Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Have a Taste Test

Fun Way to Get Kids to Eat Healthy Produce

A fun way to get kids to eat healthy foods is by having a taste test. Use at least two types of food that are similar but slightly different tasting such as: cantaloupe and honeydew melon, or red and green apples, or broccoli and cauliflower. We used three different colored types of grapes for our recent taste test.

When using produce such as red delicious apples and granny smith apples, cut up the apples into bite sized chunks and if the children are young cut the grapes in half so they aren't a choking hazard.

With young children you may need to use a blindfold to ensure they keep their eyes closed. The kids I care for are old enough to trust to keep their eyes closed so we didn't use a blind fold. Put one tiny piece of produce in the child's mouth and have them guess if they are eating the red apple or the green apple; cantaloupe or honeydew, melon; broccoli or cauliflower; or red, blue, or green grape.

The best part results of having a taste test is getting kids to eat healthy snacks with enthusiasm. But, the girls I care for spent 40-minutes last week playing the game by themselves while I cleaned up the kitchen and folded laundry making the game a way to keep kids busy as well.

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