Food Empowering Kids to Try New Foods one bite at a time

High Rock Park

SATURDAYS 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

WEDNESDAYS 3 - 6 p.m.

by

Howard

If you’ve ever struggled with getting your child to eat fruits and vegetables, I understand how frustrating it can be. Family mealtime can feel like a nutritional battleground where no one wins, and everyone feels defeated. But don’t lose heart. Exposing your child to fruits and vegetables without pressure is key, and the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s new partnership with the Better Bites program is here to help.

The Better Bites Bunch recently joined Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s POP Club for Kids with engaging character messaging in an environment abundant with fresh fruit and vegetables. POP Club is a 12-week Wednesday market program offering children and families fun activities. Children who participate receive a $2 POP coin to spend on fruit and vegetables of their choice; this may be the moment that your “picky eater” takes a bite of something new.

“The farmers’ market and Better Bites are a natural fit,” says Jodie Fitz, Better Bites program developer. “Children are having an immediate connection and building a positive relationship with healthy foods by participating in games and activities at the farmers’ market.”

Better Bites is a licensed, registered dietitianapproved program designed to encourage a healthy lifestyle by bringing awareness to proper hydration, an active lifestyle, and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption.

The character messaging within Better Bites immediately engages children with Jodie’s cast of loveable characters that embody the program’s philosophy. For picky eaters, Better Bites introduces Teeny the Tiny Taste Tester, a fairy who reminds children to try a teeny tiny taste because ‘...you never know if something is thumbs up or thumbs down until you actually try it.’ While Teeny shares other messages, Fitz explains that the characters have a magical touch with their messaging that has an impact.

At POP Club, Better Bites activities have included a fruit and vegetable memory game, farmers’ market bingo and scavenger hunt, and character coloring sheets displayed at vendors’ farm stands. All activities are paired with prizes and $2 POP coins. Better Bites will return for POP Club’s season finale on Wednesday, September 6. The program continues to build community relations at area schools and community programs, servicing pre-k to 5th-grade students. For more information, visit www.jodiefitz.com/better-bites.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open on Wednesdays from 3-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at High Rock Park in Downtown Saratoga. Find us online at www. saratogafarmersmarket.org, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @SaratogaFarmersMarket.

INGREDIENTS:

*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

• 3 cups of diced watermelon*

• 1 cup pitted fresh cherries*

• 1 navel orange

• 2 tablespoons honey*

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Simply add the diced watermelon and pitted cherries to a blender.

2. Cut the navel orange in half. Squeeze the juice from both halves of the orange into the blender. Add in the honey and vanilla extract. Blend all of the ingredients together until it’s mixed well.

4. Pour the juiced mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish and freeze overnight. Before serving, simply take a large serving fork and shave the iced mixture in different directions until it’s all shaved.

5. Scoop and serve frozen. It’s like a fruit-filled sno-cone.

NOTES:

Little hands: Young children can dice the watermelon using a plastic knife. Watermelon is a great fruit to help develop and strengthen motor skills, knife control and knife safety.

Pitting the Cherries: It’s simpler to pit the cherries with an actual cherry pitter. If you don’t have one you can simply remove the stem and poke the pit through the cherry and out the other side using a chopstick, toothpick, straw or even a thin-tipped pastry tip.

Leftovers: If there are any frozen fruit shavings, simply put them in an airtight freezer container and freeze for another day.

Recipe provided by Jodie Fitz, program developer of Better Bites

by John Reardon for Saratoga TODAY