Sneaky Nutrition Tactics for Moms

Just put frosting on top of bran muffins and tell the kids it’s a cupcake. Unfortunately mom may need a little more of an arsenal up her sleeve than that one to pull off sneaky nutrition tactics.

Lest mom feels devious and deceptive, let’s clear up a few things first. A tactic is not necessarily a trick; but rather it is a device for accomplishing an end.

With regard to the sneaky part of the nutrition tactic – we all know full well that if we told the kids every ingredient in their food, they likely wouldn’t try anything. For that matter, hot dog manufacturers are using some kind of sneaky tactics on unwitting consumers, too!

Back to the kids; one easy way to encourage good nutrition is to make food fun. Think about it: how many times did your parents tell you not to play with your food. Kids enjoy playing with their food.

Make ants on a log. The simple snack of peanut butter on celery with raisins as the ants includes a vegetable, a fruit and a nut: protein, fiber and fun.

A halved twice baked potato makes a great base for a boat. Add some fresh raw veggies for the mast and a sail and the kids will be begging for more.

Orange juice is a wholesome beverage that provides a source of vitamin C. It is also a wonderful drink to mask the flavor of other ah-hem mom added additives. Liquid vitamin drops, Celtic sea salt or buffered C power mixed into the tasty juice will give your youngster an added hidden boost.

Eggplant, turnips, parsnips and even cabbage may not be on the top ten requested list, however it is very easy to cover up these nuggets if you bury them in tomato sauce. Add some of these vegetables to your next batch of lasagna or goulash.

Another option is to puree some vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, peppers, and onion into a paste. Then mix it in with ground turkey, chicken or beef to make a meatloaf. If you’re not big meatloaf eaters, then make hamburger patties out of the nutritious mixture.

Actually think about many of the meals you like to make. Consider how you could add covert vegetables. Select veggies of bland colors and tastes. Anything too bright or pungent will be ousted in no time flat.

If your kids like tater tot casserole with ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, topped with tater tots, then add some zucchini, okra or beans to the beef and soup mixture. The trick, that is, the tactic to use is to mince them very small.

Before you opt to mix a vitamin fortified power into their chocolate milk, make sure that it is indeed fortified enough to make a difference. Many will remember the Ovaltine kick. Ovaltine was just a concoction of sugar, malt extract, cocoa, and whey. If it was indeed fortified with vitamins, it was also strongly armed with sugar!

Switch brands. The next time you are in the grocery store start substituting the traditional brand products that you usually purchase for healthier alternatives. Your kids may notice the peanut butter doesn’t taste the same; but they will soon get used to natural peanut butter without all the added sugar.

Do the same with other products such as milk, butter or margarine, cookies and crackers. You can still enjoy the same treats; just opt for the lower fat, lower salt, and lower calorie varieties.

So the next time you serve a meal and your children ask, “What is it?” Rather than tell them the ingredients, just smile and responds, ‘It’s delicious! That’s what it is!” They don’t have to know that you employed a sneaky nutrition tactic.

-Written by Laurie Ayers.

To learn more, check out the Mom’s Talk Guide to Raising Happy & Healthy Kids – Tips and resources address nutrition, exercise, sleep, routines, and much more.