Tricks for picky eaters
Marin Gilbert, dietitian at Children’s Medical Center in Dayton:
Keep fruit looking fresh: "If you cut up fruit in advance, it gets to be not-so-pretty-looking. I know parents who roll apple or pear slices in sugar-free JELL-O, which keeps them from browning."
Not all fruit has to be fresh: "Especially in winter months, when fruits are out of season, it's OK to do frozen and canned," Gilbert said. Preferably, the fruit should be packed without light or heavy syrup, but either way, she said, "It's going to be healthier than a cookie."
Give hummus a try: "I know kids aren't usually exposed to it, but they really do like it." Pair with carrots, green peppers and broccoli.
Add some flair and save money: "A lot of kids want the Dora fruit snacks or other snacks because they like the cartoon character. Putting cartoon stickers on the baggies can work."
Prevent warm, slimy lunch meat: "Use an insulated lunch bag, or freeze a water bottle."
Create your own snack packs: "Use little baggies to pack your own 100-calorie packs, which are good for portion control. Those can be expensive to buy prepackaged." Try Goldfish crackers, sunflower seeds or trail mix.
Monica A. Cengia, dietitian in private practice in Centerville:
Kick the sandwich up a notch: "For fussy little kids, take the bread and use star-shaped cookie cutters, like those used at Christmas, and make two stars."
Try a wrap instead of bread: "I suggest putting it in a Ziploc, and placing a rubber band around it, so it doesn't unwrap and get messy. I actually pack one of these everyday."
Use reasonable portion sizes: "Half a banana or half an apple for little kids might be fine."
Pack flavored water, the healthy way: "If a kid doesn't like water but likes flavored water, try adding a shot-glass full of fruit juice – about one to two ounces. Cranberry and apple are stronger flavors that work really well."
Try white whole-wheat bread: "Under ingredients, look for whole grain."
Keep fruit cool: "Grapes are easy because you can freeze them, so by lunchtime their nice and chilly."
Let kids in on packing: "By about age 10 or 11, children should pack their own lunch ... You've taught them a skill they'll use for their whole life." In fact, "People at work should pack their own lunch."
DAYTON — Packing a healthy lunch is relatively easy to do, but getting your child to eat that healthy lunch is another challenge entirely.
State and nationwide nutrition initiatives such as the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children Act and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act have prompted parents to seek out healthier foods for their families, said Angela Krile, media relations contact for Healthy Choices for Healthy Children. It’s a difficult task, Krile acknowledged, given that many parents are more time-crunched now than ever before.
“I think the food industry is responding to the need, and we’re finding healthier pre-packaged meals,” Krile said.
Monica A. Cengia, a registered and licensed dietitian in private practice in Centerville, said some simple changes — like switching from regular carrots to baby carrots — can win over even the pickiest of eaters.
“For young children, regular carrots can look like ‘big woody tree stumps,’” Cengia said. “A 4- or 5-year-old is not going to want to bite into a small tree trunk. And if it’s not easy to chew, that’s going to discourage the child.”
She said kids usually prefer fruits and vegetables that are sliced, cut up or cubed. When Cengia’s now-grown children were in school, she noticed a common theme: Often, food that was messy or required extra effort to eat was left in the lunch box.
“If I sent an orange with one, do you think they’d peel it and eat it? Probably not,” Cengia recalled. “I’d make four cuts at the top of the orange so they could peel it, and then I’d put it in two Ziplocs because it’s juicy.”
Marin Gilbert, a dietitian at Children’s Medical Center in Dayton, said parents often skimp on fruits and vegetables while overdoing junk foods.
“Parents think, ‘Oh, they need a sweet treat or cookie, and occasionally we’ll throw in a fruit or veggie,’ ” Gilbert said. “It’s OK to pack a sweet treat, but often kids are getting plenty throughout the school day, such as at a class party. Don’t feel like you have to pack a cookie or a brownie.”
Kim Hanks, 35, of Bellbrook found shish kabobs to be a novel way to get her 5-year-old son Tristan to eat a nutritious lunch. At the beginning of the school year, Tristan was nervous eating in front of his classmates.
“He’s very shy, and he had to open many bags and didn’t want to ask for help opening things,” she said. “Shish kabobs are so easy for him because it’s all in one.”
Hanks cuts one skewer in half to form two shish kabobs and then cuts off the sharp end.
“I make one healthy one with lunch meat, cheese and fruit, and another dessert one with marshmallows and fruit snacks,” Hanks said.
Often Hanks will use turkey, cheese blocks, and grapes or apple. For variety, she substitutes hot-dog pieces or grilled chicken for the lunch meat or swaps vegetables like cucumbers, broccoli or cauliflower for the fruit. The unique lunch has turned heads in the Stephen Bell Elementary cafeteria — but Tristan doesn’t seem to mind.
“He likes it because it gets a lot of attention at school, especially when he brings out the dessert one. It’s just fun,” Hanks said.
Kirsty Wertz, 36, said she taught her sons Kyle, 9, and Ethan, 7, to pack their lunch in the first grade as part of their after-school routine. Both attend Hunter Elementary School in Franklin.
“I think the fact that I pack my lunch made it seem completely normal,” said Wertz, who works at G.E. in Kettering. While she leaves the packing to the boys — right now, they favor peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches — she ensures they have a healthy selection of foods, which she buys at Kroger, Dorothy Lane Market and Trader Joe’s.
“We try to avoid high-fructose corn syrup,” she said. “We buy Smucker’s all-natural peanut butter so that we get no added salt or sugar.”
Homemade whole-wheat bread is baked by her husband Mike, 42, who works from home as a tree farmer at Wertz Family Tree Farm. Fresh vegetables are grown on the farm in the summer.
Wertz said her sons do pack healthy, but giving her children the freedom to pack their lunches unsupervised has led to some peculiar choices. “Kyle’s gone to school with a banana sandwich.”
Kettering mom Karen Westgerdes, 40, makes sandwiches on Sundays and assembles the lunch the night before.
“Mornings are crazy — kids last-minute are saying, ‘I forgot my spelling,’ or ‘I forgot my gym clothes,’ but I can always know I have a healthy lunch prepared for them ahead of time,” explained Westgerdes.
Her sons Zachary, 11, Jacob, 9, and Tom, 7, attend Ascension Catholic School, while Ella, 3, attends Fairmont Presbyterian in Kettering.
While Ella and the “finicky” older boys like a traditional peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, Tom requests a chicken wrap, prepared with leftover stir-fried chicken, salad dressing and broccoli.
Getting Tom to eat his veggies is easy. “He loves spinach — no dressing, just plain. He thinks he’s Popeye and has super powers.”
His lunch is rounded out with an apple and fiber bar, while her peanut-butter-and-jelly kids get an apple and SnapeaCrisps (sun-dried-pea chips) or vegetables.
Diane Pratt-Heavner, director of media relations for the School Nutrition Association, said parents can use their school districts’ menus as a model for packed lunches.
Every school lunch must provide fat-free or 1-percent milk, two fruits and/or vegetables, a grain and a protein source, Pratt-Heavner said. Each meal must also not exceed 30 percent of an individual’s calories from fat, with less than 10 percent of the fat intake from saturated fat, as recommended under the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. School meals are also required to provide one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances for protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium and calories.
Pratt-Heavner said research on school-sponsored breakfasts has shown a positive effect on school performance, and while research on healthy lunches is sparse, she expects the same to be true.
“Healthy eating can really have an effect on academic success, school attendance, and number of visits to the school nurse,” she said.
COMING UP: New weekly health and fitness series kicks off Jan. 2.
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