If you are against using an IPAD during feeding therapy, STOP reading here. See you for the next post.
If you use an IPAD for therapy to encourage fun with food games, familiarity with foods or to encourage eating as a distraction tool, I’ve assembled a list of app’s about healthy eating and apps that expose kids to foods and provide education about food groups. Some apps I use and some I haven’t tried yet but found in researching this post. Games were researched for availability via iTunes. Some of the apps are free to try and then offer in-app upgrades for purchase.
Peekaboo Fridge By Night & Day Studios
My take: Graphics are not as good as peek a boo barn but it is fun to name the foods that appear in the fridge. Simple and fun.
Description: Who’s having a party in your refrigerator? Open the door and find a new fruit, vegetable, or other delicious, healthy treat! Kids will learn the name of the item, watch it say hello, and dance along to the disco party that concludes the game. 13 fruits, veggies, and other whole foods are waiting to surprise your kiddos, in a different order each time. Choose looped mode for endless play or storybook mode – which ends with the characters going to sleep— perfect for bedtime!
cost: $1.99
Cooking Fun For Kids: Healthy Playful Recipes, Food Games, and Videos for Kids in the Kitchen by Bean Sprouts By Playrific, Inc.
My take: My favorite game is the Veg Head: square and circle. You can make faces using vegetable and fruit pieces. There are a lot of fun games with an emphasis on healthy food.
Description: Made by Playrific in partnership with Bean Sprouts — a hip and healthy kid-friendly café and cooking school — introduces a new experiential learning app: Bean Sprouts: Cooking Fun for Kids in the Kitchen.
cost: free
Tiny Tastes World, http://www.tinytastesworld.com
My take: This is one of my favorites! I was skeptical of this at first because the graphics are so simple. I am surprised how much the kids have loved it. You take a picture of the food the kids are eating and it appears in Tiny’s bowl. You set a timer and if the kids can finish before Tiny, they earn coins to go shopping. At this point, I have tried it with 7 of my picky eaters to work on new food acceptance and I am 7/7 with each child eating the new food or drinking a new drink! There is a corresponding web site with info, http://www.tinytastesworld.com.
Description: This app was created by a Pediatric Nutritionist with experience helping families improve childhood eating habits. Meet Tiny, the lovable mealtime companion who encourages young children to try new foods! This app’s playful approach can even turn picky-eating struggles or other types of feeding difficulties into a fun game, as a picture of your child’s own food gets uploaded into Tiny’s plate for her to “eat” – kids want to eat foods as they see Tiny enjoying the very same things! Let Tiny invite your child to taste more healthy foods, while offering encouragement, rewards, and an interactive storytime to engage your child in the Tiny Tastes World! Note: The app starts out with free access to Tiny’s adorable Story Time, so that you can get a feel for the app and how much children enjoy it; eating/drinking with Tiny can be activated through in-app purchase.
cost: free with upgrades for purchase
Toca Kitchen Monsters
My take: Kids love this, in fact, many of the kids know how to play this better than I do. They like cooking with the monster. My only issues is sometimes you hear the monster saying yuck about healthy foods.
Description: Ever wanted to play with your food? Now you can! Toca Kitchen monsters lets you cook and play with food for two hungry monsters. Pick any ingredient and prepare it in your own way! Slice, boil, fry, cook, microwave or mix? And wait for your hungry friend´s response…8 different ingredients that can be prepared in different ways! Slice, boil, fry, cook, microwave or mix any of the ingredients Optional vegetarian mode!
cost: free
Toca Kitchen 2
My Take: I have not tried this one yet.
Description: With new guests to cook for, more tools to play with and new food combinations to test out, Toca Kitchen 2 invites all chefs to get messy and start playing! In Toca Kitchen 2 you can cook however you want! Juice tomatoes, boil the salad or make a burger. Come up with your very own recipes and treat your guests to something special. With five different kitchen tools to choose from, you have the perfect setup for preparing fun foods! Load up with your favorite ingredients, add a squeeze of messiness and finish off with a pinch of weirdness. Time to let your guest have a bite! Was it a winner? Discover your guests’ preferences by watching their reactions. Oven-baked fish head with fried leftovers and lettuce juice coming right up! Oh, they didn’t like it? Try adding some salt. It’s fun to get the “ew”!
cost: $2.99
Cute Food – Creative Fun with Fruits and Vegetables, Healthy and Funny Meals for Kids By Software Smoothie
My Take: I have not tried this one yet but plan too.
Description: Who said you can’t play with your food? “Cute Food” was created to develop children’s creativity and encourage them to eat healthy fruits and vegetables. Create a healthy, colorful and appetizing dishes using the various pieces of fruit and vegetables. You can use our ideas or more better – unleash your imagination and create anything you want. Place the fruit or vegetable meals on various plates and tablecloths to make them look more nicely. Food that looks good, tastes better… so start making your own cute food at home. Bon Appetit!
cost: $2.99
Eat Smart
My Take: I have not tried this one yet.
