Monday, April 9, 2012

Kids Like Food That Looks Good

By Julia Moravcsik, PhD, author of Teach Your Child to Love Healthy Food

If you watch your pet dog discover a tasty morsel on the sidewalk, you'll notice a difference between him and yourself. Your dog probably found the morsel by sniffing. Most animals use their sense of smell to determine whether something is food or not.

Humans Use Vision To Determine What is Tasty

We humans (like most primates) use our sense of vision to determine whether a food is tasty.  After we see it, we then use our sense of taste and smell to verify that the food is indeed as tasty as it looks.

Why is this? First of all, primates use their hands to bring food to their mouths. They have to have an initial idea of what to pick up or else they would spend hours bringing every object in their view to their mouths to taste.

Second, we primates are smart, and we can form initial hypotheses about what might taste good. For example, humans and other fruit-eating primates see the color red very well because red is the color of ripe fruit. If a fruit looks red, it's worth trying a taste of it.
  
Processed Food Looks Interesting and Fun

Processed food manufacturers have an advantage over us parents -- they can make their food look especially interesting and fun. Peeps, candy canes, and cotton candy look more like toys than food. The fun look makes kids like them, even if they taste like nothing more than sugary chemicals.

Researchers have found that children like foods (fruit, for example) much better if they are presented in a way that is visually appealing. Children also like food with fun colors better.

Make Healthy Food Look Beautiful, Interesting, and Fun

There is an entire culinary movement called Nouvelle Cuisine which is devoted to making food look appealing. (Here are some pictures.) Become inspired to do the same for your child's food.

Bill and Claire Wurtzel have authored a creative book with dozens of pictures of egg faces, pancake people, and other funny dishes.

You can buy plates that look like coloring book pictures and fill the plates with colorful healthy foods.

Food art is an area where you can go crazy with the fruits and vegetables. Broccoli can be trees, grated carrots can be hair, and olives can be eyes. Take advantage of the many shapes and colors of fruits and vegetables. At the produce department, look for funny, cute shaped fruits and vegetables.

You can use toothpicks to create a plateful of different mini-sandwiches made of vegetables. Or you can serve skewers with fruit and cheese. Use your imagination.

Children can get involved in making food faces, animals, and people. You can provide dishes of different vegetables and get your children to decorate their next meals. This will help your children learn to cook, which will help them become lifelong healthy eaters.

Use Lots of Colors

A recent study found that children like lots of different colors of food on their dinner plate. Adults liked three different colors of food, but children liked six or seven.

Colors of food correspond to the number of foods, and children also liked more different types of food on their plates than adults. You can take advantage of this preference, because the more different healthy foods a child learns to like in her formative early years, the more healthy foods she'll like later on. Give your child lots of different foods for each meal

Don't Make Healthy Food Look Like Processed Food

You may be tempted to get out the food coloring and the sprinkles. But making healthy food look like processed food will actually teach your child to like processed food!


If your child avoids artificial-looking foods, over the years she will come to find these foods slightly repulsive. She will know what real food looks like, and the bright purples, blues, and yellows of processed foods will seem like what it is -- fake food.

Use the natural colors of real foods to create your food art: orange carrots, purple beets, blue blueberries.

Would you like a simple, easy-to-follow program that will teach your child to love healthy food? See my new book Teach Your Child to Love Healthy Food on amazon.com.

Here are some more strategies to help your child love the taste of healthy foods

Why Children Like Processed Food and What You Can Do About It

25 Ways to Get Your Child to Eat Vegetables
Children Don't Like Mushy, Slimy Textured Foods -- Until They Get Used to Them

See the Latest Blog Post

Find me on Facebook or Twitter

39 comments:

  1. I have enjoyed reading your article. I have found there lots of interesting facts. My kids like all bright colours. So I will strive to show my excellent imagiantiona and will make funny meal for kids. I hope it will worked out. Thanks for your interesting review!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Enjoy life is to experience delicious food and a healthy lifestyle.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These polyphenols have been found to lower fevers by killing the bacteria that causes existing infections.

