Jicama, Fruit Salad, and Trying New Foods



We recently embarked on a mission to find the mysterious and unique root vegetable known as jicama. Our adventure led to many insights including, how to get a kid excited about trying a new vegetable, the wonders of all that is jicama, and a killer fruit salad that you will be making all summer- we promise! First let's start with getting your kids enthusiastic about trying new foods. For some of us this feels daunting! There are many ways to encourage your kids to be more adventurous but today we'll just mention one. Books! We've talked about it before, books are such an fun way to get kids excited. In fact this jicama adventure we recently went on was inspired purely by this book.

In My Foodie ABC, Little Gourmet's Guide by Puck illustrations by Violet Lemay, there is a fun new food or foodie term for each letter along with a description and adorable pictures. 'J' is for jicama, by the way. Our little kitchen helper (2 1/2 years old) was waiting to find a jicama for weeks and weeks. When we found some at our local farm, he was so excited!

Jicama in its natural state.

Curiosity sets in for this tiny tot.

Best way to 'peel' is with a knife as the skin is too tough for a peeler.

Salad ready to go! 'Jenga' anyone?

Jicama is a unique root vegetable that's eaten raw, so we created a delicious salad around it. But let's face it, jicama is hard to find. So we recommend making this salad without the jicama if you can't find it. Trust us, it'll be something you keep making again and again. Simple real ingredients to keep your family healthy.

Jicama, skin cut off, julienned (optional)
Granny smith apples, julienned
Watermelon, julienned
Manchego cheese (or sharp white cheddar or feta), julienned
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice (to taste)

Cut and prepare equal parts of all ingredients in the same shape, mix with lemon or lime juice and enjoy! 

Children's Books About Manners

We love using children's books to cross reference life lessons. Here are some of our faves for kiddos of all ages.  What are your family's favorites?

Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book

This book holds a lot of fond memories for us.  It includes Scarry's lovable cast of characters and brings humor to everyday situations. Go out and buy this book, it will be read over and over AND OVER again. This book is recommended for ages 3 and up, although we believe children who are even younger will get a kick out of it.

Manners at the Table (Way to be! Manners) 
by Carrie Finn, Illustrated by Chris Lensch

This beautifully illustrated book is recommended for ages 5 and up, but we think your preschoolers would love this too!  It's charming, fun and straight to the point.  This book will open up the conversation for all things polite at the table. 

Dude, That's Rude!: (Get Some Manners)

by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

This book is fantastic for the older crowd, children ages 8 and up.  It's modern, (including advice on cell phone & computer use) and funny. This book includes table etiquette as well as manners for all sorts of other situations.  It's creative and silly but gets the point across.  We think it'll be a big hit.