When I met Jennifer Tyler Lee a couple of weeks ago at her book party and dinner event at Williams-Sonoma (thanks again for the invite Jeanne!), I was really inspired by her dedication to healthy eating and making it fun for kids to try new foods. Lucas eats a variety of foods and will try many new things, but he doesn't eat much and would rather play than eat. I lucked out with Theo, on the other hand, who eats like a champ most of the time. No stranger to mealtime battles, I was really inspired by Jennifer and her latest book, The 52 New Foods Challenge which is full of fun tips and simple recipes.
Check out the giveaway details at the end of the post.
One tip that really resonated with me was to cook with your kids, not for them. I know it's easier said than done, but I love how Jennifer suggested trying it out just once a week. From simply going to the grocery store/farmer's market and having your kid choose one new vegetable to getting their hands dirty in the kitchen, once a week sounded pretty doable. She also said it wasn't about getting the kids to eat the end product but inspiring curiosity and building confidence.
To my surprise, I EASILY got Lucas and Theo to help me peel leaves off brussels sprouts to make her simple and delicious Brussels Sprouts Chips recipe. When they were done, Lucas complained that he didn't get his own bowl of chips. Yeah, these were amazing and inhaled in a flash. And we've made them several times already so this one's a winner.
We even roasted some asparagus the following week and I asked Lucas if he wanted to snap them apart for me and he couldn't have been more excited. And all I had to do was ask!
Another tip from Jennifer was to go to the grocery store or farmers market and have your kid pick out anything from the vegetable aisle -- bonus points for something new. I headed to Whole Foods and told Lucas to pick out anything he wanted from the vegetable aisle. His eyes lit up and he seemed so empowered by this. He immediately chose carrots and I said, "That's awesome, I know you love carrots." As I put them in the cart, he said, "Okay, I'm going to try something else. How about that? What's that?" He pointed to the prettiest bunch of radishes and we both got super excited to try them out. He carried them on his lap on the car ride home. Side note: he instantly forgot about them when we got home but that's not the point, right?
In hopes of inspiring curiosity, building confidence, reducing dinnertime battles and spending more time with my kids, I'm definitely going to try getting them in the kitchen with me more often. I know it won't always work but it's worth a try!
I was so inspired by Jennifer that I would love to give away one of her books!
Here's how to enter:
• Follow @good_on_paper and @crunchacolor on Instagram, leave a comment and tag a friend with a kid(s).
• If you don't have Instagram you can leave your email in the comments below
• Please comment by Friday, April 3rd, 12pm PST
• This giveaway is for U.S. residents only
• I will announce a winner selected by random number generator by Monday, April 6th
Best of luck!
+ You can also buy the book here
+ Find me on Instagram (@good_on_paper)
+ Subscribe to receive the latest posts updates delivered to your inbox. Just click here. You could also use Blog Lovin' or Feedly to follow along.
CONGRATS to Michele of @cakewalkbaking for being the randomly selected winner!
This giveaway is now CLOSED.