Kids' Foods

How To Put a Thermos of Food in a Kid's Lunch

On a cold winter day, surprise your child with a thermos full of hot food in his lunchbox. You can fill the thermos with a number of his favorite foods, such as chicken noodle or tomato soup, spaghetti or chili. Filling an insulated vacuum bottle with hot food is a convenient and creative way to use up leftovers.

Foods That Can Cause Bad Behavior in Kids

Some children are more challenging than others, but this doesn't mean that you have to resign yourself to putting up with temper tantrums or other types of aggressive behaviors. The key to controlling your child is to determine the root cause of the problem. In some cases, the food that she's eating may be directly related to her bad behavior. Eliminate the problem foods and you eliminate the bad behavior.

Foods or Vitamins to Help Kids Focus

Children are constantly growing, both mentally and physically, and their brains require the fuel to operate at peak capacity. This fuel comes from a balanced diet that provides the right mix of protein and carbohydrates, which will ensure brain function isn't impeded. Certain foods provide the nutrients that will ensure your child will stay focused in school. If you have concerns about your child's nutrition, ask your pediatrician if supplements are appropriate.

Beach-Themed Food for Kids

Kids love the beach for the novelty of water and sand and the wide range of play possibilities. While beach-themed food won't necessarily give kids the chance to build a sand castle, it will remind them of the fun they have at the seashore -- and infuse the meal with a sense of specialness. Beach-themed food is suitable for almost any special occasion, such as birthday parties, school events, playdates and school play cast parties.

Kids That Won't Eat Nutritious Food

Some parents have stumbled upon a ray of hope for their picky eaters. Simple strategies can pry even the most stubborn kid away from those beloved nuggets and fries and straight toward fruits and vegetables. Food specialists suggest a clear correlation exists between youngsters who help in the kitchen and healthy eating habits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some tips on dealing with fussy kids that won't eat nutritious food can be as easy as asking them to set the table or make a garden salad.

List of Foods for Kids Allergic to Peanuts

Finding out that your child has a peanut allergy can be devastating to a parent. Peanut allergies can be frighteningly severe and unlike with many other kinds of allergies, an affected child can become ill even if she eats something that has merely come in contact with a peanut. While the list of foods to avoid is lengthy, if parents are careful and remain aware of problematic ingredients, kids with peanut allergies can safely enjoy a wide variety of delicious and nutritious foods.

High-Protein Foods That Kids Will Eat

Protein provides your child with the building blocks needed for strong bodies, strong minds and a strong future. How much protein she requires varies depending on her age and weight. Toddlers need 0.55 g per pound of body weight per day; kids ages 4 to 6 need 0.5 g per pound; children ages 7 to 14 need 0.45 g; and teens need 0.4 g per pound. While you may think that giving your family healthy, protein-rich foods requires a lot of cooking time, some of the best kid-approved protein sources take just minutes to throw together.

Low Calcium in Children

With the great variety of soft drinks, sports drinks and fruit juices available, fewer children may be drinking calcium-rich milk with meals these days. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls calcium a "nutrient of concern" for American kids because low-calcium diets raise the risks for poor bone and teeth development and bone fractures. Steer your children away from broken bones and toward an adulthood of bone health by putting calcium and vitamin D foods on your daily menus.

Easy and Healthy Foods That Kids Actually Eat

If your child is faced with a choice between an unhealthy snack, such as a chocolate cookie, and a healthy slice of fresh fruit, chances are that he'll go for the unhealthy option. It doesn't have to be that way. Several specific food pairings can help attract your child's taste buds and only take a few minutes to whip up. Even the busiest mom doesn't have to sacrifice her time for healthy, irresistible, kid-approved meals.

List of Frozen Preserved Foods for Kids

Compared to fresh produce and homemade food, frozen food for kids can seem like an unhealthy, low-quality alternative. But this is not always the case. Beside providing cool treats for summer refreshment, serving your kids frozen foods allows you to take advantage of the longer shelf life that comes with freezing. You can purchase prepared frozen foods from any grocer, or make your own using simple ingredients and processes.

