The Best Foods Your Kids Aren’t Eating

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Emily Lynne Ion

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Tara Parker-Pope of The New York Times recently compiled a fantastic blog entitled “The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating”. It appeared on The Times’s list of most-viewed stories for 2008, confirming my belief that people, and especially parents, are hungry (pun intended) for tips to improve their daily nutrition.

Tara adapted a list by Dr. Jonny Bowden of top health foods. Some of his recommendations were a bit obscure and not readily available in grocery stores, so she modified and expanded them to make them more actionable. I decided to put my own Healthy Child spin on it, making Dr. Bowden’s suggestions more appealing to a child’s appetite.

BEETS
Beets are a rich source of folate and the natural red pigments may indicate potent antioxidants. Beets have acquired a negative reputation because of the pickled, slippery form often found in jars. But raw, peeled beets tossed into a salad or lightly cooked with a bit of onion, olive oil and fresh herbs are surprisingly sweet. The color may even trick kids into thinking they’re not eating vegetables! Don’t forget the leaves and stems – they’re packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Getting Your Kids to Love It: Try this recipe for Beet Hummus from Serious Eats for a colorful and healthy after-school snack.

CABBAGE
A staple in European and Asian diets, cabbage is loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to fight free-radicals and boost cancer-fighting enzymes.

Getting Your Kids to Love it: Replace lettuce on your child’s cheese, veggie, or salmon burger with cabbage for a crunchy, healthy alternative.

SWISS CHARD
Swiss Chard is a Mediterranean vegetable with a salty, bitter taste. A member of the leafy green family, Swiss Chard is packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes. How to get your children to eat a slightly bitter, dark green super-food? Better make it invisible.

Getting Your Kids to Love It: Health counselor Melissa Rosen suggests adding a few leaves of Swiss Chard to a smoothie, the green taste cleverly hidden by nature’s sweeteners. Blend up strawberries, a banana, rice or soy milk with some hidden Swiss Chard.

CINNAMON
Cinnamon helps control blood sugar because of its spicy active ingredients, which increases your cells ability to metabolize sugar by up to 20 times.

Getting Your Kids to Love It: Sprinkle cinnamon on oatmeal, hot chocolate or chai tea.

POMEGRANATE JUICE
Though now touted as a super-food, pomegranate juice has only recently become widely available in the US. A staple of Middle Eastern diets for decades, pomegranate juice is said to lower blood pressure and increase blood flow to the heart.

Getting Your Kids to Love It: Easy! Pomegranate juice is naturally sweet, with a wonderful flavor. Make sure to avoid synthetic sweeteners or preservatives. The pure juice itself is quite expensive, so add a bit of water or combine with another juice to make it last longer.

PUMPKIN
Pumpkin has a hearty taste that reminds kids of a certain fun-filled holiday. The seeds are the most nutritious part because they are packed with magnesium. But the rest of the vegetable is low calorie but very high in fiber and Vitamin A.

Getting Your Kids to Love It: Celebrate Halloween year round by roasting the seeds as a snack, sprinkled on salad, or made into a yummy salad dressing. Heat up the rest of the pumpkin with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg for a warm afternoon snack.

FROZEN BLUEBERRIES
Blueberries are packed with nutrients like protein, complex carbs, fiber, folate, antioxidants, vitamins, and more. They’re great for your body and very good for your brain as well. Frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil.

Getting Your Kids to Love It: There are so many ways! Blend them with organic yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkle with crushed almonds Janelle recently suggested making blueberry yogurt popsicles by blending blueberries, yogurt, and a touch of agave nectar or maple syrup.

Send us your feedback on how your kids take to these foods. What are their favorite recipes? What works and what didn’t?

Posted by Josh @ Summer Recipes on 04/09/2012 at 06:13 PM

Bueberries and Raspberries are loaded with antioxidants. Great for making cold smoothies in the summer!

Posted by Sam Gooch on 10/31/2011 at 08:51 AM

A great way to get kids to eat pumpkin is to have them help you to make a halloween lantern then show them that you’re saving the flesh for soup then make up a quick soup with them so they can appreciate it while having fun. I used this recipe - http://www.howtobeacook.co.uk/2011/10/how-to-cook-pumpkin-soup.html but bbcgoodfood website also have some good ones.
Happy Halloween!

Posted by Martin Smith on 10/19/2011 at 11:22 PM

The “Getting your kids to love it” ideas are fantastic, replace lettuce for cabbage in their burger reminds me of my mother gently introducing different vegetables into our diets. I am now a father of two, both my wife and I are struggling to get our kids to eat /enjoy healthy food. That was until we went on holidays to Cambodia, sweets (M&M’s cost $2.50, which we point blank refused to pay) were not available and kids went for the next best thing; fruit. They came back loving Mango, Pineapple, Star Fruit and in particular Lychees. Three weeks after the holiday, the sweets are starting to creep back in (hence searching for ideas) . unfortunately kids see sweets everywhere, if there was not so much sweet advertising/branding kids would love fruit (but that’s for another day) These are lovely ideas which should help us for the next few weeks

Posted by Bed Guard on 03/08/2011 at 05:12 AM

I love what you say about kids being more likely to eat beets because of their colour not looking like most vegetables. Not sure cabbage will be such an easy sell to most kids though

Posted by Aavalon Organics on 01/25/2011 at 10:46 AM

Great list here! The hummus from serious eats was how my two youngest kids started loving hummus. Sometimes I mix avocado towards the end, adds a nice flavorful, healthy fat touch. It was hard to get my kids to change from sweets to more healthy options but with ample rewards and discipline they love it!

