From the meeting with the producers to the staging on the plate, our toddlers love to be involved in the preparation of meals. It would even be a
sine qua non
for their love of Brussels sprouts, broccoli, leeks and other green vegetables. “Children will be better able to taste and appreciate a vegetable they have picked or a recipe they have taken part in,” explains Agnès Mignonac, dietitian and nutritionist, behind the La Table des enfants website. That and the fact of being faced with an attractive recipe "full of colors, smells and above all flavors", in turn informs Héloïse Maurel alias Hélo-Ita, graphic designer, illustrator and author of the book
We play with food .
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These two professionals for children's taste buds have given us their advice, tips and new recipes to whet our cherubs' appetites, make them discover and then love vegetables.
With the key: awakening tenfold, stimulated curiosity and finished plate.
Play with food
Foods to favor to play!
Dried fruits and seeds to imitate the eyes and nose.
Fresh cheese to stick food together.
Breadsticks and pretzels to act as arms and legs.
Cherry tomatoes to add color.
Empty vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, round zucchini) transformed into a container.
Who said you shouldn't play with food? Certainly not Héloïse Maurel who approaches meals with enthusiasm, colors and friendliness in her work. His main advice for finally getting children interested in vegetables? “Give them a shape. Animal, face or man, often, it does not take much to arouse their interest, explains the author. An avocado, a small breadstick and a few sprigs of chives, that makes a guitar”, continues the professional who appreciates giving them challenges. “I invite them to fish their garlic croutons from the bottom of their zucchini soup. They do it, and they love it,” she says. Dietician Agnès Mignonac confirms: “Playing with food makes children actors and gives them the pleasure of doing things. What's more,at an early age they are in full development of their artistic senses. They color, draw and mix colors. So they appreciate the discovery”.
Choose the right time
Don't wait until the end of the meal to offer a pan-fried carrot to your little darlings.
"It is imperative to choose the right time to try to make them taste and appreciate vegetables," explains dietitian nutritionist Agnès Mignonac.
Before specifying: “it is better to present them at the beginning of the meal, when they are hungry”.
In video, parents, read the list of ingredients of cereals for children
Choose small portions
Another essential trick to whet their appetite: favor mini-portions.
“Even for adults, a colorful plate made up of several kinds of vegetables and with different textures will be more appetizing than a simple pan of zucchini,” warns the graphic designer.
"In addition, it allows the child to taste and, if he does not like, to waste less," she says.
Agnès Mignonac adds: “We can also offer them to eat with their fingers.
For example, carrots, cherry tomatoes or even pieces of cabbage, turnip or mushrooms with a little soy sauce, hummus or tzatziki”.
Tasks for our children
As we told you earlier, involving your cherubs in the preparation of the meal would be an inescapable condition to make them appreciate your recipes.
On the program: supermarket, washing fruits and vegetables, displaying the dough, shaping dumplings... even cleaning the dishes!
Use props
Example of a spiral vegetable cutter or vegetable tower.
iStock
Still in this perspective of playing with food, Héloïse Maurel and Agnès Mignonac recommend bringing accessories.
The graphic designer specifies: “I use popsicle sticks to make carrot or cucumber ice cream or picks for pepper skewers”.
"You can surprise the child with almost anything," adds the dietician.
Cookie cutter, Parisian spoon, vegetable pencil sharpener or blender… The only limit being that of our imagination.
Mix vegetables with other ingredients
Hide this vegetable they can't see!
And why not add some grilled eggplant to a margherita pizza?
Or a few button mushrooms to a runny cheddar burger?
Agnès Mignonac advises us to mix recipes and think outside the box.
Broccoli whipped cream, endive smoothie, carrot flan, vegetable cakes, spinach pancake batter, eggplant cake… Anything goes when it comes to getting kids to eat anything!
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We play with food
by Héloïse Maurel, Éditions Mila, 48 pages, €19.90.
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*This article has been updated and was originally published on May 30, 2017.
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