In a recent post, I discussed the apéritif — how this delightful custom can help maintain healthy eating habits and foster meaningful connections. You can read about The Apéritif — Return to The Table style here.
In this post, I will show how to use the apéritif to appease kids who are clamoring for a snack before dinner.
Having raised three children, I’ve seen kids pleading for a snack before dinnertime. We want to appease them but not ruin their appetite for their meal. You can use a little apéritif to appease them and to spark, rather than spoil, their appetite. It's a win-win for everyone!
In France, an apértif is both a drink and a small nibble served before a meal. This “snack” not only sparks the appetite but also stimulates the digestive system and promotes relaxation — all of which contribute to good digestion.
So, when your kids want a snack, serving a little apéritif will appease them and make this part of your day together meaningful.
An apéritif needn’t be complicated. Just ten to twenty minutes while dinner prep is underway offers many opportunities.
You can talk about what you are cooking and how. Children, even young ones, can lend a hand by tossing, stirring, or measuring something, or setting the table, These activities build fine motor skills and foster connection.
While preparing dinner and enjoying an apéritif, you can discuss current events or the happenings of the day — priming for more conversation when everyone is seated at the table.
Apéritif time is a great time to serve veggies. Without the competition of a more enticing main dish, kids are more likely to eat their vegetables.
Some ideas are cherry tomatoes, grapes, and gouda—a fabulous combination—or sliced cucumber with or without a little Bourisn cheese on top, carrots, red pepper, or broccoli. As for a dip, a drizzle of olive oil with sea salt and freshly ground pepper is easy to pull together.
Other healthy apéritif ideas are a few nuts and dried fruit, olives, fruit and herbs, crackers, and cheese.
Some classic French apéritif "treats" are a few slices of dried sausage, chips, cheese straws — and my favorite, truffle butter popcorn, which is also a yummy idea for school lunches.
Not every choice needs to be totally healthy — food should be fun too! Just a few nibbles won’t ruin anyone's appetite or eating habits, and in fact, it preps the palate and can get children excited about eating dinner and enjoying the tasty items on the menu.
One of my go-to apéritif ideas is a few bites of leftovers. When you have just a bit of something left over, save it for your apéritifs.
For example, you could serve one piece of quiche, a piece of leftover homemade pizza, a crêpe or savory bread made with sausage, cheese, and herbs cut into small bites.
Tartines — toasted bread with butter — are a great way to use up slightly stale bread and whatever you have on hand, like butter and smoked salmon, pesto, or cheese and ham.
Or leftover aioli and veggies.
Remember, you only need a few bites per person, so making an apéritif can be quite simple.
When served with dinner, sweet drinks or milk can overshadow the flavor of the food, making what’s on the plate less interesting. This may make it more challenging to get your kids to eat their dinner. Instead, apéritif time is the perfect time to serve a juice or other flavored drink. So, try serving the drinks before dinner and serving water with the meal.
If you want to make your water more exciting, try sparkling water with lemon. And with a sparkling water maker, you can make delicious sparkling water inexpensively and in just seconds.
Kids who want a snack before dinner are pretty wise — they just want a French apéritif! So gather your household members in the kitchen before dinner, serve up a drink and a little nibble, or engage them in preparing the apéritif. Then, nibble and chat, and you might even get a hand or two getting dinner on the table. Add some music, and you’ll finish a mundane or stressful day with a more enjoyable evening.
The apéritif is a wonderful opportunity to promote healthy eating habits, connect, and calm those fussy kids right before dinner — it's actually priceless.
If you're not on my email list, you can sign up here to get updates on new posts and write to me if you have any questions. Ciao for now!
