Today on No Whine Wednesday, we’re really excited to host the Meal Makeover Moms, Liz and Janice. I met these lovely ladies at BlogHer in August and they were diligently working on a collection of recipes for picky eaters for their book cleverly titled No Whine With Dinner. I thought a giveaway with their cookbook would be a perfect fit for No Whine Wednesday!
Picky Eater Pointers and a Recipe for Quesadillas
By: Liz Weiss, MS, RD and Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD
Authors, No Whine With Dinner
Food blog: Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen
In a perfect world, every child would eat a well-balanced diet overflowing with fruits and vegetables and whole grains. But in reality, most children fall short of the daily recommendations. Even though we’re dietitians and cookbook authors, we too have weathered eye rolls, yucks, and even the devastating “that’s gross.’’
The advice that’s most often given to entice kids to eat well can be highly effective: Eat together as a family; model good eating habits; offer new foods over and over again; and maintain a positive attitude at the dinner table. That said, if this advice worked 100 percent of the time, supermarkets would be hard pressed to keep spinach and broccoli on their shelves and moms across America would be a lot less stressed during mealtime.
In the summer of 2009, we sent a survey to our online community of moms to gauge their greatest mealtime challenges and find out how they promoted healthy eating. From the nearly 600 people who took the survey, we learned that the number one obstacle to getting children to eat healthy, well-balanced meals is “picky eaters who whine and complain.” That kernel of feedback from so many moms inspired us to write our new cookbook, No Whine with Dinner . In it, we serve up 150 kid-approved recipes and 50 moms’ secrets for getting kids — picky, adventurous, or anywhere in between — to try new foods.
Here’s a sneak preview of some of the tips featured in our book:
- Valerie, mother of George, age 4 says, “We gave our son his own apron, chef’s hat, and bought some age-appropriate kitchen tools. Having him help in the kitchen gets him excited to try his own creations!”
- Lisa, mother of Taylor, age 3, Jackson, age 5 and Anthony, age 8 suggests, “Each of my children has to ‘eat their age’ in bites, which means that Anthony has to have at least eight bites, Jackson, five bites, and Taylor, three bites.”
All of the recipes in the book were tested by moms and tasted by kids. We have so many favorites in the book, but this one for Quick Apple Sausage Quesadillas seemed like a great one to share. It’s chockfull of veggies – sautéed bits of red bell pepper and sweet corn kernels – and it’s versatile. You could easily swap the bell pepper for a shredded carrot or a finely diced zucchini and the barbecue sauce for salsa. Best of all, it’s always a hit with our kids!
Quick Apple Sausage Quesadillas
Makes 5 Servings
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice (about 1 ½ cups)
2 fully cooked apple chicken sausages, casings removed and meat coarsely chopped
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
Five 8-inch flour tortillas, preferably whole wheat
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the sausage, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. In a bowl, stir together the cooked bell pepper and sausage, cheese, corn kernels, and barbecue sauce. Spread the mixture evenly over half of each tortilla. Fold over, press down gently, and set aside.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat (you may want to wipe out the skillet first). Add 2 of the quesadillas and cook, pressing down occasionally with a spatula, until the bottoms are crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Flip them, and cook until the other sides are golden, about 2 minutes.
4. Repeat with the remaining oil and quesadillas. Cut into halves or quarters and serve.
Nutrition Information per Serving: 320 calories, 15g fat (3.5g saturated, 0.5g omega-3), 710mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 17g protein, 35% vitamin A, 100% vitamin C, 20% calcium
To celebrate the launch of our new cookbook, we are giving away an autographed copy of No Whine with Dinner. The giveaway ends on November 7, so hurry up and enter! We’ll pick our winner using Random.org.
To enter, post a comment with your best, most creative tip for encouraging everyone in your family (spouses included) to eat a super-nutritious diet … happily. For a second entry, post a tip on the Food on the Table’s Facebook page. After the giveaway ends, we’ll take some of your tips and tricks and add them to our new Picky Eater Makeover page. Good luck, and we look forward to hearing from you.
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42 Comments until now
I love to secretly add veggies to my meatloaf and meatballs… shredded carrots, zucchini, mushrooms… No one ever knows the difference and it tastes wonderful and MOIST!!
