Sneaking in Healthy Food

A friend gave me a wonderful tip (that she read in the kids recipes book by Jerry Seinfeld's wife). She told me to start offering the Biscuit appetizers before dinner. The thinking is that you offer your child something healthy (veggies and such) before dinner when they are hungry as hippos so that dinnertime won't be as stressful (since you already know they've had something good to eat).

The Biscuit looks forward to his special plate of appetizers that he gets 15-30 minutes before supper. I usually only offer him 1 veggie as the app (more than 1 seemed to confuse him and make him less interested in eating the app). His favorites are:

• edamame (soybeans)
• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• carrots

It truly has served to make both of us happier. Of course he will often ask for a cookie as his app, but when he sees the plate with the healthy snack, he forgets the cookie request and eats the vibrant veggie instead.