Description: Collect fruits and vegetables and eat healthy in “Eat Smart”. Eat Smart teaches kids and adults to make healthy food choices. Tilt your device to start jumping from one platform to another and make your way to the healthy items in order to acquire points. Keep moving down wisely to stay safe in Eat Smart. Featuring colorful graphics and an easy-to-learn gameplay, Eat Smart is a perfect match for everyone who is looking for some healthy fun.
cost: free
Veggie Circus Farm: Learn Vegetables & Plants Free for Kids and Toddlers By Brainster Academy Inc.
My Take: I have not tried this one yet .
Description: Veggie School – a series of live photographs that teach names and facts of 15 popular vegetables. Veggie Play – fun games your child can play to interact with vegetables while exercising their brain skills. Veggie Show – an entertaining veggie circus show that helps children to remember the different vegetables. Prize Page – a sticker page where your child can play with their sticker prizes to create make-believe stories that they can share. Led by Brianna the butterfly or Brian the bee, the app provides animated vegetable performances that teach kids how to pronounce the names of vegetables and basic nutrition benefits without the need to read.
cost: free
Dr. Panda’s Restaurant By Dr. Panda Ltd
My Take: I have not tried this one yet.
Description: Kids are introduced to cooking through fun and exciting mini-games. They will be exposed to a wide range of foods as Dr. Panda has a recipe book which contains 10 different dishes and drinks. Among many others, it includes pizza, apple pie, corn soup, Chinese wok and fruit milkshakes. To prepare all of these delicious things, kids will complete varied activities such as slicing, frying, toasting, mixing and baking. Besides preparing and serving food, they will also have fun while feeding the animals, decorating the dining rooms, cleaning the tables, and recycling garbage
cost: $2.99
Awesome Eats™ By Whole Kids Foundation
My Take: I have not tried this one yet but plan too.
Description: Presented by Whole Kids Foundation: Supporting schools and inspiring families to improve children’s nutrition and wellness. Sort, stack, pack and plate a rainbow of fresh-from-the-garden foods! And now recycle items after lunch! In each level you’ll stack and sort fruits, veggies and whole grains across wacky contraptions to win stars and score big points! Be on the lookout for thieving birds and tap to shoo them away for extra points. You and your kids will unlock hours of challenging game play and get loads of healthy eating tips along the way.
cost: free
LALA BREAKFAST, Fresh produce, eggs, and wholesome grains ensure your kids get a great start.
My Take: I have not tried this one yet.
Description: LaLa Breakfast makes planning healthy breakfasts for your kids hassle-free and fun, while saving you time and money. It makes a game out of what was once a frustrating chore – figuring out who wants what for breakfast in the morning mad dash. LaLa Breakfast redesigns the most important meal of the day from hectic to happy.
cost: $1.99
LALA LUNCHBOX, Fruits, veggies, protein, and a snack keep your kids full of energy all afternoon long.
Description: LaLa Lunchbox is a meal planning app for families and the only one that involves kids in the process of choosing their foods. The app makes lunch planning and packing easier and helps families save time and money. Kids set up virtual lunch boxes and select meals for the week ahead by feeding a hungry monster from a completely customizable Food Library of healthy options. Kids’ choices become a handy grocery list for parents. The app teaches children and their families about packing a better lunch, helps kids get out of a picky eating rut, and syncs with multiple devices. Add or remove foods at any time to control what is available for kids to choose. Our new dietary specific food bundles (nut free, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and kosher) are curated by a dietitian and designed to provide lunch packing inspiration for a variety of lifestyles and eating habits.
cost: free with in app purchases
Easy Eater 2
My Take: I have not tried this one. It sounds fun but I could not figure out how to down load this one, it may not be available in U.S.
Description: In Easy Eater, kids are responsible for naming and keeping a pet healthy and happy by feeding it the same foods they eat. Set in a magical forest, Easy Eater boasts a motley cast of characters that teach food groups and encourage food recognition. Kids learn that shrimp, tofu and nuts are proteins and that avocados are fruits, for example. Healthy choices earn “grub bucks” to buy app accessories and real world prizes.
cost: unsure
Healthy Heroes 1 & 2: Nutrition for Kids
My Take: I have not tried this one. I could not figure out how to down load this one, it may not be available in U.S.
Description: As the Healthy Heroes in this game, kids are charged with saving the city of Yogopolis from Hungry Monsters. Through 36 levels of game play, kids fend off the Hungry Monsters with healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Junk foods anger the monsters and prevent advancement. Kids learn to recognize healthy foods and eating habits throughout the game.
cost: unsure
My Take: I have not tried this one. I could not figure out how to down load this one, it may not be available in U.S.
Description: This one was inspired by and partly designed by an eight year old kid! An app designed by a kid for kids to promote healthy eating, what could be better? This is a great little app that provides simple recipes that kids can help make (or make on their own). Kids love the fact that they can try out recipes, take pictures, share them with friends, and recommend recipes as well. Get the kids in your classroom interacting about healthy food options, and their parents are likely to thank you!
Cost: Free.
Final Thoughts. Let me know if you have any resources I don’t have listed here and I will add them to the post. If you can’t find the app at iTunes, google the name of the app, some have their own down load site.
Resources used for this post:
http://www.avatargeneration.com/2013/11/top-10-apps-to-teach-kids-about-healthy-eating/
Thank you, Krisi. What a great resource!