Got a picky eater who refuses leafy greens? Stubbornly says they won’t eat tomato? Or, got great eaters who are pretty good, but won’t tackle lettuce and tomato? I have a solution for you with a fun way to eat – tacos!
The joy of tacos gives kids a level of control over their own food that they don’t normally get, so right away it’s a much more fun way to eat.
Also, for younger picky eaters, seeing the rest of the family putting healthy shredded lettuce and sliced tomato on the tacos (often) will create desire to mimic and make their own taco just like older siblings and mum and dad.
Finally, my most successful tip for getting picky eaters to try healthy foods such as lettuce and tomato, is invite a favourite older cousin or friend over. In our family, my three children worship their older cousins Joe and Eliza. When they saw them both eating lettuce and tomato it was clear that lettuce and tomato were cool! We’ve had not trouble ever since.
Here’s my recipe for tacos. I would really love to hear from readers who have their own taco tips. This post came about after I posted a photo of our taco night last night and I got lots of responses on my Facebook page from others who also love taco night. So let’s hear your top taco tips for kids!
We use chicken mince because of our recent switch to eating healthier food and reducing our red meat intake.
Taco Tips!
- 500g of chicken mince + seasoning (will get to that in a sec)
- lettuce
- tomato
- avocado
- grated lite cheddar cheese
- lite sour cream
- tomato relish/sauce
- hard taco shells
- soft taco wraps
Seasoning:
You could use the seasoning that comes in the taco box but we prefer to make our own. We make up a batch of it and put it in an old spice jar. It usually lasts a few weeks (we have tacos probably every fortnight or so). This is the recipe Nick uses. I’ll put a link to where he got it from when I find out from him. It makes a wonderful seasoning mix.
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
Throw it all in a jar and shake it around – voila!
Tomato relish: You can use the one that comes in the pre-packaged box but we don’t. Nick often makes up his own, using tinned tomatoes as the base. But the packet stuff is good too.
To make tacos:
- Brown the mince, sprinkle the seasoning in. Simmer for 20 mins.
- Shred the lettuce, slice the tomato, grate the cheese, pour the sour cream into a serving bowl, dice the avocado. Put everything on a lazy susan for easy access.
- Warm the hard shells in the oven.
- Microwave the soft wraps for 15 – 20 seconds.
To eat the tacos, there are a variety of ways:
- Lay the soft taco on the plate and fill with your choice of ingredients, roll up and eat.
- Lay the soft taco on the plate, place the hard taco on it, fill the hard taco with ingredients and wrap the soft wrap around the hard taco – eat!
- Spoon the chicken mince onto the plate, garnish with lettuce, tomato, avocado, cheese, tomato relish/sauce, sour cream and then crush the hard tacos over the top. Mix it all together and eat. Yum!
There are lots of fun ways to do tacos and the varieties are endless. I have readers who do vegetarian versions, and apparently even a fish version (looking forward to that email, by the way!).
Email me your taco tips: felicitymoore at y7mail dot com.
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I wish I could get my older boy to eat healthy things on his taco. Left to his own devices, he will load his up with cheese, sour cream, maybe carrot if I’ve grated some, and lettuce if I really push it. He doesn’t even like having meat on his tacos.
I’ve generally found that he is more open to trying things if he has helped me with the cooking. We’re eating a lot of salad at the moment, so I get him to put things in the bowl once I’ve cut them up.
On the plus side, my younger boy lives food and will try most things with no issue. I did baby-led weaning with him, so he has always been in control of what he eats from his plate and how much of it he eats. I’ve noticed a big difference in his range of tastes and food acceptance at 2, when compared to his older brother at the same age.
I’m quite interested in the baby-led weaning. My sister was going to do a guest blog post here about it as she used it with her first baby. *pointedly looks at sister, who is happily ignoring pointed stares, being 39 weeks pregnant with Baby #2*.
Another option might be making the first two layers mandatory and done by Mum – lettuce and tomato – and then Son #1 can top with whatever he likes? If he’s eating lettuce when pushed, that’s not too bad, really. You’re doing pretty well! And well done on Son #2 and the well-trained palate!
I like pizzas for the same theory, everyone makes their own, there’s lots of interesting things you can put on a pizza
I use tortillas as the bases. And make your own hamburgers are another popular option here. Unfortunately none of these work with my picky eater, who shall not be fooled and puts on strictly the same pitiful few options every time!
It’s annoying when they confound our best efforts, isn’t it?! We’re big fans of pizza faces here – pita bread bases, and then all the ingredients for a face. We use grated cheese for hair, olives for eyes, corn kernals for teeth, cherry tomato slices for cheeks, or any variation I can find in the cupboard. Slices of carrot work well for round eyes too, baked beans for teeth!
Yeah we love mexican food! I’ve started making my own fajitas which is time-consuming but kinda satisfying. For tacos/fajitas, I do the normal fillings but also make a hot bean sauce (usually either red beans or black beans). I also like homemade pico de gallo (fresh chopped tomatoes, shallots, chillies, coriander, lemon juice). I’ll have to give your spice mix a try as I’ve never found one online that’s as tasty as the bought ones (looking at your recipe, that may be as they don’t have added salt).
The other good communal type meal I do, which is great in summer, is set out wraps and fillings and everyone makes their own (ham or cold chicken or smoked salmon, cheese, tomato, avocado, olives, hummous, artichokes, salad, tabouli, onion, capers, philly cream cheese). With one vegan, one child who doesn’t like much meat, one child who only wants to eat meat and a husband who will eat what he’s given – thank God- these sorts of meals work well for our family.
Great idea with tacos Felicity, like Sarah my family are more into the “make your own” pizza’s which seem to do the trick well to add some much needed goodness to their diets. I will give the tacos a go next week. Thanks!