Kids & Company Blog

Nutritious and Easy: How to Modify Food Textures for Children of All Ages

March is Nutrition Month and to celebrate, Chef Lisa Ruscica, VP of Culinary Operations and Chief Food Ambassador at Kids & Company shares her tips on time-saving techniques in modifying food textures to suit various age groups. Her valuable insights on time-saving approaches will help you in preparing nutritious food for all your children! Chef Lisa creates all of our Kidco Kitchen recipes served to our children daily…so she knows a thing or two about what children will eat! 

Believe me, I completely understand how busy today’s parents are. When my children were younger, I was always looking for different ways to create a few extra minutes in a day, especially during dinner time. It can be a lot of work, particularly when you have a 10-month-old baby and a child in kindergarten. Their eating abilities and preferences are at two very different levels. Instead of trying to come up with two entirely different meals (which would take more time and prep!) for all of your children, you can modify the texture of the meal you are making to suit both children.

I plan the meals at the Kidco Kitchen around this principle. I want all children to be able to enjoy the same menu items. Instead of reinventing the menu for different developmental stages, I work with my kitchens and chefs to modify the textures of our food so that they can be served to all age groups. 

How We Modify Food Textures at our Child Care Locations

We love serving fruits and vegetables on the Kidco Kitchen menu. We engage in methods such as steaming and pureeing the vegetables so the texture is suitable for the age group we are catering to. For fruit, we dice them into appropriately sized pieces depending on the age of the child.

How To Easily Modify Food Textures at Home

Your blender and food processor will become your best friends if you have a young child at home. If you're looking to make a puree, remove the skins, seeds, pits, and other inedible parts from the food. Cut it into small pieces and cook until tender. By adding just a bit of water, stock, or unsweetened fruit juice as needed, you can puree the food item, whether it be a pasta dish or a solid fruit. The best part about all of this is you know exactly what is going into the food your child is being served. As your youngest child gets older, you can mash instead of puree the different foods or work on cutting food items into smaller, bite-sized pieces.

The best part is that younger children love to mimic their older siblings. They’re always looking for ways to feel just like their big brother or sister. Have fun experimenting with different textures and your children will definitely let you know what they like the best!

Are you a Kidco family? Enter for your chance to win a gourmet feast, prepared by the Kidco Kitchen, as well as a $100 ezpz gift card here!

Looking for child-approved recipes? Check out the Kidco Kitchen recipe book – volume 1, here! To view all Kidco Kitchen recipes, click here.

This blog was written by Chef Lisa Ruscica, VP of Culinary Operations and Chief Food Ambassador at Kids & Company. Chef Lisa creates all of our Kidco Kitchen recipes served to our children daily…so she knows a thing or two about what children will eat! 

Posted on: Thursday March 21st, 2024

Posted by: Kids & Company