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How to Get Kids to Eat Healthy – Recipes from a Preschool Chef Who Cracked the Code

SPOILER: There Is A Secret Sauce

At a preschool in Stockholm, Sweden, there’s a chef who’s become a legend. The children adore him, and the parents couldn’t be more grateful – because every day, he prepares fresh, healthy, delicious meals from scratch. And somehow, every child – from one-year-olds to six-year-olds – eats it all with joy.

We’re talking vegetables, fish, meat – all the things many kids avoid. But with his food, there are no battles, no pleading. Just clean plates and happy faces.

We met this extraordinary chef to learn his secrets – and in this article, we’re sharing them with you.

The Swedish Hipster Preschool Chef Behind the Recipes Kids Love

The chef, a hipster dad from the southern parts of Stockholm, is named Johan – and he’s passionate about cooking real food from scratch. Johan is a trained craft teacher who decided to become a preschool chef when his two daughters were little. “It started as a good way to balance work and family life,” Johan explains when we meet at a café on Rörstrandsgatan in Stockholm. The success he creates in the kitchen every day has made him something of an idol to the children at the preschool. Even kids who have moved on to school still talk about the meals Johan used to make – and in this article, you’ll get to learn some of their favorite recipes.

How Johan Gets Children Aged 1–6 to Enjoy Healthy Food and Discover New Flavors

Johan has succeeded in doing something many parents only dream of: getting children between 1 and 6 years old to eat a wide variety of vegetables, along with quality fish and meat. And it’s surprisingly easy to pull off – as long as you follow Johan’s method of adding the vegetables in the right order and using an immersion blender for the ingredients that would otherwise be rejected.

That, along with the base vegetables he includes in most of his dishes, is his secret sauce.

Let Us First Define Healthy

Before we get started, it’s worth clarifying what we mean by healthy food and nutritious recipes for children:

There are many schools of thought when it comes to what’s considered a healthy diet. So the simplest approach is to stick to what most people can agree on:

A varied diet is good. This is because eating different types of foods gives the body different kinds of nutrients.
A large proportion of fruits and vegetables is important. One easy rule of thumb to remember is that people with the best gut health typically eat 30 different fruits and vegetables per week (this also includes legumes, nuts, and seeds). Remember; a healthy gut is linked to a stronger immune system.
Ultra-processed foods and sugar aren’t ideal for anyone – especially growing children. Avoid sugary drinks (like soda, juice drinks, and sweetened milk), ultra-processed snacks (like chips, cookies, packaged pastries, candy, and sweetened breakfast cereals), and fast food or fried foods (like french fries, burgers, pizza, and chicken nuggets) that are high in calories and low in nutrition.
Instead; save these foods for special occasions and keep candy to Saturdays. That way, you’re building a strong foundation for your child to eat healthily most of the week.
The easiest way to avoid ultra-processed food is to choose whole foods – like veggies, fruits, potatoes, grains, eggs, or a clean piece of meat or fish etc. A helpful rule is that whole foods usually look the way they did when they were harvested or caught.

How To Succeed

If you want your children to eat more nutrient-rich meals each week – with minimal effort and maximum success – we recommend trying Johan’s recipes on this page. Cook them a few times, and they’ll quickly become part of your family’s weekly routine. Before long, it will feel easy and natural to give your kids the nutrition they need, while helping them enjoy a wider range of flavors.

Healthy options That Even Picky Eaters Love

Pasta Bake

🥰 Comfort food for little ones

Roast 1 whole head of garlic (not just a clove) for 15 minutes at 200°C (390°F).

Chop:
2 yellow onions
1 leek
1 fennel bulb
3 carrots (kids like them more when finely grated)

Sauté in oil or butter. Start with the onions, followed by the leek, fennel, and carrots. Add 1 tube of tomato paste (or a bowl of tomato purée). Let it cook until it almost burns. Then add fresh tomatoes or 500g crushed tomatoes. Add salt, sage, and oregano. A little water. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin directly into the sauce. Blend with an immersion blender.

Boil 500g of pasta in a shape your children like.

Take out a nice oven dish. Spread some sauce on the bottom. Layer pasta with sauce and feta cheese.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 185°C (365°F).

