This is a guest article by pediatrician Dr Ayala.

photo credit: mia3mom

I believe that anyone can cook, and that everyone should know how to cook.  I believe that teaching our kids how to cook healthy food is an important life skill that will not only enable good choices; it can also influence their food preferences.

I started teaching my kids how to cook as soon as they showed the slightest interest. My first lesson involved making a good green salad, and included the basics of how to wash and dry lettuce, and the simple principles of mixing a good salad dressing. The second session’s product was a nice bowl of lightly salted edamame in their shell, which my kids still think of as “addictive food”.

I didn’t get into brownies and cupcakes until much later. I figured that creating a dish makes its creator treasure it, and why waste a lesson of love on brownies, which any kid’s bound to fancy anyway.

In his new book The Upside of Irrationality Dan Ariely, professor of behavioral economics, devotes a chapter to the well know phenomenon of falling in love with the things we make, and the irrational value we attribute to the objects we had a more intimate relationship with. Ariely titles the chapter “the IKEA effect”— the Swedish maker’s assemble-it-yourself shelf Ariely labored over for hours somehow has a special place in his heart, and Ariely investigates why it’s so.

Through a series of experiments, involving the creation of origami animals, Lego patterns, and real-life examples of successful and unsuccessful businesses, Ariely comes to several conclusions regarding the evident connection between labor and love:

• Putting effort to an object changes how we feel about it — we value the things we labor over
• The harder we work on something, the more we love it
• We’re so invested in the things we labored over, and value them so much, that we assume others share our (biased) overvaluation of our creation
• Although working hard on a task makes us love it more, not completing the task is a deal breaker. We have no attachment to tasks we failed at or failed to complete.

Interestingly, Ariely also shows that both people and animals would rather earn their keep and work for their food. Even mice seem not to value free meals, at least not on a regular basis.

Kids in the kitchen

The lessons above are valuable and applicable to many aspects of life: I think “the IKEA effect” chapter (the whole book in fact) is a good read for any employer or employee seekeng greater work productivity and satisfaction, and for any parent contemplating showing his kids photos to a stranger (no, he doesn’t think your kids are the cutest — he couldn’t care less).

But back to kids in the kitchen. Learning how to cook is a valuable life skill that will not only enable kids to eat healthier — no matter what you make at home it will usually be healthier than the bought version — but can also be a great tool in directing their preferences toward those foods you’d like them to eat more of, namely, fruits and veggies.

Ariely’s lesson also made me think of the importance of giving kids a task they can complete. I suppose that being responsible for just one small step in a complicated dish would result in much less creator’s pride than being able to claim the creation from start to finish as your work. So selecting recipes that are of just the right technical difficulty to be challenging, but not too hard for a kid to complete is the name of the game.

This week we made potato gnocchi from scratch. I wasn’t sure my kids would be able to create dumplings that hold up in the boiling water their first try — I had many less than stellar attempts at this dish before I sort of mastered it — but beginners luck, or maybe I can take some credit as the instructor, they made incredible light-as-a-cloud gnocchi.

Ariely wrote nothing about clean-up having anything to do with the creator’s adoration of his handwork. Wish he did — I tend to find myself all alone when clean-up comes, and honestly, I can’t tell my kids that clean-up will result in great satisfaction in the same way cooking and serving your creation does.

I’d love to hear about your adventures in the kitchen as a kid or with kids.

Dr. Ayala

Read more from Dr. Ayala at  Ayala’s Herbal Water blog.
Follow Dr. Ayala on  Twitter

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Ask The Expert is a weekly column on Littlestomaks.com. The idea is to have a reader-submitted question answered by a nutrition expert or a pediatrician. Feel free to submit your question in the comments section below.

Peer pressure in school can make your child feel insecure about her healthy lunch from home which may not have the poplar processed foods and snacks. This week, Registered Dietitian Katie Heddleston offers a few ideas to help your child feel good about carrying a healthy lunch from home.

Katie Heddleston, MS, RD, LD B.S. in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University, OH M.S. in Public Health and Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University, OH Expertise: Maternal/child nutrition, Gluten free recipes, Healthy lifestyle Website: Healthy Heddleston Twitter: @KatieHeddleston Contact via email – HealthyHeddleston [at] gmail [dot] com

Question: According to my 1st grader “everyone” except for her packs a lunchable or other convenience foods. I need some suggestions on how to help my kids feel good about eating their healthy lunches packed from home.

Answer:

This is a great question and one parents are faced with more and more as convenience foods and busy lifestyles are becoming the norm. To help your kids gain confidence about eating their healthy lunch packed from home, my suggestions come from answering the following questions:

• What is your child’s relationship with food like at home?
• How appealing and appetizing is the lunch packed from home?

Let’s tackle the first question: What is your child’s relationship with food like at home? Maybe your child just comes to the table when dinner is ready; maybe your child likes to sit at the counter and watch the whole cooking process. Maybe your family doesn’t cook at home often and your child is used to the convenience of a restaurant or take out. Whatever the situation, the facts are simple: Kids are less likely to reject foods if they help make them. Getting your children involved in meal planning not only helps build confidence, but can lead to your child accepting those packed lunch from home (since they helped make them!) There are other benefits from having kids in the kitchen too; your child will:

• Try and like more foods
• Gain confidence, feel important, and proud
• Learn early math and science concepts
• Learn new vocabulary
• Develop small muscle skills
• Learn responsibility with cleanup

Now for an easier question to tackle: How appealing and appetizing is the lunch packed from home? I’m not here to criticize the way anyone packs their child’s lunch, but I am here to tell you children want to eat appealing and appetizing food (they are just like us adults!) This is why the packaging or uniqueness of a lunchable seems appealing to a child. I am also here to suggest ways to make your child’s school lunch more fun, appealing, and appetizing!Try these ideas:

• Let your child choose their lunchbox.
• Pack the lunch with fun, reusable accessories.
• Make food fun.

Here is an example of how you can make it fun to try new foods as you capture your child’s imagination:

Basically, presentation is key. Try to incorporate your child in the kitchen and these suggestions to see how your child starts to feel good about those healthy packed lunches from home!

Useful Resources:

MyPyramid for Kids

Nutrition for Kid and Teens

©2010 Littlestomaks.com. All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer – Information provided in Ask The Expert column on Littlestomaks.com is intended to give you general guidance on a question related to toddler nutrition. It is not meant to be treated as medical advice. You are welcome to contact this expert for a detailed consultation on your specific situation to determine what actions, if any, you should take regarding nutrition and health of your toddlers. We do not recommend you to take any action based solely on the information presented in this column. Experts have agreed to provide their professional opinion on toddler nutrition related questions on a voluntary basis and no compensation is offered to them by Littlestomaks.com.

Okay, so this is a little off topic and not so much about nutrition. But we had so much fun making play dough at home this weekend that I just wanted to share it with you all!

First, here is the recipe we found from an old magazine:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tsp liquid food coloring
• 2 tbs cooking oil
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 4 tbsp cream of tartar

Method

1. Combine water, food coloring and oil in a small bowl
2. Add flour, salt and cream of tartar to a large saucepan
3. Over medium heat, slowly pour the water-oil-food coloring mixture into the saucepan while stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 5 minutes until a ball of dough forms
4. Cool the dough for 5 minutes then knead with your hands until it is smooth
5. Store in refrigerator when not in use

The twins had a lot of fun kneading the dough, mixing up food coloring and eventually making shapes out of the play dough!

Of course, being the scientists we are, we simply had to understand the chemistry of play dough! It is really quite fascinating. Here is a short excerpt from how play dough modeling comp0und works which also has a lot of other cool facts about play dough.

Starch granules break down as warm water is added to the flour and the mixture is stirred. Slowly, the mixture becomes gelatinized and turns into a soft, pliable dough. Cooking oil acts as a lubricant which makes it easy to form it into different shapes. Salt acts as a preservative. Cream of tartar is a very important player in this chemistry because it adds strength to the dough. Cream of tartar is actually a by product of wine fermentation where it forms as a potassium acid salt of tartaric acid. In cooking, it is commonly used to add stiffness to egg whites. It is also used to prevent crystallization of sugar.

Commercial play dough contains a lot of other chemicals for making it more stable, less sticky, moist and resistant to bacterial and fungus growth.

Enjoy!

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

We are taking the idea of eat local to a whole new level…just kidding!

We now have a small vegetable garden in our backyard. I know it’s a little late because the summer in North Florida seems to be at its peak right now. But hey, better late than never, right?

Anyway, we have planted 3 Japanese eggplants, 3 sweet peppers, 3 tomatoes and a bunch of parsley and mint. I am using  a mix of simple top soil and cow manure in an attempt to stay away from heavy fertilizers. Not sure how it is going to turn out, but I want to give it a shot.

The main goal behind this garden is to get our twins interested in growing plants. I am hoping it would further increase their attachment to fruits and vegetables. They are beginning to show a little interest in getting water out of our rain barrels every evening to feed the plants and flowers. They also like to dig up the soil and make a mess everywhere! We are thinking of getting them a set of new colorful garden tools.

If you have a vegetable garden, I would love to hear your advice and suggestions about managing without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Please leave a comment below.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Ask The Expert is a weekly column on Littlestomaks.com. The idea is to have a reader-submitted question answered by a nutrition expert or a pediatrician. Feel free to submit your question in the comments section below.

Getting your little ones to help out in the kitchen can be a fun way to help them learn about food! This week, Registered Dietitian Jodi Greebel explains how it can help you raise a healthy eater and offers a few practical tips to get your toddler help you out in a safe way.

Jodi Greebel, MS, RD BS, Biology from Duke University, MS, Nutrition and Dietetics from NYU Experience: Private nutrition counseling practice 5+ years, Co-founder DinDins toddler food, author The Little Black Apron Expertise: Pediatric Nutrition and Weight Loss for Adults Website: DinDins Food , Citrition, LLC Twitter: @DinDinsFood @JodiRD LinkedIn profile: Jodi Greebel Facebook: DinDins Contact: via contact page on DinDins Food website

Question: How do I get my toddler involved in the kitchen? And, why should I bother?

Answer:

You’re trying to put together lunch, make dinner or do something else in the kitchen and your toddler is once again climbing up your leg wanting to be picked up. How can you hold your child in one arm and do anything remotely productive in the kitchen? Getting your toddler involved in the kitchen and allowing him/her to help does wonders for your ability to get anything done while also doing wonders for what your toddler is willing to eat! It’s a win-win. The more children get involved with food, the more likely they are to eat something and/or try something new. It’s one of the best strategies for raising a child who is not a picky eater. And, it’s a lot easier to get something done when you have two free hands!

It doesn’t matter how old your child is. There is something for all different ages – just pick age appropriate tasks such as:

• Holding a rubber spatula or plastic measuring spoons
• Playing with a plastic mixing bowl and spoon
• Washing the carrots
• Spinning lettuce or other greens
• Scrubbing potatoes with a brush
• Husking corn
• Holding down the button on the blender
• Stirring ingredients in a mixing bowl while you hold the bowl
• Using a plastic knife (with adult supervision) to slice banana
• Cracking the shell on a hard-boiled egg
• Putting the lids on your plastic containers
• Counting out cherry tomatoes to put in your salad
• Mashing an avocado
• Pulling basil or sage leaves off the stem

Be creative! Give your child any task that makes them feel like they are helping out (and allows you to do what you need to get done). Many kids are just climbing up your leg because they want to see what you are doing and help out! You’ll be amazed how much more willing your toddler is to try something if he/she has helped make it.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com. All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer – Information provided in Ask The Expert column on Littlestomaks.com is intended to give you general guidance on a question related to toddler nutrition. It is not meant to be treated as medical advice. You are welcome to contact this expert for a detailed consultation on your specific situation to determine what actions, if any, you should take regarding nutrition and health of your toddlers. We do not recommend you to take any action based solely on the information presented in this column. Experts have agreed to provide their professional opinion on toddler nutrition related questions on a voluntary basis and no compensation is offered to them by Littlestomaks.com.

Ask The Expert is a weekly column on Littlestomaks.com. The idea is to have a reader-submitted question answered by a nutrition expert or a pediatrician. Feel free to submit your question in the comments section below.

This week, Dr. Dina Rose recommends applying 3 simple principles of managing proportions, offering a variety of foods and eating in moderation to build lifelong healthy eating habits in children.

Question: What tactics/habits can I use to help my daughter build a life long love of healthy eating? I feel as though she has a great approach to eating now (even at 4!) but I’d love to know how to keep that going through the tough teen years and beyond.?

Answer:

This is a terrific question! Many parents get hung up on the details of food consumption right now, but you’ve got your eye on the prize: giving your daughter a lifetime of healthy habits.

So here’s the bad news: Once your child hits her teens, you can’t do anymore.

And now the good news: If you build a good food and eating foundation for your daughter, she’ll end up OK, no matter what happens in her tough teen years. And believe me, horrible food stuff — overloading on pizza, fries and other teen treasures — is definitely going to happen.

Helping your daughter develop a good relationship with food isn’t terribly complicated — if you avoid worrying about the nuances of nutrition. Instead, teach your daughter the 3 primary principles of eating right:

Proportion: It doesn’t matter whether your daughter has eaten vegetables on any given day, or how many cookies she’s consumed. What matters is getting the ratios right in the long run. Is your daughter’s overall diet dominated by the really healthy stuff — fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat proteins? Do the truly healthy foods outweigh the moderately healthy foods — crackers, sweetened yogurt, macaroni, hot dogs or cheese? Can you safely say that both these categories overshadow the junk? Think in terms of weeks, not days.

Variety: A diet that includes a broad range of foods isn’t only the healthiest, packing in a range of nutrients, but it’s also the most fun. Keep your daughter’s love of food alive by exposing her to new items, new cuisines and new creations on a regular basis. You can also add variety to her diet by mixing up old standards. And remember, breakfast’s not just for cereal anymore. You can serve humus, tuna, and beans in addition to waffles, pancakes and toast.

Moderation: Moderation may be the trickiest principle to apply because it’s impossible to know how hungry your daughter is. That means you’ve got to leave it up to her, even if it seems like she’s eating too little or too much. But the real trick to moderation is even trickier: ensuring that you teach your child to eat only when she is hungry and not because she’s bored, sad or lonely.

Read more about applying these principles.

Beyond teaching these principles, the only thing you need to remember to produce a happy and healthy eater is Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. The ebb and flow of moods, of eating, of schedules… of life means you can’t get too bogged down in the details. Make sure you’re clear about the principles you’re teaching and then take a step back. Some days will go better than others, but what’s important is preserving as stress-free zone around food as possible.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer – Information provided in Ask The Expert column on Littlestomaks.com is intended to give you general guidance on a question related to toddler nutrition. It is not meant to be treated as medical advice. You are welcome to contact this expert for a detailed consultation on your specific situation to determine what actions, if any, you should take regarding nutrition and health of your toddlers. We do not recommend you to take any action based solely on the information presented in this column. Experts have agreed to provide their professional opinion on toddler nutrition related questions on a voluntary basis and no compensation is offered to them by Littlestomaks.com.

Ask The Expert is a weekly column on Littlestomaks.com. The idea is to have a reader-submitted question answered by a nutrition expert or a pediatrician. Feel free to submit your question in the comments section below.

This week, Family Physician Dr. Michelle May offers a few tips to help you raise a healthy child by providing unconditional love, encouraging physical activity and promoting healthy eating habits.

Question: How can I encourage my kids to eat well and follow a healthy lifestyle?

Answer:

With the launch of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, unprecedented attention has been paid to healthy eating and physical activity in children. There’s a huge potential for benefit but two potential pitfalls that parents need to be aware of.

First, the focus really shouldn’t be on childhood obesity. All children (and adults!) benefit from increased awareness about their lifestyle choices. Singling out overweight children contributes to the stigma and shame they already face—and may cause parents, doctors, and others to mistakenly believe that the information doesn’t apply to normal weight children.