We try to make eating vegetables fun. My son is anti-healthy. He will not eat, or even try, vegetables or fruits. So, when he tastes it, even with just the tip of his tongue, we cheer like he just won first place in a competition. This encourages him to just go a bit further to eat a bit more, even if he doesn’t finish it.
Hey, our recipes are sorta similar! Your quesadillas sound delicious! I’ve never had apple chicken sausage, I’ll look for it.
I shred, chop very fine or puree vegetables and add them to recipies. They are so small no one knows they are eating them and it adds nutrition to many dishes.
[...] forget about the No Whine With Dinner Cookbook Giveaway through November [...]
My kids love noodles so I make a simple stir fry with any leftover meat from a previous night and add tons of veggies and seasoning. The kids sometimes complain when I serve vegetables by themselves but never do when I make it this way!
I like to let the kids either grow their own veggies or fruit to pick fresh in the summer….or to pick their own at the store. This seems to make them LIKE trying new things!
Forgot to add my tip! I just posted about it on my dieting blog. I like to leave a veggie tray on the counter in the afternoons. My kids will pick at it and end up eating a LOT of veggies and they won’t be constantly asking for crackers and stuff. If I were to ASK them if they want some veggies, there is no way, but just leaving a plate on the counter totally works! I homeschool all 3 of my kids so they are home all day! Thanks!
Do not keep unhealthy snacks and junk in the house ever. Prepare beautiful looking platters or bowls of fruit. Just make it pretty they will start picking at it before you even have to offer it to them.
We love to make our own “fried” rice and add tons of extra veggies; good green onions, carrots, broccoli, whatever’s in the fridge!! It’s so yummy and much more healthy too!
Make a game out of it. I have my kids pretend they are animals eating vegetation in the wild. Ex. Pretend raw spinach is leaves from the trees and the “dinosaurs” have to come and eat them.
I lead by example! I just keep offering veggies, fruits, etc… If I eat it, my picky 5 year old will at least give it a try! Plus I let the kids help me prepare the food. Getting them interested in picking food out and preparing it helps teach them healthy habits early!
If I set up dinner so that we serve ourselves off the stove or the counter, my hubby will never get the veggies to put on his plate, but if I act just a bit more generous and prepare my hubby’s plate for him, I can heap veggies onto his plate and he’ll eat them right up! If I’m kind and serve him his plate already fixed up, he’s happy to eat whatever is on it! Plus, it’s a great opportunity to be kind to my hubby in an easy way.
Low-fat or fat-free sour cream is my “magic” ingredient that I add to almost any casserole, veggie or main dish to make it extra-yummy so the kiddos will eat it.
I do the same as others have posted: I snack on fruit and veggies so my son can see it, then he wants some too. We leave out fresh veggies and home-made ranch dip over the wknd. We tell him junk food is indeed, junk food, and only a “treat” and “lacking nutritional value.” Hahah some day he’ll understand what we’re talking about. I also have him help prepare food. We’ve also cut out juice and chocolate milk. The only choices now are plain milk or water.
I try to incorporate veggies into meals through puree, as well as have my toddler assist with preparing the meal. If he’s stirred or poured or assisted in any way, he’s more likely to want to eat his creation!
Make an assembly line, everyone has to take at least one spoonful at each one. when they get in the habit of doing this they fight it less.
I think one of the best ways to encourage your family to eat healthy is to consistently make healthy meals and snacks for them to eat. My children are both under the age of 3, so they will grow up with only a knowledge of healthy, nutritious foods. Of course, there is moderation in all things, we like our chocolate cake and ice cream, but overall, our meals and snacks are consistently healthy.
I have snuck purees into recipes with success! Fools even the mister! Making the purees adds an extra step, though.
I pretty much have to sneak those “yucky” (healthy) foods into everything. Once they realize they like the food, I tell them what’s in it, and then they’re way more open to trying other foods, too! Although, it doesn’t always work out for every food (like onions…)
Oh how I wish I had some words of wisdom here! This is a huge struggle for us, and I’m going to try the puree route for sure!! Would love the cookbook!!
If You eat heathy food first, You naturally don’t eat too much of the other stuff, but You can still have if. If You get 20-30 minutes excersise 2-3 times a week and eat until You are satisfied, first the healthiest stuff, You can’t go wrong. I got to my goal weight this way. I added the regular excersie after the baby and my whole appetite changed. I lost more than I gained through the pregnancy, 20lbs more. I have found it just has to be a life style change, or it will all come back, as far a unwanted weight. It is worth it to have a regular habbit of easy cardio and to eat the healthy stuff first.
