Holiday Kids Meals Ideas
Tired of making a beautiful holiday meal only to have requests for nuggets and hotdogs from the little ones around your table? Take a look at some of the tips and recipes below to help get the kids at your table excited about the meal:
- Get kids involved by enlisting them as your sous-chef! Give kids easy, age-appropriate tasks that allow them to feel involved in the meal preparation process (without adding more work for you). This might include cleaning or peeling potatoes or vegetables, adding herbs, salt or pepper to dishes as needed, or stirring or helping to pour ingredients into batters. For math-minded kids, challenge them to double or triple recipe ingredients if you are cooking for a large crowd. The more kids are involved in the process, the more likely they will be to try new foods and feel pride for their contribution to the meal.
- Incorporate a classic kid favorite into your meal, such as the Better Than Ever Stovetop Mac N’ Cheese — a healthy version of a classic, kids favorite that can also serve as an excellent first course or hearty side dish to your meal and is sure to please the adults around your table as well.
- Make the meal visually fun! Mini Meatball Pasta Cups are a delicious, healthy and fun way to please both adults and children at the dinner table. Make with ground chicken, turkey or pork depending on the palette of your guests.
- Spice up salads by letting kids select from a variety of toppings, such as nuts, chopped veggies, and fruits so they can create their own meal to their liking. Offer small cups of olive oil, lemon juice, mustard and honey so they can make and mix their own dressing.