Strike While the Kid is Hungry...

(not to be interpreted as beating your child into eating vegetables)

I just mean that the dreadful hour before dinner time is the perfect opportunity to lure your kids into the raw veggie world. If they're starving out of their minds while you stir the sauce, you won't feel bad if there's a plate of baby carrots on the counter.

What is your world like when you're home alone with the kids, trying to prepare a healthy meal? Are you cooking with one hand and one leg? Are you sauteing the noodles and boiling the onions because you can't concentrate with all the screaming kids? If you're like me, you question which is more important... a healthy meal for the kids, or your own sanity.

When the kids are this rowdy due to exhaustion and hunger, give them healthy food to nibble on to carry them over. What a great problem solver! Try these snack ideas for that witching hour before dinner:

- baby carrots or sliced peppers (ranch dip if necessary)
- whole grain crackers (not whole grain goldfish), and look for the lowest amount of sugar
- edamame (slightly salted or a squeeze of lemon)
- milk
- boiled egg (keep a stash in the refrigerator, boiled eggs keep for 4-5 days)

If you are struggling to get your little ones to try healthy food, this is what I call striking while they're hungry. Just remember to not back down when they scream for a gogurt (do they still make those things?). If they truly are hungry, kids will eat the carrots. L