Kids Cuisine

My kids, like most little kids, love to dip. I’ve tried to take advantage of that to work some new or previously rejected foods into their repertoire. I quickly realized they were thwarting my attempts to get them to eat veggies by using the veggies as mere spoons to deliver dip.

Then I realized that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, once the dip ran out they usually ate the spoon. I could also control the dip and be sure it was something healthy (I mean, was I really that bothered they were gobbling down organic yogurt?).

The nice thing is that anything edible that you can cut into an oblong shape can work as an edible spoon, and anything you can puree (or that comes already gloppy) works great as a dip.

Here are some options that have been popular in my house, and feel free to mix and match (even mixes that sound mismatched) freely.

Edible Spoon Ideas:

• Graham crackers
• Fresh veggies diced in a long thin shape, such as carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, or bell peppers
• Fresh fruit diced into sticks, such as apples, pears, and melons.
• Bread, bagel or baguette cut into long shapes
• Little dippers like grapes and cherry tomatoes
• Cheese sticks

Dip Ideas:

• Yogurt, either plain or with fruit
• Hummus
• Apple butter or other fruit chutneys and spreads
• Soups and stews
• Tomato sauce
• Soft cheeses
• Whipped cream
• Guacamole (or even just mashed avocado)
• Pureed fruits or vegetables (which you can also add to something like plain yogurt)

Usually you can get a kid to eat at least a little of something healthy, perhaps by using a healthy spoon combined with a more enticing dip, or vice versa.

Photo of vegetables and dip, © Steve Woods