Children's Food Games

Palette

• Help kids discover new food flavors as well as healthy vegetables with a palette tasting game. Prepare a variety of vegetables into bite-sized portions before the game. Include veggies the kids love, some they are hesitant to eat, and some they have never tried. Blindfold the kids and have them guess what vegetable they are tasting. Present the items with the strongest taste last, and have water available to rinse away the taste between rounds. The kid who guesses the most right wins.

Secret Ingredient

• Prepare a meal the kids enjoy and are used to eating. Put a twist on the recipe by adding a secret ingredient. For example, add mushrooms to the spaghetti and meatballs. Whoever guesses the "secret ingredient" first wins.

Crunch Game

• Make your kids voluntarily eat more vegetables with the crunch game. Set out a tray of baby carrots. The object of the game is to crunch the carrot the loudest. Judge who crunches the carrots the loudest as the kids gobble up the veggies. Have several rounds to help increase the kids&' vitamin A and carotene intake.

Iron Chef

• Have kids participate in making dinner with an "Iron Chef" inspired food game. Divide the kids into teams, with one adult on each team. Each team prepares a dish with a specific ingredient. Decide how long the teams have to prepare their dish. When the dishes are complete, everyone becomes a judge. Award points for taste, presentation, and creativity. Deduct points for every minute a team goes over time. Whichever team has the most points wins.

Microwave Madness

• Make the most of leftovers with this food game. Give kids 60 seconds to make their plates with leftovers. The catch is that the plates must consist of a well-balanced meal, ready to eat with only microwaving. Whoever prepares their plate first wins.