When I tell you that Kenya took the bowl of this carrot ginger dip and tried to drink it, that gives you some idea about how much he LOVED it.
I get so many emails from parents saying that their little ones won’t eat vegetables. In my experience if you give them something to dip their vegetables in, magically they want to give it a try. I’m not saying this will work with every child, but it’s worked for many people I’ve suggested it to.
Taking the vegetable pieces and dipping them in a variety of different sauces makes eating a fun activity. One of my readers even suggested coming up with little names for the veggies like “trees” for broccoli, “logs” for carrots and “sticks” for beans. You can also try eating veggies with your child. Even better, at our farmers’ market you can buy all kinds of different fruits and vegetables by the piece, so I don’t have to spend tons of money before figuring out which his favorites will be.
I’ll be posting more dips in the future and I guarantee this will be a good start for little ones that usually have an aversion to vegetables.

Carrot, Ginger, Miso Dip (Makes 1/2 Cup)

1 Large Carrot, finely grated (about 1/2 Cup)
1 Tbsp Ginger, minced
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Yellow or White Miso
3 Tbsp Canola or Vegetable Oil

1. Place the first 4 ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree.
2. Drizzle in the oil while machine is running until puree is thick and creamy.
3. Serve.

So many of the emails I receive are from parents looking for farmers’ markets in their area. I love to hear that people are looking to seek them out if they don’t already know where their local one is, because it’s not only the best place to buy your food, but because there is also no better way to show your support for our country’s local farmers. I’m adding a new section to the site called “My Farmers’ Market”. It’s a place where you can send me a video of you at you local market and tell me why it’s special. Then we can post it on weelicious and hopefully others in your area can discover your market for themselves.
This is my farmers’ market — the place that we buy almost all of the food we eat and cook with in our home and for weelicious. Our weekly pilgrimage to to market is like an adventure where we find all kinds of new and exciting foods, listen to music, eat great food and see friends.
By showing your little ones where the foods they’re eating comes from, you’re showing them how important food is for their little growing bodies.

I’ve always loved chicken salad. I’m used to the traditional kind — chicken, celery, mayo — but I thought I could come up with a healthy and more exciting version for Kenya. Something about the addition of grapes seemed like a delicious idea to me since Kenya loves them on their own, so why not in this recipe?!
My friend Diane came over today and said that she normally doesn’t like chicken salad because the pieces of chicken are too big. I couldn’t agree more. You want to be able to take a bite and enjoy all of the tastes, not just chicken. By throwing everything in the food processor, it combines the ingredients so every bite has a little of everything and a lot more flavor, in my opinion.
This is a great “on the go” dish for little ones because it has a fruit, protein, carb and vegetable. Just be sure it doesn’t sit out too long because of the mayo (or Veganaise).

Chicken, Wild Rice and Grape Salad (8 Toddler Servings)

1 Chicken Breast
1/2 Cup Celery , chopped
1/2 Cup Grapes, halved, red and/or green
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Tbsp Mayonnaise or Veganaise
1/2 Cup Wild Rice, cooked

1. Cook the chicken in a steamer pot over boiling water for 8 minutes. Cool and chop.
2. Place all of the ingredients except the rice in a food processor and pulse. Everything should be combined and in tiny pieces.
3. Throughly combine the chicken mixture with the rice and serve.