Kids Cuisine

I always love finding ways to actually get my 4-year-old daughter, who just recently proclaimed to me, “I don’t like vegetables,” to willingly choose to eat vegetables. It’s always hit or miss. Some days she loves one type of veggie, then hates it the next day.

Yesterday, she actually was eager to put vegetables on a personal pizza she made for herself. When I initially told her we would build our own pizzas any way we liked, she was just about as excited about toppings as one would expect from a preschooler. She said she planned to make a cheese pizza.

When it came time to build her pizza, though, she saw her dad and me having fun piling on the toppings and she got into it. She tossed on some meat (which she usually won’t touch), and even a few diced red bell peppers (which she has never eaten!). She even announced that she loves vegetables.

Kid-Made Healthy Personal Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

• Small pre-made pizza crusts like Boboli, or organic, whole wheat pita bread
• Marinara or pizza sauce (or have fun with another sauce or a choice of sauces!)
• A mix of topping choices for the kids, such as fresh diced veggies and meats you have already browned
• Shredded cheese (you can go standard with mozzarella or have fun with shredded cheddar or gouda, or crumbled feta or goat cheese, and you can offer a variety of cheese choices)

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Put out all the topping choices, and place the bread or crust out
• Let your kid spread on the sauce, add the toppings, and sprinkle on the cheese
• Bake for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown

We wanted our 1-year-olds to join in on the pizza fun. Since it was the first time we served them pizza, we decided to keep it to the basics. They gobbled it up so eagerly, I’ll bet next time they won’t mind a few veggies tossed on top.

Toddler Healthy Mini Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat mini bagels
• Marinara or pizza sauce
• Shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Halve the bagels and top with sauce (I did it sparingly to avoid too much red sauce mess)
• Add shredded cheese
• Bake for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted

Photo of pizza with arugula, © Ugur Vidinligil.