3 Things you can do with your child today to help encourage healthy eating habits.

If you walked into a school lunch room and saw children lining up for the salad bar, you’d probably think, what are they putting in that salad bar to make those kids want to eat salad for lunch?

Salad bars are starting to show up into school cafeterias, with no special ingredients to entice kids to eat salad for lunch, other than the school garden planted outside.

School gardens are sprouting up across the United States, Europe and Australia, and are now making their way into the gulf region of the Middle East. From Bahrain to Iraq, gardening is showing up in the school’s curriculum, and teaching children not only how to grow food, but where their food comes from.

School Gardening

Research supports that teaching children about gardening will increase the likelihood they’ll try new fruits and vegetables. For instance, a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2007 found that middle school children who were exposed to gardening alongside a nutrition education course more than doubled the amount of fruits and vegetables they would try in a taste test as compared to those children who weren’t exposed to the gardening program. The study further demonstrated how gardening increases a child’s curiosity about where food comes from, encouraging healthier eating habits.

You’re probably thinking, that’s great news! School gardens may help my picky eater eat fruits and vegetables for lunch, but my school doesn’t have a gardening program. What can I do? 

There is plenty you can do at home with your children to encourage health eating habits, and here are 3 tips to get you started. 

Tips to encourage healthy eating habits at home

Tip #1- Start small, plant an herb garden

You don’t need a big back yard to start a garden, you don’t even need a back yard.  All you need is some soil, sun, water and a little patience. Herbs are a great way to get started gardening with your child, and can be grown in your kitchen. Herbs require very little work other than trimming once in a while to add fresh flavor to your next dish.

Parsley grows incredibly well in Qatar’s dry climate, and used in so many Middle Eastern dishes. Ask your child to cut some fresh parsley, grown from your very own kitchen garden next time you make Tabbouleh. Don’t be surprised if they try a leaf or two before bringing it to you.

Tip #2- Grow vegetables from kitchen scraps

There are lots of fruits and vegetables you use every day that can be regrown from the unused portion you usually throw away, and most can be grown in just a small amount of water.

Next time you’re peeling a potato or chopping onion, ask your child if they think you can grow the unused part of the food instead of throwing it out. They may look at you funny, but curiosity will win them over and before you know it, you’ll have your very own kitchen science lab.

Celery, onion, and lemongrass are just a few of the kitchen scraps you can easily grow with your child. Check out my list of 10 foods you can regrow from kitchen scraps.

Tip #3- Harvest your own seeds

Play with your child’s curiosity about how things grow. Cut into a tomato and remove a few seeds from the center. Place the seeds on a wet paper towel inside a clear plastic cup, place the cup near a sunny window, and watch them sprout. Within a few days your child will see the seed start to break open, and a new little seedling pop out. Once the sprout is a few inches tall, gently remove the sprout and plant in a sunny location. You’ll have fresh tomatoes within the month and your picky eater trying tomatoes.

Check out these 10 foods you can regrow from kitchen scraps.

For information on how to start school garden at your child’s school, check out The Edible Schoolyard Project

To get involved in creating positive change in the way children access, consume and understand food, check out Jamie's Food Revolution 

10 Foods you can easily regrow from kitchen scraps

      Getting kids interested in where their food comes from is the first step in encouraging healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. Kids are more likely to try a new fruit or vegetable if they grow it themselves. 

    Regrowing kitchen scraps is a great way to get kids interested in where their food comes from. So next time, instead of throwing out your kitchen scraps, why not ask your child, "Do you think we can grow this?"

     10 foods that you can easily grow with your kids from kitchen scraps. 

1. Celery

Super easy to regrow. Just cut the bottom off and place in a swallow bowl of water. Within a few days you’ll see roots appear and new green popping out of the center.

2. Lettuce and Bok Choy

Remove the outer leaves and place the stem in some water to watch them root. The leaves will need to be sprayed with water to keep them moist every day or two.

3. Carrots 

Just cut off the top and place in a shallow cup of water. Within a day or two you’ll see green tops beginning to grow and roots in about a week.

4. Pineapple

Cut the top off and insert toothpicks into the fleshy part to hold the crown above water. Replace water every couple of days, and within a week, roots should start to appear.

5. Basil and Coriander/Cilantro

Very easy to regrow, just place a stem about 3-4” long in a glass of water with the leaves above the water line. The stem will begin to root in a few days.

6. Potato

All you need to grow a potato is a peeling with eyes on them. Make sure you have two or three eyes on the peeling, then plant directly into the soil about four inches deep, eyes facing up. You also can just plant a small potato with eyes on them, no need to peel.

7. Lemongrass

Cut the bottom off and place in a swallow glass of water to watch roots and new sprouts appear in about a week.

8. Garlic

Remove one clove and place root side on a wet paper towel. Keep paper towel wet until roots start to appear. Plant in a sunny area.

9. Onions

Place the root side of the onion you cut off in a little water or on a wet paper towel until roots appear, then plant in a sunny area.

10. Tomatoes

Remove seeds and place on a wet paper towel and keep moist until they sprout. No need to dry them, they’ll sprout in a few days straight from the tomato.

