Getting a Picky Child to Eat Nutritious Foods

Many parents experience the effects of having a picky eater. You make dinner and they refuse to eat it because they "don't like it". While it is very important for kids to eat nutritious and wholesome foods at mealtimes, this can be easier said than done for many families. The key to getting your child to eat a variety of healthy foods is to be as creative as possible. Yes mom and dad, that means you might have to trick them into eating those veggies!

For many picky eaters, pizza is a favorite. Adding vegetables to pizza is very easy and also simple to hide. Add vegetables over top of the pizza sauce and then cover with extra cheese. If your child likes pepperoni or meat on his pizza, put this on the top of the cheese. Let the cheese be a blanket over the vegetables. For many picky eaters, if they do not see the veggies they won't even realize they are there!

Another favorite food among most children is macaroni and cheese. Make the macaroni and cheese and you normally would and then add in frozen peas and carrots. Cover with more cheese and bake in the oven to "hide" the vegetables. Many times adding cheese is thed key to getting children to eat veggies.

While you don't want your child to learn to play with their food, you should make mealtime enjoyable. Make food fun. Using celery, peanut butter and raisins is a long-time favorite way of having "ants on a log" for snack. Kids love the idea and gobble the snack up! Cut and peel fresh fruits and vegetables of various shapes and sizes. Give your child a variety and allow them to make creatures with them.

One of the easiest ways to get picky eaters to eat fruits and vegetables is to provide a dip of some sort. Cut up a supply of fresh fruits and vegetables and place on a serving tray. Provide ranch dressing or another favorite veggie dip for the vegetables. Cream cheese and caramel dips are great with fruit. The dips do not need to be in high fat or calories. Purchase low fat varieties if you prefer to have a lower fat version. Chocolate dip is also a great way to get children to eat strawberries, bananas, pineapples and cherries.