Food is necessary for kids to develop to their full capacity. If your kids are picky eaters, it might help to let them make their own food. Here are some easy recipes kids can make on their own.
For a healthy food that kids will love, try Fruity Peanut Butter Pitas. This recipe takes less than five minutes to make. Measure out 1/8 teaspoon of allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a small bowl. Add a quarter cup of peanut butter to the bowl, and blend the ingredients together. Cut a pita in half. Let your kids use a spoon to spread the mixture on both pita halves. Slice half of an apple and half of a banana making sure the apple slices are very thin. Finally, have your kids to put the fruit slices in both of the pita pockets. This food will fill kids up and give them protein and fruit for nutrition.
This classic dish has been a kid favorite - both to make and eat - for generations. Put two pieces of bread on a plate. Since this dish can get a bit messy, try a spoonful of peanut butter and a spoonful of jelly on another plate to keep these sticky ingredients under control as the kids spread peanut butter on one piece of bread and jelly on the other piece. Young ones may be a bit safer using spoons (rather than knives) to spread the ingredients. Then the fun part! Put the slices of bread together and dig in! Get creative! You can cut the crusts off, cut the sandwich in two or four pieces, cut on the diagonal, or use a cookie cutter to make shapes. If any of your kids are allergic to peanuts, you can opt for honey and jelly sandwiches instead. Or, to cut back on the sugar, try replacing the jelly with raw honey.
Chocolate-dipped pretzels are delicious snacks. Just put a small bowl of chocolate chips in the microwave for 30-second intervals until all the chocolate melts. Right after the chocolate melts, let your kids drop pretzels of any shape into the chocolate dip. After the pretzels are covered in chocolate, lift them from the melted chocolate with a fork and place on waxed or parchment paper, or even a cookie sheet. Before the chocolate dries and hardens, your children can add sprinkles on nuts, sprinkles, or crushed candies. This is a great treat after a healthy meal.
Your kids will probably get messy with these ingredients and that is awesome! Messes give your kids an opportunity to experience the side effect of cooking...cleaning up! Your kids will not only get to have fun making something delicious, but they will also learn how to clean up after themselves, which means you can add kitchen clean up to their chore list. And who knows...maybe you are raising the next Bobby Flay or Martha Stewart!