Kid-Friendly Meal Tips

It can be tough to feed kids, especially if they are finicky. Here are some creative tips to help you feed your kids get a dose of nutrition in each meal.

Breakfastn • Breakfast burrito: scrambled eggs, black beans and salsa wrapped in a brown rice tortilla and a glass of orange juicen • Toasted English muffin, a hard boiled egg, a glassnof milk and a bowl of strawberriesn • Bowl of whole-grain cereal with milk and anbananan • Buckwheat pancakes with maple syrup, a bowl ofnmelon and a glass of milkn • Bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and milk andnglass of orange juicen • Yogurt, a slice of whole wheat toast and anhandful of raisinsn • Piece of spinach quiche, a slice of whole wheatntoast and a handful of blueberries

Lunch/Snacksn • A quarter or a half sandwich is just one of the manynchoices you can offer your child.
• Dried fruit – there is a huge variety of dried fruitsnavailable today - apricots, raisins, dates, cranberries,nblueberries, etcn • Nuts – peanuts, cashews, pecans, almonds and walnutsn • Fresh fruit pieces or a piece of whole fruit – apples, pearsnmelon, mangoes, pineapple and grapes are just a few!
• Applesauce (no sugar added)
• Celery sticks filled with cream cheese and raisins or whitenbean dip and pine nutsn • Sugar snap peas, baby carrots or green beans with Ranchndressing for dippingn • Cherry or grape tomatoesn • Yogurt or a smoothien • Lunch meat roll-ups with cream cheese and a cookednasparagus or green bean in the middlen • Whole wheat or brown rice tortilla wrap with tuna salad,nchicken salad, or egg saladn • Hard boiled eggn • Cheese cubes, slices or string cheese logsn • Peanut butter (or sunflower butter) with apple slices orncrackersn • Hummus with carrots and mini pita breadsn • Whole grain crackers or pretzelsn • Trail mix made from cereal, nuts and dried fruit

Dinne
• Home cooked meals are best. Restaurant, fast andntake-out foods are higher in fat, salt, sugar andncalories.
• Feed your child the same meal as the grown ups.
• Avoid “kiddie” foods and meals. They fall short innnutritional value and are high in fat, salt and sugar.
• No need to have dessert every night. It is more “special” when it is not as frequent.

Dinner time is a great time of the day to get to knownyour child and teach social skills:
• Turn off the TVs and put down the newspapers.
• Sit at the dinner table to enjoy a great meal.
• Teach your child good table manners.
• During the meal, ask your children about the day atnschool and share something about your day too.