4 Tips to Make Healthy Food Fun for Your Kids

Food - even healthy food - can be fun for the whole family!

At Natural Turf, we no only care about the health of your lawn, but also the health of your family.  So, we found this great article from PBS Kids about making healthy food fun for your kids...and the whole family.  We've got little ones, too.  Bon appetit!

PBS Kids has always been a great resource for me as a parent and as a teacher. I’ve had my son use the website for homework; I’ve researched recipes and ideas for blog articles and links for resources.  With September National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and the fact that I have two picky eaters I found these tips from PBS kids on making healthy food fun to eat very relevant and helpful.

Play games
Even a trip to the grocery store can be an opportunity for play. Ask young children to help find fruits and vegetables that start with the first letter of their name. You may find that Abigail starts liking apples and that Ben suddenly starts eating bananas. Once you get home from the store, let children sort the foods by color or texture.

Make it a costume party
Dress up familiar food with fancy packaging. Make a Dino Dessert by transforming a slice of watermelon into a stegosaurus with the help of some spike-shaped strawberry halves. Use vegetables cut in different shapes to make a Funny Face Pizza with lots of personality. Even ordinary sandwiches can become robots, trains, hearts, or other favorite shapes when you shape them with cookie cutters.

Rename it
A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but the same can’t be said about kids’ foods. Give each thing you serve a funny name and watch it disappear. Kids who turn up their noses at melons may be won over by fruit skewers if you call them Rainbow Ribbons. Some children like funny names, others prefer gross names. Use your child’s own interests as your guide in naming your concoctions. Serve wagon wheel pasta to little ones who love transportation, and princess pillows (a.k.a. ravioli) to those who love to play with dolls.

Decorate the table
Atmosphere is everything, but your kids probably aren’t looking for candlelit tables and fine china. Instead make their food more attractive by using colored plates, crazy straws, funny placemats, and party favors.


Tell us your tips!
These are fun, huh?  We'd love to hear some of your tips to make healthy food fun!  I'm sure all our readers could use a headstart...in giving our kids a headstart to health.