  

Veggie Noodles w/ Sesame Ginger Dressing

Hot days mean cool summer dishes. The temperatures are heating up, we reached 47C/116F this week, and eating a hot meal was just not on the menu. This pasta is light and refreshing with just a hint of tanginess, just the kick I needed on a steamy night. 

Greatest thing about this dish, (other then it can be made in the time it takes to cook pasta), there is plenty for left overs! I hope you enjoy this one as much as we do.  

Ingredients

200g (½ package) whole wheat or brown rice pasta

2 carrots, spiraled

2 small zucchini, spiraled

handful mangetout (flat snow pea), julienne 

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds*

Sesame ginger dressing 

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain then run under cool water to stop cooking. Drain and set aside. 

While noodles cook, make dressing and toast sesame seeds, then spiral cut carrots and zucchini and julienne mangetout. Add veggies to a large bowl. 

Add cooled noodles and dressing to the veggies, toss to combine the veggies and the noodles to coat everything with the dressing. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds. 

* To toast sesame seeds, heat a pan over medium high heat, add sesame seeds and toss until aromatic, about 1 minute. Toasting sesame seeds intensifies the flavor of the seeds and adds a nice finishing touch to the dish.

Sesame Ginger Dressing

1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted 

1-2” piece peeled ginger

1-2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp white miso paste

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp soy sauce

Juice of 1 lime

¼ cup sunflower oil

2 tbsp dark sesame oil

Heat a pan over medium high heat and dry roast sesame seeds until aromatic. 

Add all ingredients, including toasted sesame seeds to a high speed blender or NutriBullet, blend until creamy.

Stir-Fried Chicken-Veggie Noodles

Serves 4

Marinade/Sauce

2 tbsp. hoisin sauce

1 tbsp. fish sauce

1 tbsp. rice vinegar or lime juice

Ingredients

4-6 pieces of chicken thigh meat, cut into bite-sized pieces

200g pasta

1 tbsp. sesame oil

1 tbsp. oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 zucchini, thinly sliced or spiraled

1 carrot, thinly sliced or spiraled

small bunch of coriander/cilantro, chopped 

How to prepare

• Combine marinade in a small bowl, add chicken and toss to coat. Set aside for at least one hour. This step can also be done the night before.
• Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water, then drizzle with sesame oil. 
• I like using whole wheat or brown rice pasta. Using whole foods adds fiber and gives you most of the natural vitamins and minerals that are stripped out of white or processed flour pastas.
• Heat oil over medium high heat, add garlic and sauté for about 30 sec, then add chicken, reserving the marinade for later, and cook another 2 mins. 
• Add red pepper, zucchini, carrot and reserved marinade, toss to coat and cook another 2 mins. Remove from heat.
• Add one serving of pasta to a heated wok, then add chicken and veggie stir fry. Toss everything to make sure pasta is well coated and stir fry to heat through. Remove from heat and serve with a sprinkling of coriander/cilantro. 

This dish can be made with or without chicken. Whole food, plant based meals can contain small amounts of meat; Meat just takes the side dish to veggies. If making without chicken, just make marinade and add to recipe with veggies. 

Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins with Coconut Frosting

As a parent, I’m always being asked to bake treats for my kid's. Cupcakes are usually a hit, so I decided to make mine with a bit of nutrition packed inside.

Increasing fiber is the simplest and easiest way to add nutrition to your kid's meals. I've added whole wheat flour to the recipe and sweetened them with dates.

They're super easy to make, all you need in a high speed blender or food processor, a large mixing bowl and lots of love.

Muffins

½ cup coconut sugar, ground to a fine powder
⅓ cup sunflower oil 

2 bananas

2 eggs

4-6 medjool dates, about a ¼ cup

1 cup whole wheat flour

¾ cup white flour

2 tbsp flaxseed/linseed, ground

1 tbsp lucuma powder (optional)

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp fine sea salt

½ cup chocolate chips

Frosting

1 cup butter 

1 cup powder sugar

1 cups powdered coconut sugar

1 tsp vanilla

½ desiccated coconut

¼ cup coconut milk

To make cupcakes

Start by adding the coconut sugar to a NutriBullet any high speed processor and blend into a fine powder. (You can add the sugar for the frosting at this time, just measure out a ½ cup for the cupcake batter). 

Add the oil and sugar to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. 

Now add the banana, dates and egg to a high speed blender and blend until the dates are combined with the eggs and banana. Add this mixture to the oil and sugar and mix well. 

Add the flours, flaxseed/linseed, lucuma (if using, this just adds extra sweetness along with vitamins and minerals to the cupcakes), baking powder and salt then mix to combine. 

Finally mix in the chocolate chips and scoop by spoonful into a lined cupcake tray. Bake for 17-20 minutes at 350F/180C or until the cupcakes are firm and rebound when you lightly press on the tops. If frosting the cupcakes, let cool before frosting. 

To Make Frosting

• Add all ingredients into a food processor or mixing bowl and cream together. Easy!

*To make powdered coconut sugar just add to a NutriBullet or food processor and blend until fine. You can make your own powdered sugar the same way but using white sugar. Powdered sugars are usually sold with anti caking agents and are more expensive then making your own.