Category: For The Kids

Holiday Cooking with Kids

12/10/2020

The holidays are a perfect time to get kids cooking! When children help out in the kitchen, they develop important skills they will use for the rest of their lives. It can also help kids learn to choose healthy meals and snacks. In this month's blog, we breakdown tasks that are appropriate for kids at all age levels (with adult supervision, of course) and easy holiday recipes to make together as a family. Keep reading to learn more!

Before You Get Started

Start simple. Make recipes with a few steps until you learn what your child can do.
Know your kid. Adjust the tasks you assign based on your child's skills. Only you will know when your child is ready to use adult knives, the oven, and stove.
Supervise. Make sure kids know the rules for safety from the start. Only allow children to cook with an adult around.

Be patient. Avoid taking over tasks. Give children time to learn and make mistakes. Let them master simple tasks before moving on to complex ones.

Have fun! Things are sure to get messy, but that's OK. Enjoy this time together as a family.

Kids 2 years old and younger can:

Watch you cook from some place safe (highchair, playpen, or bouncer)
Play with plastic measuring cups, spoons, and containers
Learn to say the names and colors of foods
Smell foods and taste small amounts of foods safe for young children
Scoop and pour dry ingredients like dried beans and rice

Kids 3 - 5 years old can:

Wash fresh fruits and vegetables
Tear, snap, or break foods
Pluck fruits and leaves from stems
Help stir ingredients in a bowl like in this Sweet and Salty Trail Mix
Arrange foods on a plate
Peel oranges and bananas for Banana Bread or Chocolate Dipped Bananas
Squeeze juice from citrus fruits to make Fruit Dip
Use a cookie cutter
Help set the table for dinner
Scrape and rinse plates

Kids 6 - 8 years old can:

Read a recipe
Measure ingredients
Crack and beat eggs
Peel fruits and veggies for recipes like Simple Roasted Carrots
Grate cheese and vegetables
Mash foods like potatoes for Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes or apples for Applesauce
Scoop batter to make muffins like these Blueberry Muffins
Cut soft foods with a plastic or dull butter knife
Dry and put away dishes

Kids 9 - 13 years old can:

Open cans to make these delicious Dark Chocolate Black Bean Brownies
Use electric tools like blenders and mixers
Drain cooked pasta or veggies in a colander like in this Green Beans with Tomatoes and Basil
Remove trays from the oven using oven mitts
Work with small paring knives to cut foods like collards for our Smothered Greens
Wash dishes by hand or load a dishwasher

When all other skills are mastered, let your child:

Follow recipes and make simple meals by themselves
Cook on a stove top with medium heat to make recipes like Homemade Eggnog

Remember: Every child is different! Yours may be ahead of or behind these suggestions. You know your child best.

Want More Information?

Find more kid friendly kitchen tasks from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Get healthy, budget friendly Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa recipes from SNAP-Ed Connection
Read our 7 healthy holiday swaps and 10 healthy baking hacks for tips to make your family's favorite holiday foods a little bit healthier.

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Easy Tips for Feeding Picky Eaters on a Budget

9/26/2019

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If you have a picky young eater in your family, you are not alone. Children often resist eating healthy foods once they get a taste for sweets or fun foods like mac & cheese, pizza, or chicken nuggets. But, you CAN help them form healthy eating habits with a little patience! Here are four tips to help your picky eater eat well while you spend less.

Tip 1 - Let Kids Help

Everyone enjoys a little independence and the freedom to choose. This is especially true for young children who are just learning how to ask for what they need and want. By allowing your little ones to help you with meal planning and cooking, you give them confidence and teach them important life skills.

Start in the store by letting your child pick out different fruits and vegetables to try. Use this MyPlate Grocery Store Bingo Game (PDF) to get them excited and to keep them occupied.
Give them an easy task at mealtime, like washing the fruits or veggies, or setting the table. Remind them how important they are to the family and how much you appreciate their help.

Tip 2 - Make Simple, Fun Meals

Kids generally prefer mild flavors and meals with simple ingredients. And of course, they want things to be fun. You can make meals more hands-on by creating food stations. Prep basic ingredients and put them on the counter (or the table) where your child can fill their own plate. Try to include each of the five food groups of MyPlate, so that you are sure they are getting plenty of nutrients.

Here are some “make your own” meal ideas that kids love:

Taco Bar – Cook up a protein like beans, grilled chicken, ground turkey, or lean beef, and serve along with chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, shredded carrots, grated low fat cheese and whole grain taco shells or tortillas. For more adventurous kids, offer black olives, salsa, avocado, or chopped onions.

Build Your Own Pizzas – Serve whole grain pitas, English muffins, or whole wheat flour tortillas, along with tomato sauce and grated low fat cheese. Suggest your child make a face on their pizza using chopped veggies (canned mushrooms, black olives, green or red peppers, or onions work great).

Dinner Dipping – Kids love to dip! Assemble a tray of cut up proteins (such as chicken, sliced hard boiled egg, or deli turkey); mild vegetables like cucumbers, baby carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes (cut in half to prevent choking); and let your kids dip in salad dressing, honey mustard sauce, hummus or a bean dip. Follow up with apple slices or cut banana with yogurt Fruit Dip for dessert. [Find healthy Dip Recipes here]

Mix-It-Up Oatmeal Jars – Oatmeal is an inexpensive whole grain. Prepare using milk for extra nutrients, and then let your child top it with fruit and nuts and a drizzle of honey* for sweetness. Serve in mason jars or in your child’s favorite glass to make it even more fun. [*Do not give honey to children under 1 year of age.]

