Dumbing Down Food Choices- Kids Deserve Better

By Uli Koester

Raise your hand if this has happened to you:

You and your family are invited to a party. Upon arrival, your host beckons you to the buffet table and describes all the fancy delicious foods they've prepared. There is a southwest chili, a spinach lasagna hot out of the oven, a variety of salads obviously devised from scratch, and then, "for the kids, we've got these hot dogs, too."

All this happens in a gesture of hospitality and -I assume- as a convenient way to please everybody. You, the adult, want the delicious choices to enjoy while the kids need to eat "something" before going to play. I, myself, have hosted a party in this way. The hot dog is the surest way to avoid the complaints of young eaters perceived to be picky.

Restaurants, of course, perpetuate this misperception. At a recent vacation pitstop to a pancake eatery, I was choosing among various omelettes with nifty ingredients while staring out at my kids from their menu was a pancake with a smiling face of whipped cream and chocolate. Even at home some of us parents -okay, I confess- grab the mac & cheese when we want an easy night at the dinner table.

Of course, we know that children are growing and need healthful food. Yet all too often the belief that kids are finicky and hard to please makes us "dumb down their food." As an educator who specializes in natural foods and nutrition, I find this idea to be a fallacy about most children. I also feel that adults have a responsibility not only to feed children, but to introduce them to the amazing and delicious variety our good earth offers.

I have two growing children at home. One will try anything, and enjoy most of it, the other would prefer macaroni as a daily staple. I resist this, however, and have decided on the following premises:

1. Kids deserve a chance to try good food

Many children would really like that southwest chili. Encourage them to try it! I subscribe to the "two small bites" rule. If after that, a child does not like it, so be it. I try to not nag or blame them for having ungrateful tastebuds.

The goal is to open the world of food to our children and not leave them stuck with fast, easy foods and sweets. Even the most picky eaters may have a 1 in 6 success rate for liking new foods, which still allows for a slow expansion of their palate.

2. Expect a minimum of healthy eating.

This can vary according to the priorities in your home. Some expectations that I like:

• a fresh or cooked vegetable at lunch and dinner
• fruit twice a day
• a variety of grains -not wheat every day
• regular meals with whole grain

Some interesting outcomes arise when following through on these expectations. For example, one of my sons thinks millet is the same thing as couscous, which he loves. I have chosen not to correct him, but rather exploit the nutritious benefits of millet! On other occasions, the steamed kale or cabbage is the first thing my children eat off their dinner plate, because they know I will expect it eaten sooner or later. Quite often they will have seconds, because they actually enjoyed it.

Next time I host a party, I may plan the children's menu first, rather than as an afterthought. Maybe it will turn out as nice as the children's special at my favorite restaurant on the North Shore, which includes fresh blueberries, carrot sticks and scruptious whole wheat buttered bread. Come to think of it, I won't even cook for the adults- they can eat the cool stuff I fixed the kids.

Uli Koester directs and teaches for the Midwest Food Connection, which sponsors elementary-school classes on nutrition and natural foods. This winter's favorites among kids are the kale and rutabaga stew, fresh green cabbage and yogurt with maple syrup. Since September, the Midwest Food Connection has taught a 4-lesson curriculum to over 1,000 children in schools near the Wedge. Uli can be reached through the Wedge at (612) 874-7275.