Preparing healthy food and getting our littles to eat that food don’t often go hand in hand. The food battle rages on. Mom victory: rename a dish to something exciting that engages your kiddo’s imagination.
Enter “Cowboy Pie.”
I love this healthy paleOMG Tex Mex casserole dish, but the first several attempts to get my guy to eat it were total busts. He liked several ingredients, but wasn’t about to eat this healthy, one dish meal. That is until the day I renamed the dish.
Well hellooo Cowboy Pie!
“Little boys who eat this become big, strong cowboys!”
“No way! There’s a cowboy dance party after you finish your meal?”
Sign me up! I can’t wait to be a cowboy!
True story this situation went down on two separate occasions in my home. First with my Josiah and then again months later with our long term house guests’ little 3 year old son.
It may not always be an easy sell, as getting kids to eat a new healthy meal typically is not. But as the family joins in on the fun, dinner becomes an opportunity to playfully spend time together while getting our littles to eat a healthy and balanced meal.
Just have fun with it! Leverage what your kids love as you rename a healthy meal. Don’t be afraid to be silly and make your time around the table an enjoyable experience rather than a battle.
And let me tell you, the dance party that followed dinner the night when Josiah and Davis both ate their entire meal–one for the books!
Freeschool Mama 