Lentil Soup

🍊 Easy to Make Vegan & Dairy-Free - and Naturally Gluten-Free

Chop:
2 yellow onions
1 leek
4 cloves of garlic
Madras curry powder
1 fennel bulb
3 carrots (kids like them more when finely grated)
Fresh or frozen coriander

Sauté in oil or butter. Start with all the onions, followed by the Madras curry powder, fennel, carrots and coriander. Add salt, sage, and oregano. A little water. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Cook 500g dried red lentils separately for 10–15 minutes without salt, but with a bit of onion, carrot, and a bay leaf. Remove the bay leaf. Transfer the cooked onion and carrot to the sautéed vegetables. Squeeze in the juice of one whole orange. Add coconut milk. Blend with an immersion blender. Add the lentils last.

Serve with roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds and, if you like, a dollop of crème fraîche.

Johan also serves his soups with homemade bread – a cherished Wednesday tradition at the preschool.

“The kids love sprinkling roasted seeds on the soup.”

Palak Paneer

🥬 A Beautifully Green Indian Classic

Chop:
4 yellow onions
3 cloves of garlic (or frozen)
Green bell pepper
A small piece of ginger (or frozen)
A small bunch of fresh coriander including the stems (or frozen)

Sauté in oil. Should not brown, just sweat. Add Garam Masala, water, and salt. Add coconut milk and blend with an immersion blender.

500g frozen, thawed spinach.

400–500g paneer, or feta, or a mix of halloumi and feta (note: halloumi needs to be cooked in a pan first) cut into pieces. Let the cheese of your choice heat through. Serve with basmati rice (that has been carefully rinsed before cooked.)

Optional: add fresh chopped tomatoes right at the end.

Macaroni Bake

Like Mac and Cheese - But with Hidden Veggies 🤫

Chop:
2 yellow onions
1 leek
4 cloves of garlic
1 fennel bulb
3 carrots (kids like them more when finely grated)

Sauté in oil or butter. Start with all the onions, followed by the fennel, and carrots. Once it gets a bit of color, add salt, sage, and oregano. Add a little water. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender.

Add cream or coconut milk.

Boil 500g of macaroni. Take out a nice oven dish and mix the macaroni with the sauce. Top with cheese.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 185°C (365°F).

“My fish dish is by far the kids’ favorite - you’ve got to try it. It’s a hit with all ages.”

Johan's Fish Dish

Everyone's Favorite 🏆

Chop:

2 yellow onions
1 leek
4 cloves of garlic
1 fennel bulb
3 carrots (kids like them more when finely grated)

Sauté in oil or butter. Start with all the onions, followed by the fennel, and carrots. Add salt. A little water. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Take 500g of frozen fish fillets. Place the frozen fish in a pot with just enough water to cover it. Let it simmer for 15 minutes (only 5 minutes if the fish is fresh), along with a bit of onion, carrot, and salt.

Carefully remove the fish.

Use the broth from the fish and pour it over the sautéed vegetables. Blend with an immersion blender.

Add cream or coconut milk to the sauce, along with either:

lemon juice, organic lemon zest, and frozen dill
or
fresh parsley and dried herbs such as sage and oregano (be careful not to overdo it)

Place the fish in an oven dish and cover with the sauce.

Bake at 185°C (365°F) for 30 minutes, until slightly golden on top.

Serve with boiled potatoes (skin on – so kids learn to peel, and the nutrients stay in), or with rice, bulgur, wheat berries (whole cooked wheat grains), or risoni.

"The easiest way to get it right is to taste at every step."

Spinach Lasagna

💗 Loved by Little Ones and Grown-Ups Alike

Chop:
2 yellow onions
1 leek
1 fennel bulb
3 carrots (kids like them more when finely grated)
1 whole head of garlic (i.e. all the cloves from one bulb)

Add 500g of thawed, chopped frozen spinach. (If you have whole spinach – thawed or fresh – you can add it before blending.)

Béchamel sauce:
Melt butter, add a bit of flour, then whisk in ½ liter of milk. Add grated nutmeg, white pepper, and salt. Heat while stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.

Take out an oven dish. Layer 500g of lasagna sheets with the spinach sauce and béchamel sauce. Add a layer of cheese in the middle if you like, and cheese on top.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 185°C (365°F).

Important: Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Cabbage Soup

A Warming Bowl for the Whole Family

Sauté about ½ kilo of minced meat of your choice (or a vegetarian alternative) in oil until browned. Add salt and cook with ½ tube of tomato paste (or about ½ bowl of tomato purée) for a couple of minutes.