Oh Ya for the kids to want to eat healthy, wow what world am I in?, I just give rewards for good aditudes and eating well and consequesces for not. With each child ofcourse the consequeces are different, what actually matter’s to them.
I take one of our tried-and-true family favorites and then see how I can make it healthier. For example, replacing ground beef with ground turkey or baking instead of frying.
I use several strategies – sneak it in (finely dice, puree, depending on the food), continue to offer it (familiarity makes it easier to say ‘yes’), and grow it in a garden.
I like to include my kids in the meal planning and shopping. For every request for something not-so-heathly they have to choose something good for them. That way there are not surprises and everyone gets something that they like!!
Kids like to dip and eat finger, snack type foods. Make your own healthy versions of fast food like chicken fingers, sweet potato oven baked fries and assorted veggies and fruits with a yogurt or cheese dip. Have fun with the presentation and involve them in the prep. Model good eating habits yourself.
I get them to help prepare the foods, if they grade the carrots they will be excited to eat them. And usually eat some why grading them too!
Pumpkin puree!
The first time I used it, I made a delicious cake where I used the puree instead of oil and eggs. It was a huge hit, so I confessed that it had pumpkin in it. The next night, I made spaghetti, using pumpkin in the sauce….same thing. I continued “sneaking it in” and then confessing a few times like that before they were excited to try guessing when I’d put the mystery ingredient in it.
My son is also anti-vegetable, but I’ve done a compromise for many things. One example: he loves macaroni & cheese, but I’ve always thought it’s too fatty for not enough nutritious gain. So, now I’ve told him he can have mac & cheese, but he has to put chopped spinach into it. It’s a win-win – it doesn’t change the flavor that much & it’s much healthier.
Also, I’ve been hiding vegetables in food for at least 15 years — long before Jessica Seinfeld!
I roast veggies. It brings out the sweetness and makes them tender enough for my 2 year old to eat easily.
I put spinach in my lasagna and stuffed shells. There’s so much other stuff going on, they don’t mind.
Also, use spaghetti squash in place of pasta. It really works!
I have the kids help plan the meal and prepare it.
My daughter is having the challenge of getting her my granddaughter to get her veggies; but I found some receipes where she would puree the veggies and it to the batter and she would never know the difference, but she is getting her vitamins.
I try to reserve new meals for time when we can cook together, it helps everyone feel invested in the meal and helps get everyone hungry for dinner. Also…once dinner is in the prep stage NO snacking (that one is hard for my hubby)!!
We have a one-bite rule for new foods, but I don’t push if he give it the yuck face. He’s surprised me a few times by not liking avocado but loving asparagus! I make veggies fun, like broccoli are ‘trees’ and he is the giant who eats all the leaves. Green beans we bought at the farmer’s market, I let him snap the ends and wash them. He was excited to eat them later because he helped. I found the more I try to force it, the more he fights it.
I usually end up making tomato sauce with an assortment of vegetables (zucchini, squash, tomatoes, spinach, etc plus a can of reg. Tomato sauce) and pureeing it and my son never knows the difference. I use the same purée in meatloaf as well instead of ketchup.
Julienne veggies such as zuchinni, squash or other hard veggies – steam until fork tender and serve with favorite pasta sauce. Save on the calories of pasta and sneak more veggies in!
I have 20 g-kids, yeah the boat load.. we have the rule, you can choose 1 thing..white bread, wheat bread, 7 grain bread, etc,, or what kind of cheese you want, then everyone gets 1 TBLS of everything else..
usually no complaints, the kids feel like they have some choice.
They have to eat what is on their plate, but they can have more of anything else after that is gone
janei (Grandmother Hubbard.)
Use FRESH, HIGH QAULITY fruits and vegetable makes a huge difference.
I add veggies to things I know they already like. One of our favorites – adding roasted broccoli to mac and cheese. I roast the broccoli in the oven and then chop it super small. Both my boys gobble up with broccoli with the mac and cheese. It works with lots of combinations…
My kids love fruit so I keep a big bowl of it on the kitchen table. When it is out in the open, they are much more likely to want to eat it as a snack or with a meal than if it is tucked away in the fridge, freezer or pantry.
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