Recipes for Picky Eaters

It seems every household has one - one of those picky eaters who won't eat the good, healthy foods you put before them.  Sometimes it is an adult, but most picky eaters are children.  Many children turn up their noses at the good foods that will help them grow up healthy and strong.  They don't realize or care what their body's needs are.  They only care about what tastes good and what is appealing to them.

There are many causes for children to become picky eaters. It isn't always just the taste of the foods that turn some kids off.  There are other factors involved. It could be they don't like the color of the food they are eating - whether it is a green vegetable or a red fruit.  Some children turn away from a food just because of its color.

Other picky eaters rebel against the texture of foods.  They don't like crunchy foods, or they won't eat mushy foods.  Texture can be an important issue for some picky eaters.

Some kids don't want their foods touching each other on a plate.  They won't eat anything that touches another food.  In this instance, it is a good idea to buy partitioned dishes to serve these picky eaters.

If you want to get your picky eaters to eat healthy, there are many recipes that can help you with this.  You need to find recipes that will tempt your picky eaters into eating the right foods to help them grow up healthy and strong...and ones that they won't make a big fuss about eating.  As a parent, you will probably have to try many different recipes in order to provide your children with a healthy diet.

Here are a couple of recipes you may want to try: 

Roasted Honey Garlic Chickpeas and Popcorn
1 15 oz. can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP. melted butter
1 TBSP. honey
1 cup regular popping corn

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the chick peas between two paper towels and pat dry, loosening the outer skin. Remove the outer skins and pat dry to remove any other excess water. In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter and garlic powder. Add the chick peas and coat well. Place on a baking sheet. Roast for 40 minutes. 6. Remove the chick peas from the oven, place in a glass bowl and toss with 1 TBSP. of honey. Place back in the oven and roast for an additional 7 minutes. Cool completely and add in popped popcorn. Stir to combine and serve.

This recipe combines healthy vegetables (tomatoes and carrots) that kids will love…and they’ll never notice the vegetables in the sauce.

Zucchini Apple Dessert Loaf
1 cup grated zucchini
1 tart apples (like Granny Smith)
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1.2 tsp. salt
½ cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup chopped walnuts
Topping:
¼ cup rolled cooking oats
¼ cup coconut
2 TBSP. brown sugar
2 TBSP. melted butter

Preheat oven to 395 degrees F. Prepare a loaf pan by coating it with non-stick cooking spray and dusting it with a bit of flour. Combine zucchini and apple in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients for the cake (except for the walnuts). Process until smooth. Add in the chopped walnut and stir in. Spoon batter into loaf pan. Combine topping ingredients in a bowl and stir together. Press topping mixture on top of batter in loaf pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

The above recipes are taken from The Picky Eaters website.  Visit there for more tips and ideas on how to feed your picky eaters.