If Alex or Soph want say, cake for lunch after only eating 2 bites of a sandwich, well that doesn’t work. If they want the cake, they have to eat the healthy, balanced equivalent first. This strategy fills up their bellies with nutritious food so they eat less cake, and that is a very good (and balanced) thing.

2. Benefits – All foods serve a nutritional purpose. I remember when the kids were little, if they didn’t drink their milk I would tell them their bones were crying. And, when they would eat all of their carrots at dinner, I’d tell them I needed sunglasses to look at ‘em because their eyes where so bright. Now that they’re older, the plea from their crying bones is less of an influence, but they do know that milk helps make their bones stronger. And, they know that fruits and vegetable are essential if they want to be healthy and strong.

I know that none of my teaching necessarily means that my kids will always make healthy food choices and eat balanced diets, BUT, knowledge is power. And I’m seeing my constant reiterations, rules and teachings about balance and trying foods start to pay off with Alex. He’s starting to like food he used to ‘hate’. He’s also starting to want to try foods, and then once he does, liking them. I hope the same will be true of Sophie as she gets older. She’s already a bit more daring then her brother with food, but there are things she doesn’t like and there really is no logical reason for her aversion.  I guess that all I can do as the Mom is set the rules on the “what’s”, teach the “why’s” and hope they both sink-in.

Happy Family Cooking,

Kelly (the Mom)

P.S. Please take a moment and ‘like’ us on Facebook! It’s a great way to keep up with the Two Kids and their adventures between shows and posts…

In case you didn’t know, March is National Nutrition Month. And, since I’ve proclaimed 2010 the year the 2 Kids household will improve the nutritional quality of the food we eat, I’m kind of excited about it. For this year’s theme , the American Dietetic Association has chosen to emphasize, ‘Nutrition from the Ground Up,’ reminding us all that improving our diets doesn’t have to be complicated, it’s just a matter of starting to focus on the basics, building a foundation of health.

To help celebrate this month and continue to build our own ‘foundation of health,’ we’ve decided to expand our vegetable horizons. Each Monday in March, I’ll be sharing Alex and Soph’s opinions on some veggie recipes I’ve dug-up from around the inter-webs (and a couple will be my own creations). March 1st will be a Broccoli-fest, followed by Peas, then Carrots, and closing out the month will be Green Beans. All of the recipes will be kid-cooking friendly too, so the whole family can get in on the preparation and eating of these veggie-ful creations.

If you’re interested in more information on National Nutrition Month, head on over the ADA’s website.

When it comes to meal time, I always try to provide food options that meet three criteria:
1) The kids will eat it
2) I will eat it
3) It has some nutritional value

We have a number of standard menus that meet these criteria. We eat these standards regularly and the kids are perfectly satisfied. The kids are also perfectly satisfied to watch the same episode of Phineas and Ferb 50 times in a row; I, however, am not.

This desire for a more adventurous meal plan has lead to many cooking experiments designed to broaden the palette preferences of the kiddies. Throughout these food trials, there are a few things I’ve noticed:

1) Taking something familiar and changing it up a bit usually works. For example, we eat a lot of chicken and we have a couple favorite ways to make it. So, to change it up a little, I did a tandoori style chicken, soaking it in a yogurt based marinade and then broiling it. The flavor was different then our standard, but subtle. The kids and I both loved it and now we have a new taste that I know will be eaten!

2) Changing or adding one dish in the meal can prove successful. This works well when the meal consists of a main food item and side dishes. For me, it’s usually a new vegetable concoction that I’d like to try. Most recently I did this with a broccoli recipe. The kids both like broccoli, but only steamed and with a bit of butter and salt–this gets a bit boring for the mom. The recipe I tried included red bell peppers and a garlicky stir-fry like sauce. I knew if I just made a stir-fry it would be a no-go, so I snuck it in as a side dish to salmon & rice. I’ll admit they didn’t love it, but they ate it. And, they ate the salmon so I didn’t end up with hungry kids grumbling for something to eat right after dinner.

3) Let the kids help ‘invent’ a new recipe. This is one of our favorites and is actually the most successful. It doesn’t always result in menu item that is loved, but the kids always try their inventions and give honest feedback. Plus, they’re always excited to tweak their own recipes to make them more to their liking. One of our favorite recipes that Alex was instrumental in inventing is our Chicken Strips (which we’ll be demoing in a future episode of 2 Kids Cooking).

I think that trying to keep meal time interesting is always a challenge, but giving up is not an option. I don’t care how many times Alex and Soph wrinkle their noses at a new dish–most of the time, once they taste the food, they like it. Even if they don’t, exposing them to lots of different kids of healthy foods will keep their minds open so that when they get older, they just might appreciate a little variety.