Kids Cuisine

It’s no secret that kids adore French fries. In the United States, French fries are heralded as one of the first, easiest and tastiest finger foods in a toddler’s diet. But not every parent looks upon them as fondly as their child does, especially given the numerous and sometimes conflicting studies that have hit news reports in the past few years. Many have caused concern that these delicious treats could be detrimental to a growing child’s health, not just by increasing the chance of obesity when included in a poorly balanced diet, but through possible connections to cancer, diabetes and other serious illnesses. These concerns are bringing parents to ban French fries at their tables. This begs the question… what can you feed to toddlers who would otherwise want a crispy French fry gripped between their index finger and thumb?

As a gourmet professional and parent interested in healthy eating, I began pondering the French fry question prior to my daughter being old enough for solid food. Always trying to avoid chemicals and unhealthy fats, I wondered what it was about the French fry that makes it so appealing, so special. My hypothesis is simple… it’s a finger food and the fun is in the playing and dipping. Sure, the taste is delicious too (I love a good French fry on occasion myself), but the motion of dipping it into ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise is a party all its own. This, I think, is one of the reason kids just love them. After all, how many parents otherwise let their kids play with their food?

Keeping this hypothesis in mind, I continuously challenge myself to come up with “dip-able” foods to compete with the draw of French fries. It has worked well for my daughter, she has yet to experience a real French fry. What, might you ask, are the alternatives? My three-year old daughter’s personal favorite is grilled chicken strips. It is easy to cut a well cooked piece of grilled chicken into strips similar to the shape of French fries. Not to mention, grilled chicken is easy to make at home and find out at most restaurants. The chicken tends to hold up and a child can easily pick up the strips and dip them into a sauce. While ketchup is an obvious option, my daughter just loves to dip chicken strips into a ranch or creamy blue cheese dressing. Dipping strips of pita into spinach or avocado dip is another favorite, as is dipping bread strips into an herbed olive oil. But it doesn’t start and stop at just carbs and chicken, steamed broccoli and string beans are also healthy options. My daughter likes both when still slightly crisp and served plain with a side of curry, ranch, or an otherwise creamy dressing.