June 18, 2010 The Magic of Yogurt
Want a magic pill to get your kids to try new foods?
Here it is… YOGURT! Yes, you can teach your children to eat new foods using only yogurt.
I’ve written about yogurt before, about how great plain yogurt is (and how bad sweetened yogurt is) for teaching kids to eat right -- Read Yogurt vs. Coke, But Plain Yogurt is Gross, Yogurt on the Brain.
Even still, I never realized before how many things you can do with plain yogurt, and as a result, what a boon it is for parents: you can use the same old food your children already love and eat to expand their repertoire, just by switching things up.
Cindy at Fix Me a Snack is on a mission to develop 101 recipes for yogurt. She’s up to 80 and all I can say is you’ve got to check this out! Read the list.
Last night I made a version of the Rhubarb Mango Yogurt (#51), only I used frozen blueberries instead of the mango. Everyone loved it.
But the recipe I can't wait to try is the Banana Coconut Pie Yogurt (#65).
Look at it. Doesn't it look yummy? It's made with mashed banana, coconut extract, shredded coconut and plain yogurt. Brilliant!
The imagination, the creativity and the variety on this list are amazing. Reading through the recipes, it hit me: You could teach your kids to eat new foods using only yogurt.
Here's how it would work:
1) Start with the recipe that you’re sure will be a winner.
Look over the list with your child and pick the recipe that looks the best. Not the healthiest. Not the most creative. The best.
Consider the Banana Toffee Yogurt (#61). Or the Smore Yogurt (#79) pictured here. It's made with graham crackers, chocolate sauce, marshmallows and plain yogurt.
2) Next, move onto a yogurt that might be a little more challenging, but stay in the Love Domain.
Consider the Cinnamon Toast Yogurt (#73), the Jamtacular Yogurt (#77) or the Banana Nut Butter Honey Yogurt (#12).
By now, your child will probably be thinking that this new food thing is alright!
3) Then, as people of my generation used to say, “Keep on Truckin'."
- Nutty Yogurt (#69)
- Yogurt Salad (#46), made with cucumbers. (Pictured here.)
- Garbanzo Bean Yogurt (#49)
- Avocado Yogurt with Fresh Mango (#39)
One day you might even find yourself trying out #50! (If you do, let me know how it goes.)
Why this strategy will work:
1) It will get two ideas into your child’s head. The first is that plain yogurt is a good food. The second is that new foods aren’t always bad, boring and healthy. Training the brain is just as important as training the taste buds. Read Mind Over Matter.
2) The familiarity of keeping one dimension of the dish constant – the yogurt – helps reluctant children feel comfortable trying new foods because it helps them know what to expect. Read Look Into My Crystal Ball.
3) Alternating what goes into the yogurt doesn’t just alter the taste, it alters the texture, the aroma, the appearance and even the temperature. Mixing up these sensual properties is a huge part of learning to eat new foods. Read For Extreme Fruit and Vegetable Avoiders....
Half the battle of getting kids to eat new foods is teaching them that "new" can be fun, exciting, and, yes, tasty.
I’ve contributed some recipes to the list, but that’s not why I’m so enthusiastic about Cindy’s project. I love it because it offers 101 ways to accomplish one of the most important components of learning to eat right... trying new foods.
But you don't have to stick with just the yogurt. Here's another way to introduce new: try some of Cindy's interesting presentation methods: The fish bowl (#30), the parfait glass (#61), and the bear bowl (#68). Read Make "New" Work for You.
Get your kids in the new groove and before you know it, they'll start complaining when you go back to the old standards. Now that's a problem to behold.
~ Changing the conversation from nutrition to habits. ~
Reader Comments (9)
Wow. This is an amazing post. It was your Yogurt on the Brain post that kicked 101 into action if I remember correctly.
I'm off to post links to this everywhere I can think of. It's true that the blog and the Yogurt 101 project have really expanded our food horizons. Thanks for putting it all into words so well. I'm too busy making all these snacks to take a step back and really see what's happening sometimes.
Love this post and your site! Came to you via Fix Me Snack's blog (I think!) I have spent some time today checking things out and you have said so well the many thing I think too! Food is about so much more than just nutrition--that's what people don't always realize but so many times we talk about how food brings PEOPLE together and how memories are created around food. Remembering those things and learning to love the food we eat and think about what we are eating is key--the good nutrition and healthiness will then follow--hopefully. Great, great ideas here!
Cindy: Thanks for the kind words. I can't wait to see the rest of the yogurt recipes. Yum!
And Brenda: It's always nice to know there are like-minded people out there. I agree (obviously) that there's more to food than nutrition and you're right, the way it brings people together is key. Thanks for your comments.
Dina
Fantastic post, Dina!
Talking about yogurt as a base to sneek in the good stuff, we Indians have done this forever- its called 'raita'. It is used on the side along with the main course- with rotis or rice based preparations. There are countless ways to make a 'raita'.
Now that I have brought this up, 'raita' is not just what is served in Indian restaurants around here. Infact no typical home cooked meal is like that serverd in a restaurant. And raita can be made using completely unhealthy ingredients as well- like 'boodi' or fried gram flour. So if you attempt to google raita recipes, there will be the good and bad ones listed together like an assortment of candies in a bowl. Also, for purposes on this forum, 'curd'=yogurt.
Rao -
I didn't know that raita came in 'unhealthy' versions. Thanks for sharing that. I'm excited to check out the varieties. I truly believe thinking outside the American food "box" is the way to go for expanding what kids will eat. My family loves Indian food. And now, we'll probably fall in love with Indian treats too.
Dina
This is great, I'm going to be trying it with my sons, one of whom could really use the incentive to try new things. I've been reading all around your blog and am really, really enjoying your approach to feeding children, it seems so acheivable.
Catherine,
Thanks for your kind words. I can't wait to hear how the yogurt experiment goes with your sons.
Dina
Great post! I've been trying to get my child to eat healthy but she is such a picky eater. This method seems so easy. I hope that it will work on her.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes. I would also love to know which yogurt combos work the best!
Good luck.
Dina