Tell Us Your Little Nugget

To help parents conquer mealtime battles with picky eaters, Tyson Foods and Robin Miller are teaming up to show how finger foods, like Tyson® 100% All Natural Chicken Nuggets, can not only please picky eaters but also be fundamental in building a foundation of balanced eating habits.

Moms have tried almost everything to get their kids to stop saying “no!” to the new or unfamiliar foods on their plates. Once moms find that “nugget” of mealtime wisdom that gets their fussy eaters to try new foods and help build a foundation of balanced nutrition, they often want to pass this valuable information along to other moms.

To encourage moms to share their own “nugget” of mealtime wisdom, Tyson is launching the “Tell Us Your Little Nugget” program at www.yourlittlenugget.com for a chance to win great prizes. You can submit your own “nugget” of mealtime wisdom, which can include any tip that has pleased the young, picky eaters in the household while building the fundamentals of balanced nutrition.

Through a random drawing, three entrants will be selected to receive a $1,500 savings bond and a year supply of Tyson® 100% All Natural Chicken Nuggets. The drawing will also determine a grand prize-winning entrant who will receive a $5,000 savings bond and a year supply of Tyson® 100% All Natural Chicken Nuggets.

Robin has developed the following “nuggets” of mealtime wisdom and finger food suggestions to help provide balanced nutrition and please even the pickiest of eaters:

• Hands-on Food: Let’s face it — kids prefer to eat with their hands. Finger foods make ideal meals for kids since you can combine a variety of small portions on one plate. Try partnering protein-packed Tyson® 100% All Natural Chicken Nuggets with vitamin-rich green beans and complex carbohydrate-rich pasta for a mouth-watering, nutritious meal that’s easy to eat with little hands. What looks like fun to your child is a well-balanced meal that you can feel good about serving.

• Name Games: Giving fun, creative names to everyday nutritious foods may have kids asking for more! According to a 2009 Cornell University study, when kids were offered “X-ray vision carrots” instead of plain carrots, they ate 62 percent more carrots.² Try adopting this approach in your own house by giving silly names to a variety of foods, such as “cloud fluff” for mashed potatoes or “cheese in the trees” for broccoli florets topped with cheese.

• Muffin Tin Meals: Kids love to get their hands into everything, big or small. Set up a “finger food buffet” and have your kids pick the items they’d like eat. They’ll feel included in the process, which will increase their interest in trying a little bit of everything. Start with a muffin tin (or any small container with compartments) and customize the meal by filling the sections with bite-size portions of colorful, nutritious foods. Some great food ideas include: cubed cheese, whole grain cereals, grapes, sugar snap peas, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and Tyson® 100% All Natural Chicken Nuggets. Once you’ve filled the compartments, let them pick their items, allowing them to be hands-on with their meals.

² Getting kids to eat veggies: Try ‘X-ray vision carrots’ study by Cornell Chronicle, December 2009