Sometimes, just as with the visual presentation of food, what you serve it on – or in – can make a difference. So your toddler won’t eat her cooked carrot wheels off of a regular plate? Try serving it to her on one of the plates from her pretend kitchen set. Or transform a scoop of tuna salad into something fun to eat by serving it inside a hollowed-out bell pepper. Anything new and different is fun to kids, so get creative and find innovative serving “dishes” that you may have overlooked. Measuring cups, small pots or skillets … if you can put something in it, it’s worth a try!
Can I help?
Toddlers love to feel like they’re helping, regardless of how much “help” they may actually be. A great way to introduce new foods, and make sure your child tries them, is to let her assist you in the preparation. Make a big deal out of having an “assistant” and give her small jobs such as stirring, dumping in ingredients, or washing fruits and vegetables. Another way to make her feel like she’s instrumental in what she eats: grow a garden together. Even veggies that she wouldn’t normally eat gain a new appeal when she “grew them herself.” If you don’t have the time or space to grow a garden, try letting her have a hand in what you choose at the grocery store: “Should we get red apples, or green ones? Which carrots look the best?”
Do the dip!
At an age where “I can do it myself” is the motto, kids are very hands-on. And they like to handle things that are potentially messy. So what’s better to serve a toddler than something he can dip? Bagels, rice cakes, fruit or veggie slices are livened up when they can be dipped into something nutritious such as homemade guacamole, cottage cheese, yogurt, or applesauce. There are tons of possibilities with this – if a food can be pureed, something can be dipped into it!
Let ‘em spread.
Along the same lines as dipping, your toddler will think spreading is great fun. Supervise him with a butter knife (try a plastic knife, which is lighter weight and therefore less awkward for little fingers to handle) and allow him to smear to his heart’s content. Peanut butter on apple slices, or fruit-juice sweetened jam on whole wheat toast, are two great examples.