Chop:
2 yellow onions
1 leek
1 fennel bulb
3 carrots (kids like them more when finely grated)
4-5 cloves of garlic
½ head of white cabbage

First, remove the browned mince from the pan. Then, sauté the chopped vegetables in oil or butter. Start with all the onions, followed by the cabbage, fennel, and carrots. Brown everything well and season with salt, white pepper, sage and oregano. Stir in the remaining ½ tube of tomato paste. Taste and adjust. Add water.

Let it simmer for about 5–10 minutes.

If you want to blend the soup, do it now. Then add the cooked mince back in. Taste again and adjust seasoning. Finish with a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley.

Serve with roasted sunflower seeds and thick, drained yogurt.

Johan also serves his soups with homemade bread – a cherished Wednesday tradition at the preschool.

Your Proud Little Kitchen Helper

Johan sometimes lets the children at preschool help out in the kitchen – and it’s something every parent can be inspired by. Involving kids in cooking is a powerful everyday hack: it sparks their curiosity about food, teaches them to help out at home, and, before you know it, they’re actually making your life easier at mealtimes. And the pride they feel from being able to contribute? That’s something you shouldn’t underestimate.

We asked Johan to share more about why he believes in letting children take part in the kitchen:

“I think it’s great to involve children in cooking from a very young age. Let them peel or chop – simple, safe tasks. Don’t be too afraid they’ll hurt themselves. Invite them in, guide them, and give them small responsibilities. Show them how things work. Make it playful and fun.

As they grow, they can start making their own afternoon snacks. My daughters are older now, and they love when I give them a small budget to shop for, and cook a meal for the whole family. A good tip: teach them to check what’s already in the cupboards before they go shopping. It gives them a real sense of ownership and pride to prepare a meal on their own.

Their mom and I usually take care of dinner, but every now and then, as a fun little challenge, they love doing it all themselves. I really think that early involvement in the kitchen has made all the difference.”

Wondering Where to Start? Here’s Johan’s Advice

“My fish dish is by far the kids’ favorite – you’ve got to try it. It’s a hit with all ages. If I had to choose one dish to start with for the little ones (ages 1 to 3), I’d go with the spinach lasagna. For the older kids (4 to 6), the pasta bake is the clear winner – they can’t get enough of it.”

Final Notes From Babybubble

Taste - From Your Child's Perspective

Babies and toddlers have up to 30,000 taste buds, while adults have around 10,000. So when a child reacts strongly to a flavor you can barely taste, they might simply be experiencing that taste with much more intensity. That’s why finding flavor combinations that work for both kids and adults is such a smart strategy. And that’s exactly the code Johan has cracked.

Understanding Food Neophobia

Neophobia is when your child starts to reject new or unfamiliar foods. It can start as early as the first year of life, but most often intensify between 18 and 24 months of age, which is when your child usually starts to move around more.

It is important for parents to know that food neophobia is a natural part of a child’s development. Going back in time and the history of mankind, being skeptical of unfamiliar foods could protect the child, who just started walking around by themselves, from consuming something potentially poisonous. [”] Once you know this, it’s easier to lay down a strategy on how to introduce foods before neophobia might appear, and also be less upset about it.

Research has shown that if parents let babies explore and have fun with food before they turn one, they won’t be as picky later. [”]

The Following Can Help:

Eat regular meals together. A healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner only need small snacks in between – like a fruit or sandwich. Kids copy what you do, not what you say. Eat the food you want them to enjoy.
Avoid snacks right before or after meals. Hunger helps small children enjoy new foods like broccoli.
Delay sweets and junk food. Introduce healthy foods first. Set one “treat day” a week to avoid daily sugar habits.
Finish dinner at least two hours before bedtime – for both kids and adults.
Children don’t need processed sugar. Avoid it in the early years and keep it out of everyday meals.
WHO says kids under 2 should have zero added sugar. [”] Fruit is better!
Try simple, healthy recipes the whole family can enjoy (like the ones above.)
Set clear rules. Explain why you want them to try everything on their plate.
If your child doesn’t finish meals, serve smaller portions. Make it easy to succeed.
Let eating and exploring food together be a joyful, happy moment for your family. ❤️