Teaching Nutrition to Kids

I've been cooking at my kid's school again. This time, I had a group of highly attentive, well-behaved, extremely polite kindergarteners. (I have no idea what spell the teachers cast that caused the kids to say "please" and "thank-you" and to sit quietly waiting for directions. If I find out, I promise I'll share.) We made brown rice balls dipped into peanut butter sauce. The kids really loved it. Only one child declined entirely, and about three didn't seem to like it. The rest ate it and a quite a few shoveled down ball after ball of the stuff, while mumbling with pleasure.

The interesting part for me was that none of the kids seemed to notice that the rice tasted different than usual. Surely not all of them have whole-grain, brown rice at home. So, wanting to incorporate some nutrition lessons into the activity, I mentioned that the rice was brown. They all looked at the rice quizzically, then back at me, then went back to eating. I guess it didn't exactly look brown. Next, I told them that this so-called brown rice is a good-for-you whole grain, with all the healthy vitamins and fiber in it. Again they looked at their rice. Then, nodding in agreement, one of the kids said, "Yeah, it's good. Can I have more?"

This whole conversation (or lack there-of) made me laugh . . . and reminded about what the research shows: Kids learn about nutrition from eating, watching others eat, and watching adults shop, cook and order food in restaurants. So, nutrition education that works is hands-on (or maybe mouths-on?). It is the only way kids will ever really learn to love healthy food.

Actually, my kid's former preschool teacher has come up with the ultimate nutrition education program. Her students take turns bringing snacks for the class. The catch is, they can only bring in fruits and vegetables. The school supplies crackers and water. The results? Over time, Sue reports that the kids are learning to eat and enjoy all types of fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, the parents like knowing exactly what to bring and are thrilled that their preschoolers are getting peer-pressure to eat fruits and vegetables.

So, want to do some nutrition-education in your own home (a.k.a. make dinner)? Here's my recipe for quick peanut sauce. Try it on chicken, shrimp, steamed vegetables, brown rice and/or quinoa.

Peanut Sauce (serves 4, depending on what you do with it)
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (no trans, of course!)
1/4 cup hot water
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce (or a bit more)
Whisk all ingredients together until creamy- or have a kindergartener do it. Enjoy!