My New Years resolution is to cook healthier meals for my kids...is yours?? - Westport Moms

kidwithstrawberriesAmanda Jakubowicz is a local mom who really enjoys coming up with easy, creative, healthy and homeade recipes that her kids will actually eat. We asked her to share with us some useful tips and her favorite recipes to kick off 2017. See two favorites below, and more to come in the weeks ahead! You can follow her at @jj_eats_ for more great recipes.

Being a Mom to 3 kids ages 5, 3 and 9 months I know the struggle parents go through to get their children to eat healthy foods. Children are notoriously picky eaters, so here are my top 10 tips for banishing mealtime battles…

  1. Make one meal but disguise it as another. Anything you make for the adults can be chopped up small, put in a tortilla with cheese and heated in a frying pan to make a quesadilla.
  2. Make them a food you know they like and eat your dinner next to them. They always want to try what’s on your plate.
  3. Make it a game. Have them take just one bite and give you a thumbs up or thumbs down.
  4. Don’t reward bad behavior. Give them yogurt and fruit if they don’t eat their dinner instead of getting a special treat.
  5. 1, 2, 3…Tell them to take 10 more bites and have them count.
  6. Get organized. Plan your dinner menu on Sunday for the following week and have your kids help you. Show them pictures online of food and ask them what looks good to them.
  7. Ask for help. Assign tasks to prepare the meal and watch it bake in the oven.
  8. Give the food another name. I served chicken curry once and they wouldn’t touch it… then I called it Peanut Butter Chicken and they couldn’t wait to try it.
  9. Make them feel like they have a choice. Let them choose their plate, fork, and if they want sauce on top or on the side.
  10. Limit snacks. I don’t give my kids snacks after 3pm so they are hungry for dinner.

Here are 2 favorite kid-approved recipes:
Pizza Quesadilla
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  • 1 spelt tortilla
  • tomato sauce
  • handful of spinach, chopped
  • grated mozzarella

Place a tortilla in a dry pan on medium high heat. On half of the tortilla spread sauce, then sprinkle with chopped spinach and mozzarella cheese. Fold over the tortilla and cook until golden, then flip and cook on the other side. Slice in half and serve.
Baked Chicken Fingers
chickennuggets_2
 

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
  • 4 TBS olive oil
  • 1 cup italian seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Put the olive oil in one bowl and the breadcrumbs with parmesan in another. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then put in the bowl with olive oil and stir to coat. Put a few chunks of chicken at a time into the breadcrumb mixture to coat and then place on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 min then flip and cook another 5 min. 
For more delicious recipes, visit Amanda’s instagram page @jj_eats_ and stay tuned for additional ones to be featured on WestportMoms!
 

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