meals.kids love Most children like to participate in the kitchen when preparing the dishes, especially if it is related to a children’s party to be celebrated at home or to which they will attend. At all times you have to let him participate but always with the watchful eye to watch him so that he doesn’t get hurt.

Dinner is the last meal of the day but not the least important because it serves to complement what we have eaten during the day. In addition, the children’s dinner is doubly important because, being in development and physical and mental growth, it is very important that they do not skip any food and eat those important foods that have not been served, or have not eaten in the quantity necessary, in the school canteen.

Another very important aspect of dinner is that it is often the only meal of the day that is made as a family, making it an ideal opportunity to strengthen family ties, talk about how the day has gone, plan projects (for example, where to spend the weekend or the next vacation) and seek solutions among all and in consensus to everyday problems.

Features that every self-respecting dinner should have

• Dinner should provide between 20-25% of the calories that the boy or girl should take during the day. This means that it must be light but, at the same time, provide the necessary nutrients to complete a daily cycle of a healthy diet.
• Dinner should complement the possible food deficiencies of the day. If the child stays in the school canteen it is important to consult the menu and ask the monitor if our son or daughter has eaten everything or not.
• Therefore, it should not be repeated at dinner the same dishes or with ingredients very similar to what we have eaten at noon, so if the child has had pasta at noon, a good option is to dine on a plate of vegetables, rice or potatoes.
• Food must be easily digestible.
• It is very important to give children dinner at least two hours before they go to sleep, although it is recommended that they do so sooner to ensure their rest and avoid too much time between snack and dinner and they arrive too hungry to this last meal. In this way, we will avoid binge eating.

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What do children like for dinner?

Most children eat traditional dishes very well, especially if they are prepared in a moderate quantity and cooked lightly, without ingredients that can make them feel heavy. For example:

• Soups and creams.
• Croquettes.
• Rice (for example three delicacies).
• Omelette.
• Peas with ham.
• Fried eggs.
• Chicken drumstick with green beans.
• Eggplants stuffed with meat or fish.

The problem of vegetables and fish

“My 7-year-old son eats meat, potatoes, or rice without problems, but he doesn’t want to see vegetables and fish.” This situation is extremely common in children and not so children. It is a fact that the vast majority of children and boys prefer a steak with fries than fish with vegetables. To counter this problem we can resort to tricks like:

• Fill the vegetables like aubergines, with a type of meat that the child likes.
• Accompany vegetables or other ingredients that are not to the child’s liking with elements that are to their liking in a single dish.
• Create shapes, such as faces or boats, with those foods that the child has trouble eating.

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