Padma Lakshmi's Healthy Eating Tips for Kids

Healthy food grows healthy kids, but what if your child has an aversion to the well-balanced meals you are intent on serving? Foodie celebrity and best-selling author Padma Lakshmi has some ideas for guiding kids toward healthier eating.

August 20, 2021

By: Gloria Ballard

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For Padma Lakshmi, Food is a Family Affair

“Cooking and the passing down of food knowledge is one of the most enriching ways I bonded with the women in my family,” says Padma Lakshmi, the award-winning food expert and author. “It’s how I bond today with my daughter, passing down skills and advice that I hope will give her a lifetime of healthy eating long after I am gone.” It’s also what inspired her to write Tomatoes for Neela, a picture book for young readers (illustrated by award-winning author/illustrator Juanita Martinez-Neal) that provides gentle lessons about fresh produce, the joy of cooking, and strong family bonds. We caught up with the author to get her tips for encouraging healthy eating habits in kids.

Be a Good Role Model to Establish Healthy Eating Habits

Kids watch and learn, so how you approach meals is how they’re also going to respond. “Whenever parents ask me how to get their kids to eat healthy, I first ask how they eat,” Padma says. “It’s important to set a good, consistent example, and that everyone in the family eat the same food. Kids should not be able to dictate what they eat.”

Learn More: How to Organize Your Refrigerator for Better Health

Make Food Shopping a Family Activity

Padma’s daughter Krishna, now 11, is no stranger to food shopping. “Our experiences at the greenmarket are what inspired me to write this book,” says Padma, explaining that the Tomatoes For Neela, a story for ages 4 - 8, is based on the bedtime story she told her daughter, “to teach her when things grew in season, the importance of writing recipes, as well as all of the hands that bring us food that we eat every day.”

Don't Give In to Children's Food Whims and Dislikes

We all know a child who seems to hate everything — will only eat hot dogs or mac and cheese, for instance — and we’re quick to label them “picky eaters.” What happened? “I think what makes kids finicky eaters are parents who are willing to placate them,” Padma says. “As a parent, you have to be strong on this, and stand your ground.” This was her approach with Krishna. “I would often say, ‘This is what we’re having for dinner. If you don’t like this you can have some scrambled egg with some carrots and celery wrapped in a tortilla.'”

Expand Kids' Curiosity About Food

How many times have you whined, “Just try it” to coax your youngster to taste something new? If you approach it with an attitude of adventure, that may get them to try an unfamiliar taste. “I would just act like it’s fun to be adventurous. It should be about expanding their curiosity,” Padma says. “Don’t presume they won’t like it before they’ve tried it.” Introduce new foods “as soon as their tummy can handle it,” she advises. “They’ll eat what the family eats.”

Let Kids Feel At Home and Welcome In the Kitchen

The kitchen should not be a foreign land, Padma believes, and it’s important to get kids involved in food preparation. “Krishna has helped me in the kitchen from as early as when she was four years old,” the author says. “She first started pickling, then she started making different fruit sorbets, then she moved onto crudite with seasoned yogurts and salad dressing. And now she fries her own chicken cutlets!”

Fill the Pantry With Healthy Choices

Healthy food choices in the kitchen will mean healthy choices on your child’s plate, or in their hands. “I always keep eggs in the fridge, as well as some cut raw veggies and tortillas for Krishna to make for herself,” Padma says. Whole grain cereals, fruit, nuts, cheese, hummus and other healthy and available foods can also be made ready for quick snacks.

Learn More: Peek Inside a Nutritionist's Kitchen and Steal Some Tips for Yourself

Play the Long Game When it Comes to Good Nutrition

Kids’ taste buds change over time, and what is “Yuck” early on can be “Yum!” a few months or years later. Choices may also be influenced by how food looks, how it feels, or what their friends say about it. “You have to play the long game with food,” Padma says. “Two years ago, Krishna didn’t like lentils. Now she asks for them on a regular basis.” Whatever strategy you choose, be sure to follow through. “It’s important to be consistent and not buckle to their tantrums and whims.”

Teaching About Food + Family Connections

Learning is at the center of Padma Lakshmi's book, Tomatoes for Neela. The central character, a little girl named Neela, loves cooking with her amma [mother] and writing down recipes in her notebook — it makes her feel closer to her paati, her grandmother who lives in India. At the green market, Neela and her amma plan to buy tomatoes to make her paati’s famous sauce, and Neela learns about the different kinds of tomatoes they can pick from. The story was inspired by her daughter and their practice of cooking together. “I want to pass down more than just heritage and culture — also how to live ethically, and be kind and fair and detail-oriented,” she says. “There are metaphors for life that you can find in the act of cooking.”