the littlest healthy gourmet

You won’t believe it. This weekend, at a lovely restaurant, with the requisite kids sized macaroni and cheese waiting in front of her, my 2.5 year old daughter actually had three whole bites of my salad. Lettuce. She ate lettuce. Maybe there is hope after all!

In our play kitchen we have the sets of cut-em-yourself veggies and fruits. We have some wooden bread, cheese, eggs, even some odd-looking cuts of meat that are probably completely unrecognizable to a 2 year old. But we also have the only things she ever plays with: the make-your-own cupcakes, the make-your-own pizza, and the scoop-your-own-ice cream. My current – probably slightly delusional – hypothesis is this: the veggies and fruit we have don’t make anything. They’re just raw components. Maybe she’ll create stiry fry delicacies and veggie lasagna when she’s 4 or 5, but for now, it’s a bit overwhelming? Instead, Educo Healthy Gourmet Salad For Green Eaters, $20 is a luscious ready to assemble salad. Just like her favorite puzzles, she can see the end goal and plan accordingly. And then calmly feed that end goal to the dolphin, chicken, puppy, Mo Kitty, Baby Sophie, and maybe even her momma if there are left overs.

You should also sneak a peek the Educo Healthy Gourmet Pita Pocket Lunch, $15 – I’m fairly certain a child’s natural stuff-it-till-it-bursts philosophy will be thoroughly tested. We also have their kitchen set – the stove/sink and the separate refrigerator and love them both!