HOW TO CUT CARROTS FOR KIDS

We pack carrots in our kids’ lunch boxes and even serve them carrots daily and that’s because, we are confident that the way this vegetables are served, they won’t pose any problems to the kids. Carrots may not be sweet but they have their unique taste. We don’t have to stir fry or boil carrots. They are eaten raw and full of living nutrients.

Kids need carrots in their food, they need it in their school lunch boxes. However, many parents won’t pack any carrots because the crunch may be too hard for kids to chew. Some parents serve only baby carrots to help the kids chew easily.

The reason some kids would reject carrots could be because of the way that the carrots are served. The presentation also matters. When I give my kids carrots, they are so nicely cleaned and cut that the color looks even brighter and they just cannot reject. I cannot remember any single time my kids rejected carrots. And I always give them because aside vitamins and minerals, the fiber of carrots help with bowel movements.

WHY YOU SHOULD GIVE KIDS CARROTS TO EAT

When kids eat carrots often, they hardly have any problem going to use the toilet. The fiber loaded carrots help the kids with bowel movement. I like that my kids ask for carrots themselves and because of them we always have carrots in the fridge as snack. Sometimes, I see my boy open the fridge door and all he takes from there is a carrot to snack on.  If we know how to cut carrots for kids, they’ll eat them every time we serve.

Carrots took over my fridge ever since apples became very expensive, as in. How many Thousand will one spend daily to enable kids feed on fruits. They love apples too and I believed so much on ” an apple a day keeps the Doctor away” When apples became a luxury fruit somehow, I decided to say “any vegetable or fruit a day, keeps The Doctor away” doesn’t have to be an apple.

For now, carrots are inexpensive in Abuja, so we are good snacking on them anytime, any day. Carrots grow inside the ground and may be are full of sand if not properly cleaned. We may not see all the sand because may be buried in the skin sometimes. Only scrubbing carrots with a sponge may not remove all the sand. When kids chew on sand, they may not want that food anymore.

SHOULD WE WASH OR PEEL CARROTS?

It’s best to wash and peel apples before serving to kids. Peeling apples help to bring out the bright colour. When they are nicely cut, it helps with good and inviting presentation. Who doesn’t like food that’s well presented? Even me that never really cared about food presentation in the past, now I care.

So, talking about how to cut carrots for kids, it’s easy… If you look at the post on school lunch box ideas for kids in Nigeria, you’ll see that some days, carrots were served well packed in airtight containers. The carrots were either cut into beautiful slim shapes for easy biting or grated with the help of a food grater to make them even more tiny for easy consumption. We can eat up to three large carrots per day daily without problems. Carrots are very rich in carotene and other vitamins, even antioxidants to help reduce the risk of cancer. They also help those who want to lose weight.

DIRECTION TO CUT CARROTS FOR KIDS

Before I serve carrots to my kids, these are the steps I follow to make safe and edible.

1. We wash the carrots in clean water.
2. Peel the skin with a potato peeler to remove any hidden sand and dirts around the carrot joints.
3. After peeling, we never forget to trim off the top and the bottom of the carrots.
4. Place on a chopping board and cut into any shape but make sure the sizes are small and slim so that kids can bite through with ease.
5. Serve and watch them rush the carrots. Or pack for school as snack.
6. You can also cut the carrots flat, then use a cookie cutter to place on them and cut different beautiful shapes like cookies. The kids will love it.

There are very many shapes to cut carrots for kids;

• Cut into cubes if the kids are above three years and won’t choke. Cut into tiny cubes like we cut to add in our Nigerian fried rice.
• Place on a chopping board and cut diagonally like we cut ripe plantain for frying dodo. Cut like that but slimmer for easy biting. The picture above shows carrots cut that way.
• Cut into slim long stips.
• For large carrots, we sometimes use the potato peeler to peel continuously until we get enough quantity for serving. After washing, we dispose of the first peels, then we continue peeling for food. They look and taste yummy. Kids love to see these soft carrot strips lined in their plates.

Also look at our post on HOW TO PACK A SCHOOL LUNCH BOX FOR KIDS IN  NIGERIA

Have you seen the list of foods to avoid packing in kids lunch box in Nigeria?

If you need a school lunch box timetable that can take you through the whole school term, then have a look at our Nigerian school lunch box timetable/meal plan for 4 weeks.