Fruit Yogurt Parfaits or Yogurt Banana Split – Nonfat, plain yogurt is great any time of day. Pair it with whole grain cereal and healthy toppings like nuts and dried, fresh, or canned chopped fruit. Kids will love being able to build their own layered parfait or a healthy banana split as a meal.

Tip 3 - Serve Water or Milk

This is a biggie! Water is the BEST drink for kids. It’s inexpensive, it won’t cause cavities, and it has no calories. Milk is also a healthy option because it has calcium and vitamin D which are important for healthy bones and teeth.

Soda and other drinks with sugar can lead to unhealthy weight gain and painful cavities. Juice may seem like a healthy choice, but it is actually too high in natural sugars. If you are trying to get your child to stop drinking juice or soda, you can begin by diluting it with water so that their taste buds can adjust. Or serve one of our 5 Flavored Water Choices.

Did you know?
Soda has as much sugar as ice cream!

Watch the video to learn more:

Tip 4 - Try, Try, Try Again

It can be expensive to make meals that your child won’t eat – and frustrating too! So start by offering small amounts of new foods with foods they already enjoy. For example, serve chicken nuggets with carrot sticks – another finger food that can be fun.

Or, try adding veggies in new ways. Cooked broccoli and cauliflower have a much milder flavor than the raw versions, and they can be blended into soups and mashed potatoes. This helps children get used to their taste. "Hiding" vegetables in other foods gives your child more nutrients, but it won't help them develop the healthy habit of choosing fruits and vegetables on their own. So, try not to rely on that trick all of the time.

Don’t be discouraged if your child refuses new foods. Research has shown that sometimes it takes 7-10 tries before a child will accept and learn to like a new food. Your patience will pay off.

Make Mac & Cheese more nutritious by adding peas, chopped broccoli, or shredded carrots.

Feeding a family, even picky members, does not need to cost a lot. Fill your cart with items from our Budget Pantry, and check out our Grocery Shopping Blogs for more tips on making the most economical choices.

More Help for Feeding Kids

Kid-Friendly Veggies & Fruits – 10 Tips for Making Healthy Foods More Fun for Children (English PDF, Spanish PDF)
MyPlate Snack Tips for Parents – (English PDF, Spanish PDF)

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After School Snacks for $5 at the Farmers Market

9/11/2017

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Summer is almost over. It makes me sad just typing that. But this means... the kids are BACK IN SCHOOL! What are you going to feed those (always) hungry mouths after school? The good news is, farmers markets have tons of fresh fruits and veggies right now. And you know lots of markets will DOUBLE your SNAP dollars, right? Cha-ching.

In honor of our love for farmers markets and school being in full-swing (and our need for healthy snacks), I present to you...

...A week of after-school snacks for 2 kids with $5 at the farmers market. Be sure to choose a market that DOUBLES your SNAP dollars! (Find Connecticut Farmers Markets here.) If your kids will eat a plain piece of fruit or vegetable for a snack, you rock. And they rock. And your grocery list will be much shorter and cheaper. But because many won't, we have to use a few grocery staples for these as well. Still a pretty good deal for a week of fun, healthy, and EASY snacks.

Here is what you'll need:

From the market:

2 bell peppers
1 tomato
1 peach
1 pear
2 cucumbers
4 apples
1 head of garlic (just 1 clove)

From the grocery or your pantry:

shredded cheese (¼ cup)
plain, nonfat Greek yogurt (1 cup)
lemon (½)
tortilla (1 flour, whole wheat)
sugar (½ tablespoon)
cinnamon (2 teaspoons)
dill (1 teaspoon dry)
oil/cooking spray

And here is your menu:

Bell Pepper Pizzas

The kids will be much more excited about veggies if it looks like pizza. BONUS: The kids can put these together themselves!

Ingredients:
2 bell peppers, 1 tomato, shredded cheese

Apple Chips

These are a fun (MUCH healthier) twist on potato chips. Check out how easy they are!

Ingredients:
2 apples, cinnamon

Fruit Cups

Slice up any 3 pieces of fruit to make a quick fruit cup. Try apple, pear, and peach... or apple, peach, and plum!

Ingredients:
1 apple, 1 pear, 1 peach (or plum)

Apple Cinnamon Pockets

These pockets are tasty enough for dessert, but healthy and easy enough for a snack! (Cut this recipe in half for just two kids.)

Ingredients:
1 apple, 1 tortilla, cinnamon, sugar, cooking spray

Greek Cucumber Yogurt Dip

If kids were in charge, "dip" would be a food group. This cucumber yogurt dip is a tasty AND healthy choice.

Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, lemon (juice), garlic, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, dill

Hungry for more? Check out our other snacks here:

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Growing your food: No yard? No problem!

5/8/2017

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Growing your own food is a fun way to save money and get you (and your kids!) eating healthier. No room for a lush garden in your backyard? Or no backyard at all? Don't let that keep you from planting! "Container gardens" are easy to care for and work in just about any space. Follow these steps to get started: