If you have picky eaters, here’s a sneaky but fun way to get your kids interested in dinner. Tell them no silverware will be needed and make sure they wash their hands. Here are some ideas you can try:
You can make a kid size version of shrimp cocktail using smaller, less expensive salad size shrimp (barely bigger than a quarter) and using 1/2 ketchup, 1/2 cocktail sauce for dipping. (Use fish sticks if they don’t like shrimp.) Cut cheese into 1/2 inch cubes or different shapes, use party picks or tiny pretzel sticks for “handles.” Offer a veggie tray with a selection of dips that they can experiment with. Make fresh veggie kabobs using grape or cherry tomatoes, cucumber cubes, celery, peppers, and even pickled beets. Try making quesadillas by layering thinly sliced chicken, peppers, cooked onions, and grated cheese between two tortillas. Bake until cheese melts, cool and slice into narrow wedges.
Make mini pigs in a blanket by wrapping cocktail weenies and cheese in crescent roll dough. Use ground turkey to make a small batch of chili, add northern beans, black beans or corn, serve with tortilla chips as scoops. Layer a large tortilla with sliced turkey, ham, or cheese, top with mashed avocado. Roll up and chill in fridge for an hour, then slice into 1 inch pieces. Try mashed potatoes on dill pickle slices.
For desert, any fresh fruit cut and displayed in a colorful way should catch their attention. For added fun try strawberry shortcake kabobs. Alternate strawberries, blueberries, and 1 inch cubes of yellow layer cake or angel food cake on bamboo skewers. Let kids have fun with squirts of whipped cream or dollops of coolwhip. Use your imagination and show your kids how much fun dinner can be!
AsheBridge Children’s Academy offers quality preschool education for our communities in Apex, Cary, Fuquay, Holly Springs, Angier, and surrounding areas. Contact us today to learn about all the fun things that set us apart from the other daycare and childcare centers.