Teaching kids to love good food

Here are some tips from Traci Des Jardins on encouraging your children to eat a wide range of foods and learn their way around the kitchen:

Don't feed babies baby food. Simply grind up what you are eating and serve it to them. "We got a hand grinder," she said. "You can put it in your purse. . . . That's an easy way to acclimate their palate."

Don't give your kids bland food. Let them taste a variety of flavors, including vinegar and spice, and decide what they like. "Kids definitely have strong opinions. (My son) Eli doesn't eat green vegetables, but he doesn't eat just white food. . . . He loves raw onions and herbs and lettuces."

Don't just give kids the things that they say they'll eat. "Give them a range of things. I make Eli herb salads and salsa verde -- anything that is herbaceous. He loves sushi, but it has to be very fresh."

Don't make them eat, or you'll end up winning the battle and losing the war. "It's one of the only things that they have control over. You'll never get them to eat that way."

Ask them to help you in the kitchen, and plant a garden, so they can see where their food comes from and will be more willing to try new things.

Invite them to work with dough. "Kids like to make tamales and roll out tortillas. That's why cookies are fun -- it's a process."

Try baking bread or pizza with them. "Kids are amazed by the process of transformation. They like to watch this white, pasty dough turning into a big, brown loaf of bread."

Teach them organization but don't worry about the the mess. "I keep my kitchen very neat, but I'm not a neat freak. You're asking kids to work in the kitchen, and they're going to make a mess. Let go of it."

-- Diane Peterson