Ethnic Eats For Kids

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

As mother to two somewhat particular eaters, I am constantly encouraging them to eat more variety to make sure we get all the nutrients we need in our diets. But I am a creature of habit myself, so I often find myself buying the same staple items each week at the store, and cooking a lot of the same family favorite menu items. It makes the whole process a lot faster and easier since we all know what to expect.

But this week I decided to give our usual spaghetti, roast chicken, broiled fish and pizza lineup a little shakeup. Instead of sticking with our all American or Italian favorites for dinner, I decided to try something a little more exotic in our routine.

So we introduced one ethnic meal a week as a way to explore new food flavors and have some more fun with our meals. I happened upon this idea recently when my younger son turned a corner with his eating. With his ongoing reflux issues, figuring out how to get him to eat is like a never-ending puzzle. But over the end of the year holiday gatherings he enjoyed foods like spicy meatballs, deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, and other highly seasoned fare with no problem.

One thing I found out over the last few months is that he actually prefers stronger flavors. As I test recipes, he hunts through the spice cabinet and begs to add garlic powder to the food. He likes to pull out mustard or hot sauce as condiments for the table and can’t get enough of black pepper. So the lesson in all of this is don’t be afraid to try stronger flavors with your kids. Even lots of picky kids love barbecue sauce, and that can be pretty spicy. Even if your children don’t like strong flavors, you can explore tame ethnic options like homemade egg rolls, Greek spinach pie, or Puerto Rican rice and beans.

This week we took a trip to Morocco with a ginger and cinnamon spiced chicken stew. In Morocco, this type of dish is referred to as a Tagine and in is cooked in an earthenware pot with a domed lid of the same name. It is often served with couscous, a pasta dish of tiny semolina grains.

Being big fans of rice, the boys loved the couscous and absolutely adored the sweet and spicy chicken. The grownups loved it too. The kids did pass over the sweet potatoes (which they will only eat in French fry or chip format), but we thought they added a lot to the dish. Other additions could include olives, almond, or citrus fruit, all common to Moroccan cuisine.

I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which are always a more budget friendly option. Although dark meat chicken contains more calories and fat (which in our house of skinny boys is a good thing), they also contain lots of nutrients like zinc and B vitamins. Dark chicken meat also has a big margin for cooking time, which can be very important in a bustling household. But you can always substitute chicken breast; just watch it more closely so they don’t become overcooked.

This is an easy dish for the slow cooker. In fact many ethnic dishes work well in the slow cooker, from German brats to Cuban beef stew to Mexican green chili chicken. Just transfer all the ingredients to the crock pot and finish the cooking time there. So this week, we’ve been to Morocco. Who knows where next week will take us?

This winter, fasten your seat belts and return your seat back in the fully upright position as you embark on an adventure in new flavors with your kids. There’s a whole world of flavors to explore out there on your culinary journey!

Serves/Makes: 4

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 small yellow onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 piece (2 inch size) ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup couscous, prepared according to packaged directions