Every parent can relate to the struggle of getting their kid to eat something healthy. Kids are often picky eaters and a lot of the time they just want junk food and sweets. Getting them to eat a vegetable, fruit or a salad sometimes can feel downright impossible. Saying “open up your mouth, a plane is about to land” doesn’t work forever, and sooner or later children figure out that it’s not a plane, but really a spoon full of veggies. So what are the parents supposed to do then?
One mum in Melbourne decided to take a creative approach to feeding her son. Instead of trying to fool him into eating veggies by lying, or just convincing him that they taste good or that they’re healthy and good for his body – she decided to actually make his meals look “good enough to eat”.
Laleh Mohmedi figured out that if you make a meal look interesting for the kid, they will eat it, even if it’s green beans. So one day she decided to make spelt pancakes, but she made one shaped like a lion. Her kid loved it! So from then on, she’s been trying to make her son’s meals into cartoon characters.
You might think that takes a lot of time and she must spend her whole day in the kitchen, creating these culinary cartoon masterpieces, but Laleh says it really doesn’t take longer than a normal meal. Her secret is all in preparation. So if she’s making pasta, she gets all the ingredients ready, and while the sauce is cooking, she’ll use that time to arrange the rest of the ingredients on the plate.
Obviously you won’t be able to make Elsa from Frozen on a plate out of fettuccine on your first try, but Mrs Mohmedi urges you to start simple and then, with time and practice you’ll get better. Plus, you can always get the kid involved. It’ll be fun for both of you.
If you’re worried about how much time you’ll have to spend each day on food art – don’t worry. Laleh says her son looks forward to his cartoon meals every day, but he still eats normal looking meals too. So you don’t have to make every meal look like a masterpiece, but once in a while, this could be a great encouragement for the kid.