    Immune Support

    ReplyDelete
  4. I’m glad to see that having got your blog site I have solved my whole issues regarding searching the stuff.phlebotomist

    ReplyDelete
  5. An enormous round of applause, continue the great work.
    chipotle nutrition

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am very enjoyed for this blog. I feel strongly about it and love very important information. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me. easy heart healthy food

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love this blog because it is user friendly with appreciative information.
    http://dangersofyacon.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We must enjoy our lives with the delicious food it is also the symbol of healthy lifestyle.
    Lucy

    ReplyDelete
  10. Waooow!! Nice blog, this will be greatly helpful.
    best fat burner supplement for men

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love all details that you give in your articles.
    best weight loss pills

    ReplyDelete
  12. Make healthy body by eating healthy food..

    Healthy Food

    ReplyDelete
  13. Quickly this site will indisputably be famous among all blogging people, because of its fastidious articles or reviews.

    how to lose man boobs

    ReplyDelete
  14. herpes cureThis is really pretty cool place I like it because it has everything I want more on this blog soon.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Now this is in actual fact cooperative. It’s very openhanded of you to share this with us.
    check my reference

    ReplyDelete
  16. You guys present there are performing an excellent job.
    green coffee bean extract side effects

    ReplyDelete
  17. This is very essential blog; it helped me a lot whatever you have provided.
    Michael Todd

    ReplyDelete
  18. Waooow!! Nice blog, this will be greatly helpful.
    TruOrganic.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. This blog is truly extraordinary in all aspects.iherb coupon

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your blogs and its stuff magnetize me to return again n again. toenail fell off

    ReplyDelete
  21. I’m glad to locate so much of informative data in your blog. supplement for health

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hey to everyone, it’s my first visit of the blog site; this blog includes awesome and actually best info for the visitors.oil pulling coconut oil

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for the entire information you have given here to impart knowledge amongst us? dentures south bay

    ReplyDelete
  24. In reality your creative writing abilities have intensified me to get my own blog nowadays. VitiligoHelper

    ReplyDelete
  25. Great blog! There is lots of good information, not only me but also everyone can understand it easily. anti wrinkle creams

    ReplyDelete
  26. Truly awesome blog! I desire the same top-quality blog post from you in the forthcoming also. http://mommymakeoversd.com

    ReplyDelete
  27. I read your blogs regularly. Your humoristic way is amusing, continue the good work! beautypriority

    ReplyDelete
  28. Awesome work! That is quite appreciated. I hope you’ll get more success. pregnancymiraclebookss.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. You had explained the facts well. Taking junk foods in great amount will be really dangerous as compared to having natural ingredients that are full of healthy components. They can add to your health as having them even if don't benefits you, it won't be harming you for sure.
    Regards:
    Acai Berry Juice

    ReplyDelete
  30. Its really very good information about health. Every person has to take care of their health by following some health tips.
    You can also follow Daily Health Tips for more tips., they are providing all types of tips for our health and beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  31. You made here really nice and interesting observations :) thanks

    ReplyDelete
  32. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hiring staff is the next process of our bakery business and that Baked comfort food business can be a cake shop business, a bread shop or any other product related to the bakery profession. These people will be employees and likely answering the job posting either in the local newspaper or the local employment exchange.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Im no expert, but I believe you just made an excellent point. You certainly fully understand what youre speaking about, and I can truly get behind that. sushi rice health benefits

    ReplyDelete
  35. The Scitec nutrition 100% whey protein, including whey isolate and whey concentrate, is a fantastic source of high-quality protein.scitec nutrition uk

    ReplyDelete
  36. Fyre grill provides us with the grilling equipment for a perfect bbq season. And we don’t want to rely on any other brand as it is the best. In addition, the quality of the equipment is up to the mark when you see it at a price. So highly recommended. grilling equipment for a perfect BBQ Season

    ReplyDelete
  37. I have found this article very useful. Thanks for sharing such important Health Line tips, which I am going to keep in mind. I am also a and write about healthy foods

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear your opinions, questions, or comments.