We’ve gotten to the age where Henry eats pretty much the same things that we do. Three cheers for lots of teeth! When I have a peanut butter sandwich, he has a peanut butter sandwich. When I have rice and beans, he has rice and beans. We still have to be careful about choking hazards, of course, and many things must still be boiled or sliced very thin so that he can safety chew the food. But overall, his diet looks like a lot like mine.
Well, I’ll admit it… his diet is probably a bit healthier than mine. 🙂
Every day, my goal is to fill Henry’s tummy with a variety of healthy foods. It can be challenging to convince a toddler to eat fruits, veggies, and protein.
But here’s my secret… He will always eat what’s on his plate when I make food pictures. I know, I know. This is such a dorky mom thing to do, but I love dreaming up snack scenes and food animals for him. And he loves eating my creations!
For example – he’d never eat these veggies if they weren’t in flower form!
Boiled red and orange pepper flowers
Hummus drop centers
Steamed spinach leaves and grass
Click through to see Henry’s other beautiful snack creations!
Cheese and clementine sun
Cucumber and raspberry face
Udi’s toast with peanut butter for the trunk
Thinly sliced green apple palm fronds
Cheese ground
French toast people (made with a gingerbread cookie cutter)
Raspberry hats
Chocolate + craisin faces
Apple ground
Cheese and cucumber truck
Carrot ground
Boiled orange pepper sun
Hummus toast cat
Cucumber and carrot face
Banana and carrot caterpillar with carrot feet
Raspberry and chocolate face
Buttered toast face
Clementine ears, grape eyes, boiled red pepper smile
Egg hair
It takes a bit more work to make food pictures, but it’s really fun to see his expression as he realizes that he’s eating a palm tree for snack. Totally worth it when he eats the whole thing, too!
What challenges do you face when convincing your toddler or kid to eat healthy foods? Any tips or tricks to share with other moms?
Learn more about living gluten free! Visit Udi’s Gluten Free. This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Udi’s Gluten Free. The opinions and text are all mine.
Love the buttered toast face!!! Some ingenious ideas…definitely something to try out! My little niece, now five, was a god send when she was a toddler, she’d try anything and ended up liking most things. She’s got a bit more attitude now and knows her own mind but thankfully she’ll try most things. Starting young and letting them use their hands to touch and feel the food and explore it is so key!