Okay, I did my research (can you say pinterest addict?) and pulled together a bunch of ideas for dealing with picky eaters and combined them with my own ideas for a successful transition. There are about a billion pins on pinterest on this subject and I spent way too long weeding through them for ideas that would work for us. But now I have a plan for success!
So... how are we going to stick to our real food paleo lifestyle and make it work when we don't (yet) love meat and veggies and are still craving our favorite grains and dairy products??
Here's our plan:
1. Make the food fun! This one is for the kids especially. Use cookie cutters for fun shaped veggies or lunch meats, build snowmen out of meatballs, make faces on our plates (olive eyes, carrot mouth, etc), use silly names (ants on a log, broccoli tree), and actually let them play with their food.
2. Make the food flavorful! Plain meat and veggies is less than appealing. Make it cravable! Dip it, dunk it, dress it or douse it in something delicious. Because I'm not going to eat it if it doesn't taste good. If it's boring I will choose something else and so will the kids. Buy or make up some spice seasoning mixes (lots of good ones in my paleo cookbooks). Try a ton of different dressing recipes. Make new dips every couple days and try them with different types of veggie sticks or fruit or plantain chips or sweet potato chips or kale chips. Crunchy snacks, salty goodies, etc.
3. Drink it. Smoothies, fresh juices, kefirs, teas, hot drinks, lattes, shakes, etc... There are tons of amazing paleo drink recipes available. Elana's Pantry has some delicious ones, The Spunky Coconut does as well.
4. Get the kids involved in the kitchen. Have them help me with dinner
and lunch each day. Get them their own kitchen tools like knives and
cutting boards and colanders. Have them look at cookbooks with me and
plan some meals. Let them crack eggs and measure and pour and stir even
if it is messy and even if it takes ten times as long to get it done.
Teach them to serve food, to warm things up in the toaster oven or stove top,
etc.
5. Have a plate to share. This idea was in Sarah Fragoso's Everyday Paleo Family cookbook. Have a plate on the table with a new food or two that everyone can try instead of putting it on everyone's plate.
6. Don't insist that they (or you) finish their food or eat anything specific. Don't make it into a battle. Choose what will be served, and let the picky eaters decide if or how much they will eat. Just don't become a short order cook and make them something different an hour after dinner is over if they did not eat. Put the plate in the fridge till later if they don't want to eat at meal time. Let the kids serve themselves.
7. Put dessert on the table at dinner with the rule that everyone needs to eat a healthy balance of protein and veggies before they get dessert. Or the rule that everyone must try each food on their plate. Choose nutrient packed desserts that are low in sugar and high in protein and good fat so that it can be a healthy part of the meal rather than a binge after dinner. Or choose a simple fruit or applesauce with cinnamon, frozen berries with coconut cream and honey.
8. Don't buy it if it doesn't fit with the plan. Simple, right? If you shouldn't be eating it, it shouldn't be in the house!
9. Food prep ahead of time - stock the fridge with chopped veggies, olives, pickles, hard boiled eggs, tuna salad, paleo approved lunch meats, pepperoni, salami, etc. Fill the freezer with frozen veggies, home made burger patties, sausages, meatballs, bone broths, soups, paleo sandwich breads and muffins, and anything else the family loves. Home made fast food is easy food, so if it's already made and in the fridge or freezer it's going to be the first thing anyone grabs when they are hungry.
10. Menu plan ahead of time. Just like the food prep, this sets us up for success. A menu plan and shopping list ensures that we don't get to 5pm and wonder what to make for dinner.
I'm going to get started on all these ideas ASAP and I will report back on each of them and note what works and what doesn't. Cause I'm obsessive compulsive like that. :)
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