KIDS IN THE KITCHEN

by duluth, September 16, 2009 | Permalink

Persuading young children to eat can be exhausting.  Sometimes the struggle is just to wedge the spoon between their teeth and down their throat—ever cajoled a lip-locked toddler in a high chair to eat spinach? And in these times, when the cold hard facts on childhood obesity and food allergies shout at parents from every media outlet, the long-term implications of every meal can be especially stressful. And meals shouldn’t be stressful, right?

Luckily there’s a terrific new resource available for parents that want to please their kid’s palates and feed them nutritious, fun food.  “Kids in the Kitchen” is a program developed by the Association of Junior Leagues International designed to help combat childhood obesity.  The Junior League is an organization of women dedicated to improving the communities they live in, and each Junior League can tailor the program to the needs of their community.  Our Whole Foods Market here in Johns Creek, in conjunction with the Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton Counties, is dedicating an entire day to “Kids in the Kitchen.” This Saturday, September 19^th, you can come by the store from 11 am to 3 pm and see some of this program in action. We’ll have cooking demonstrations from the “Kids in the Kitchen” cookbook and more demos and samples of other kid-friendly, nutritious foods.  Junior Jazzercise will be in the house to conduct a fun and energetic class—after all, exercise goes hand-in-hand with good nutrition—and the kids can take home a food craft they make with their own hands. Clementine Art will set-up an art station featuring non-toxic supplies for the budding artist.  If you’ve got to buy groceries with the kids, this event is a great way to get the whole family involved and entertained. I mean, who wouldn’t want to learn how to make a Bunny Salad, Pizza Salad or a spider? (Spider?  Yes. You’ll have to come into the store and find out.)

All these nutritious, creative recipes and ideas trigger a food memory. On my daughter’s first birthday I rented a bulky camcorder (hey, that was all we had in the late Eighties) and spent the entire day recording every moment.  At lunchtime I set the camera on an equally bulky tripod and recorded for all posterity what must be the longest lunch in history. She refused every delicacy I offered except for cottage cheese, which she dug into with the gusto of a runner at a pre-marathon pasta binge. She ate for so long she overlapped nap time, and at the end of the meal she was face down in the empty bowl, belly full and happily humming herself to sleep.  She was happy, but I was stressed.  How I wish “Kids in the Kitchen” and Whole Foods had been available to me then! 

One Response to “KIDS IN THE KITCHEN”

1. RB Says:
   September 17th, 2009 at 6:22 pm

   I wish I knew then what I know now about nutrition & teaching kids to eat well. I could have had fewer stressed family meals! Start where you are…

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