Feeding Your Child : Healthy Alternatives to Junk Food

Here are some healthy variations of sweet treats kids love (and they probably won't notice the difference):

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Grilled Banana S'Mores

Cut banana into slices. Place bananas on graham crackers. Top with a square of dark chocolate. Grill 2 minutes (on a sheet of aluminum foil) until chocolate softens. Top with another graham cracker square. Serve.

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Monkey Bars

hidden ingredients = sweet potato and carrot baby food purees! click here for recipe.

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For more delicious recipes check out The Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious.

Feeding A Picky Toddler/Preschooler

If your child is picky when it comes to eating veggies, here are some fruit alternatives worth trying:

• Broccoli-haters can still get vitamin C through kiwi, oranges or strawberries.
• Carrot-haters can still get vitamin A through mango, cantaloupe or papaya.
• Tomato-haters can still get lycopene from red grapefruit, watermelon or apricot.
• Spinach-haters can still get lutein from pears, tangerines or red grapes.

Feeding Your Baby: First Finger Foods

Between 7 and 10 months most babies are ready to self-feed. Here are some great first finger foods:

• banana, sliced
• avocado, sliced
• peas, cooked
• peaches, peeled and cut into small chunks
• chicken, cooked and shredded
• Cheerios
• lentils, cooked
• cooked pasta/macaroni
• carrot sliced, cooked
• tofu, cut into small cubes
• tortilla pieces
• cheese, sliced
• small bites of low-mercury fish (tilapia)

Feeding Your Baby : Great First Foods

It's easy to get caught in a rut when your baby starts eating solids. Here are some creative ideas on how to add some variety to your baby's repertoire:

• applesauce with ground cinnamon
• avocado with minced cilantro
• bananas and pears with fresh minced ginger
• pureed pumpkin with ground cinnamon

Or try making this breakfast parfait ...

• Layer rice cereal between mango and blueberry purees - VOILA (and yum)!