Making Food Fun

I will be the first to say I am not the best mom when it comes to feeding Ruthie healthy food but I can say I do try. Some days better then others. We tend to get in food ruts, this includes us eating the same things for a couple days in a row. What kid wouldn't get sick of ham and cheese slices daily?

Ruthie is a great eater and will eat almost anything I put in front of her. I have noticed however that some days she eats more then others or some days likes something and the next claims to not like it by pushing it to the side of her tray.

With that being said I have come to conclusion that I am a firm believer that its the way food is presented to her that really determines if she's going to eat a lot of it or not. I have a few examples to share with you and perhaps they'll work with your kiddos. I've noticed, Ruthie eats more when the food is fun.

Breakfast: For a while there we were stuck on a two egg and piece of toast diet. But 1. Two eggs per morning puts you at more then a dozen a week, which can get pretty expensive. 2. That's just boring & I found Ruthie eat less every morning.

So to solve that I cooked up what I like to call candied french toast. I'll take one egg beat and add a little milk to make it go farther. Then I will cook up one piece of french toast. I then cut the french toast up into little squares and then put them in her bowl and toss them with JUST enough syrup to candy coat them. I then take the left over egg batter and scramble up some eggs and put them in another bowl beside her. Let me tell you breakfast has never been so easy. I know she likes it because its gone before it can make it to her hair! I really think its the candied french toast, she just picks them up and pops them in her mouth and replys with a mmmMMmmm. And that makes up for an easy clean up! That's just one of the breakfast options I have found to make breakfast time a little easier.

As for lunch or dinner or supper (whatever you like to call it, my brother in law Tim could talk hours about that topic but we'll just leave it at that)

Just a few things I have noticed.

Celery: If I gave her a stick of celery she would continue to suck and string it apart eating practically none if. But it I cut it up and dice it she pops them in her mouth and loves to hear them crunch!

Sandwiches: These are a big struggle. Apparently to her two slices of bread with something in between means pull apart the bread and lick both sides and leave the bread on the tray. But I did find and try this grilled cheese roll ups on pinterest and they actually worked. Rather then pulling it apart she just bit off the roll. They were fun and delicious I might add, I had to try a couple too.

Have any good meals or tips that help your kiddos eat more at a meal? Please share!!