Kid Friendly Foods...Idle Chat

[htc]

I've noticed that a lot of recipes that are "kid friendly" tend to be what I think of as junk food. Only because it uses a lot of processed foods. I keep wondering why this is...I wonder if the general masses think that kids don't have a refined palate, so you can toss them anything and they'll be satisfied??

I find myself looking on websites and in cookbooks for kid friendly foods, then end up substituting ingredients or modifying the recipe to make it more wholesome.

 

[luvs]

i'm not a Mommy, but i've baby-sat for years and i've found that the little guys like macaroni and cheese, chicken noodle soup, cheese sandwiches.... lunchables were a nice change-up from the usuals.... i used to say, 'what do you guys want for dinner?' and the answers were more often than not something very basic. i know as a little girl i loved pop-tarts, grilled cheeses, peanut butter and jelly..... although i did love lobsters and fine cuts of meat, i guess i didn't really give them very much thought.

 

[urmaniac13]

The early education on food is very essential and the eating habit of the parents hugely affect the small children. This question made me think of Guido, Cristiano's youngest (6) and he is just the most difficult kid in the whole world when it comes to eating. And what is usually assumed as "kid friendly" items (as htc described) almost never work for him. Among the few things he eats (aside from gobs of nutella) are tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers and some fruits like strawberries, peaches, bananas and melons. But he REFUSES to eat them when they are transformed and fancied up in some cooked dish. He only eats them raw and by themselves (well in case of potatoes, either boiled or french fried). He became like this partially because his mother became less enthused with cooking and she did as little as possible with the food (like simply boiling the potato or slicing the tomato) and gave it to the children. In a way it is much better than being accustomed to processed/prepackaged food with loads of additives, and you learn to appreciate what each food really taste like. But sometimes I wish he would try something a little more "interesting" to eat. I don't think I will ever have a children myself, but this is one thing that intrigues me, how would I give a "taste bud" education to a child.

 

[Ishbel]

My family travelled round the world with us. They ate what we ate - when in Greece, they tried greek cheeses, olives, lamb dishes etc. In Italy, pasta. In the Middle East - anything that we felt was tasty for us, we'd let them try. We always just gave them whatever we were having. Never had a problem with them!

What they NEVER had was tinned and processed foods. Worked for our family, my children are totally unfussy eaters, who would always TRY something, even if they then said 'I don't like the taste of ..... (insert an ingredient here!)

I remember once, a schoolfriend of my daughter came to play after school and have 'tea'. I didn't know the little girl (they were about 8) and said 'I've made Spaghetti bolognese' for you both, is that OK?' She said that it was - it was one of her favourites, but she only liked brown spaghetti. 'OK' I said 'I've got wholewheat spaghetti, I'll make that for you'.

I dished up portions, put it on the dining table. I could see that the little girl was just spreading the pasta and sauce around the bowl. 'I thought you liked wholewheat pasta' I said. 'Not like this stuff' she said. I asked what her mum gave her as spaghetti bolognese. 'Oh, it's in little bits and its brown, not red, and comes in a tin'.... She meant HEINZ tinned spaghetti bolognese!

 

[urmaniac13]

She meant HEINZ tinned spaghetti bolognese!

Oh horrors... and I really feel pity for those american kids who know only chef boyardee...(Ishbel they are just the same thing as the heinz stuff...) like what is so difficult about making a little bowl of pasta with nice spiced up tomato sauce why would anyone have to go for the stuff in the tin? See, I really think one of the big problems about the eating habit of the children stem from their parents....

 

[Constance]

I run into that with my grandson's friends all the time, Ishbel. Most of them have grown up on Pizza, McDonalds, Taco Bell and the like. One night I fixed a lovely seafood Alfredo, with crabmeat and big shrimp, and his friend wouldn't even touch it, nor the salad.
We've exposed our boy to all sorts of good foods ever since we took him in at 3 years old. Before that, he had never sat down at a table to eat, and his diet consisted of bread & butter, a cup of cold green beans, mac & cheese or dry cereal, or a cold hot dog...always eaten on the run. By the time we got him, he was half-starved, so he ate anything I put in front of him.
Now he'll eat anything except brussels sprouts and cooked carrots. He loves brown bread, because I showed him the soldier on the Roman Meal bread wrapper and told him it was "Soldier Bread". He likes anything with rice, because I told him it was "Ninja food."
All that said...he still likes junk food...hot dogs, macaroni & cheese, pizza...must be a kid thing. To tell you the truth, I crave it myself upon occasion.

 

[mrsmac]

My oldest daughter likes very plain foods and is not very adventurous whereas my youngest is much more likely to try new things. Miss 5 eats prawns, raw mushrooms, camenbert cheese and a wide variety of foods. We went to an icecream shop the other day with lots of other kids and whilst they were asking for chocolate Erin politely asked for lemon sorbet!!!

 

[urmaniac13]

My oldest daughter likes very plain foods and is not very adventurous whereas my youngest is much more likely to try new things. Miss 5 eats prawns, raw mushrooms, camenbert cheese and a wide variety of foods. We went to an icecream shop the other day with lots of other kids and whilst they were asking for chocolate Erin politely asked for lemon sorbet!!!

Cool kid!! I would like to invite her to our dinner any time!!

 

[Barbara L]

I read this today at iwon.com and thought it was interesting:

Weight problems are not just genetic, according to the department of pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Pediatricians reported in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics that children who eat too much and too quickly are responding to signals from their mothers. When they videotaped 77 children, there was a clear association between how fast and how much the child ate, and the comments and signs they were getting from their mothers.
After all, remarks like "finish everything on your plate," and actions such as serving seconds without being asked, don't always instill the healthiest choice.

Barbara

 

[mrsmac]

Cool kid!! I would like to invite her to our dinner any time!!

I'll post her over she likes Italian!