Posted by Jen on 01/23/2011 at 11:57 AM

One of my children’s favorite fruits is pomegranate. This makes me very happy because not only is it delicious, its loaded with <a href=” http://antioxidantjuiceproduct.com”>antioxidants</a>. They can’t get enough of it. We try to eat more fruit as snacks and I fill their lunch boxes with as much fruits as they can eat. Great list of foods, we will continue to add some of those to our diet.

Posted by Health Eating on 08/19/2010 at 11:58 PM

I think you left out one very important food, broccoli! For me broccoli is perhaps the most healthy vegatable you can eat, and I make sure to include some in my meals as many times as i can each week!

Posted by direct insurance on 08/14/2010 at 11:59 PM

Adding steam pumpkin to brown rice works great for my 2 year old. He also love having blueberries in pancakes and waffles..

Posted by internet hosting on 07/28/2010 at 07:18 AM

My biggest hurdle was dealing with something as voluminous as swiss chard but created an easy and delicious solution… I blanch it and then stuff (roll) it as I would stuffed cabbage and freeze the rolls. They heat up fast in the microwave and make a delicious and nutritious side dish. So, I eat healthy food these days, but now I need to eat less!!! One thing at a time I tell myself.

Posted by Mike on 04/29/2010 at 05:36 AM

I regularly eat most of the items listed — now. I started changing my food habits about two years ago. Having grown up in a meat and potatoes home, the change felt a bit like food as medicine at first. But after a few months I began looking forward to eating foods I rarely experienced unless it was a restaurant side dish. My biggest hurdle was dealing with something as voluminous as swiss chard but created an easy and delicious solution… I blanch it and then stuff (roll) it as I would stuffed cabbage and freeze the rolls. They heat up fast in the microwave and make a delicious and nutritious side dish. So, I eat healthy food these days, but now I need to eat less!!! One thing at a time I tell myself.

Posted by Amega on 03/18/2010 at 04:09 PM

I have a great way that we make beets at our home & our 1 1/2 year old son LOVES them.

Cook (gently boil) the beets whole until they are soft when pierced with a fork.
While wearing kitchen rubber gloves, peel the skins off the beets with your hands. The gloves are to protect you from having stained fingers.

After that, dice the beets, put them in a bowl, & cool in the fridge.
I add to that freshly squeezed lemon, olive oil, chopped chives parsley & green onion (and a dash of salt if you wish). There are no particular measurements for this but just gauge it according to how many beets used.

Serve chilled ~ SO DELICIOUS!

Posted by SRoe on 02/25/2010 at 09:03 AM

This article has inspired me to grow a garden in my backyard this summer. Thanks!

Posted by Lloyd on 02/24/2010 at 02:17 PM

I never had Swiss Chard before a few weeks ago. We cook it with chopped fresh garlic and a some “braggs amino acids” . This gives it a salty taste without the extra salt.

Our young people are eating too much junk food and watching too much TV. This will lead to an even more obese society in the future with health insurance rates that will be out of control.

Parents must take responsibility and feed their families health food like these suggested.

Posted by Vijay on 12/08/2009 at 04:20 AM

Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet and most experts recommend that both children and adults eat a high fiber diet. Although parents don’t think about it much, vitamin E is an important vitamin that kids need.

Posted by rahul on 12/02/2009 at 12:39 AM

I like pumpkins and beets, which keeps me fit and energetic.

Posted by Eating Disorders on 10/22/2009 at 04:37 AM

That is a nice compilation. I will also add “pineapple” to the list. This is a very rich source of Vitamin C, A, B and a good source of anti-oxidants and fiber.

Posted by Sandeep on 10/15/2009 at 07:01 AM

Really these are great suggestions. These fruits and vegetables are the prime source of vitamins and minerals.

Posted by Respectable Reviews on 10/14/2009 at 07:28 AM

There are many fun ways to get your kids to eat healthy. I like to make things with veggies in them and trick the kids ;-). Oatmeal cookies are a good way, especially if you use a sugar substitute.

Posted by Juan on 10/02/2009 at 06:56 AM

Love the ideas with Pumpkin. Halloween is coming up and I will try this out and see if I can get the kids to eat something which is not candy!

Posted by insurance quotes on 09/29/2009 at 04:03 PM

Fresh tomatoes are another one to add to this list.

Posted by Acai Berry on 09/29/2009 at 01:43 AM

I am really learning as I go here with more veggies and less meats etc. So thanks again for helping those of us who are beginning on this journey and making sense of all the choices and varieties.

Posted by Blood Group Diet on 09/27/2009 at 10:26 AM

I think the major key is actually making the foods fun - there are so many vegetables to choose from, so if my kids don’t like something specific (like cabbage) there is always something else that they do like that can take its place!!!

Posted by London Removals on 09/11/2009 at 01:36 AM

Many fresh fruits & vegetables have high amounts of many antioxidant vitamins, including vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin C. In addition to their importance as source of vitamins and minerals, fruits and vegetables also provide essential dietary fiber.

Posted by Cufflinks on 09/10/2009 at 02:11 AM

Vitamins and minerals are necessary for your well-being. There are a lot of nutrients beneficial to the body. Also, excess vitamin intake may produce side effect so do what your physician says.

Posted by Acai Berry on 09/08/2009 at 09:04 AM

My kids have eaten blueberries almost everyday over the last year. They love them…although I have to warn you that they can choke on them which happened once to my child…not fun.

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