Easy Cakes That Kids Will Love

When it's time to plan for the dessert at a birthday party, classroom event or just a nightly family gathering around the dinner table, there's no need to exhaust yourself. Send attendees off with a smile on their faces and sweets in their belly with easy kid-friendly cakes. Thrill the birthday boy or make the graduate girl grin with cakes that are a treat to eat but also a treat to you, lifting some of the stress off your baker's shoulders.

How to Make Colorful Cupcakes

Cupcakes are a crowd-pleasing dessert treat, but you'll put even bigger smiles on your guests' faces with bright, colorful snack cakes that look as impressive as they taste. Adding color to your cupcakes doesn't have to be a labor-intensive chore, and lots of tricks for going a little brighter are ideal for getting your kids involved in the cooking process.

Food & Vitamins for Kids' Memory

Many foods and vitamins will help build your child's brain power and improve his memory. The brain is the first organ to absorb nutrients from the food we eat, according to nutritionist and American Dietetic Association spokesperson Bethany Thayer. Therefore, the choline-rich egg yolks your child eats at breakfast will go to work quickly to help him remember what he learns. The peanut butter sandwich he eats at lunch is packed with antioxidants and thiamine that nourish his brain. Give your child the right fuel to help him do his best in class.

Good Foods for Kids to Eat When Coughing

Problems with frequent coughing makes little throats sore and dry, but there are ways to help soothe that scratchy feeling without resorting to expensive and potentially dangerous medications. There are many foods that help ease a sore throat and calm an annoying cough. Additionally, the nutrients in the foods are good for a body fighting off sickness.

The Effects of Food Colors on Kids

As a busy mom, you must walk a fine line between providing nutritious food and catering to your children's tastes. Little kids like bright colors, and when their food is a pretty pink or blue, they probably are going to want it. Food manufacturers are no strangers to this concept, which is the reason many foods contain food dyes that turn food into a virtual rainbow of color. But the question remains whether artificial food coloring has any effect on children. Food manufacturers have been adding artificial food coloring since the mid 1950s, and no studies as of the time of this publication confirm that food coloring has much effect at all.

Play Food for Kids

Whether it's a casual play date or a birthday party, making a meal for a group of kids can be daunting. The key to feeding picky or disinterested eaters is to make the meal fun and interesting, and it's easier than you might think. A simple garnish or thoughtful variation on an old favorite takes only minutes, yet piques kids' interest.

Eggless & Dairy-Free Food for Kids

There are many reasons your family might choose an eggless and dairy-free diet, including health and ethics considerations and food allergies. Johns Hopkins Children's Center reports that egg and milk allergies in children appear to be increasing and that fewer children are outgrowing them. Whether you choose to avoid dairy and eggs out of conviction or necessity, you need some strategies for replacing them in a nutritious diet for kids.

Kids & Food Coloring

Foods treated with food coloring, such as candy, ice cream and soda, seem to go hand-in-hand with childhood. While food coloring can give food a sense of excitement and fun, you may have concerns that food coloring may contribute to negative health effects in children. Studies on the subject have brought mixed results, so it up to you to weigh the risks and benefits when serving artificially colored foods to your kids.

The Effects of Hormones in Foods on Kids

With so much conflicting news about the benefits of organic food and the possible dangers of hormone treated meat and dairy products in the media, it can be tricky for parents to discern what kinds of food are safe for their families. Some reports claim that food products that come from animals that have been treated with growth hormones can negatively affect the growth of a child. In truth, while some scientists have linked growth hormones to early puberty and certain cancers, there is no definitive proof to these claims and the FDA has declared hormone use safe.

Food Aversion in Kids

Food is one of the few areas a small child can control, whether it is coming in or going out, which sets the stage for a possible mealtime battleground. You've probably heard the cliché parents have used from time immemorial about cleaning your plate because of all the starving children in the world. This strategy rarely worked when the saying was new, and it probably won't work for your picky eater. No amount of threats, begging, bribing or pleading is likely to get a kid to eat. What is likely to work is finding foods he might enjoy.