Second, restrictive diets haven’t worked in adults and they don’t work in children. Studies have shown that children who are restricted from certain foods at home and are exposed to those foods elsewhere are more likely to choose the food, overeat it, and feel guilty afterward. Sounds just like the last diet you were on doesn’t it!

Let’s look at the keys to the development of lifetime healthy eating and exercise habits:

Build Healthy Attitudes

• Demonstrate your unconditional love for your child. Children—especially overweight children—need support, acceptance, and encouragement from their parents.
• Build self-esteem by focusing on all of your child’s positive qualities, unique talents, and individuality. By developing interests and skills that increase their success and pleasure, they will be less likely to turn to food for fulfillment.
• Help your child develop good communication skills, encourage them to express their feelings, and teach them effective coping skills to decrease the chance that food will serve that purpose.
• Emphasize the importance of good health, not ideal weight.
• Never tease or criticize a child or adolescent about their weight. Such comments are hurtful and can stick with a person for a lifetime.
• Be a positive role model. When your child observes you enjoying healthful foods and physical activity, they are more likely to do the same.
• Most importantly, sit down and eat together as a family. Family mealtimes are a wonderful way to reconnect with one another and share your day. Mrs. Obama talks about playing “Roses and Thorns” – taking turns telling about the best and worst part of your day.

Enjoy an Active Lifestyle

• Help your child build a lifetime exercise habit by making consistent physical activity a high priority in your family.
• Reduce the amount of time your family spends in sedentary activities like TV and video games. Instead, plan fun family activities that provide everyone with exercise and enjoyment.
• For children who have been relatively sedentary, physical activity should be initiated gradually to avoid injury and discouragement.
• Encourage active play like biking, swimming, and playing ball.
• Participation in individual and team sports can be a great way to build coordination, athletic skills, and self-confidence.

Develop Healthy Eating Habits

• Children have the instinctive ability to regulate their intake to meet their needs. Respect these internal cues of hunger and satisfaction.
• Do not force children to clean their plates or bribe them with dessert for finishing their meal.
• Never use food as a reward. Reward desired behavior with praise, extra attention, and privileges.
• Do not comfort your child with food. Hug them and listen to them instead.
• Do not impose stringent food rules since this may lead to rebellious eating when the child is away from parental control.
• Don’t say or imply that some foods are good while others are bad. Instead, teach children that some foods are healthier than others. This will help them learn to balance eating for nourishment with eating for enjoyment.
• Provide a variety of delicious healthy choices for snacks and mealtimes. Suggestions include fresh or dried fruits, vegetables with tasty low fat dips, reduced fat cheese or peanut butter and whole grain crackers, yogurt, fruit smoothies, whole fruit ice pops, granola bars, turkey roll-ups, or snack mixes made of cereal, dried fruit, and nuts.
• A healthy breakfast is a great way to start the day and is important for optimal performance in school. Include protein and whole grains for energy and nourishment.
• Encourage children to drink water and fat free or low fat milk instead of sugary sodas, fruit drinks, and sports drinks.
• Promote a high fiber diet by giving your child whole wheat breads and pastas, brown rice, and five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. They will prefer these types of foods if that is what they’re used to.
• Since children (and adults!) have a natural preference for sweet and high fat foods, it’s reasonable to limit the amount of sugary and fatty foods that are readily available to encourage intake of more nutrient rich foods.
• Involve children in shopping, meal planning, and preparation. This is a great opportunity to teach them about nutrition—and they will be more likely to try new foods if they helped make them.

Download Keys to Raising Healthy Children flyer by Dr. Michelle May.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer – Information provided in Ask The Expert column on Littlestomaks.com is intended to give you general guidance on a question related to toddler nutrition. It is not meant to be treated as medical advice. You are welcome to contact this expert for a detailed consultation on your specific situation to determine what actions, if any, you should take regarding nutrition and health of your toddlers. We do not recommend you to take any action based solely on the information presented in this column. Experts have agreed to provide their professional opinion on toddler nutrition related questions on a voluntary basis and no compensation is offered to them by Littlestomaks.com.

Looking for a fun snack nutritious snack that your toddler can make? Look no farther than a no-bake cookie!

This is a great snack for the toddler set. They will love that they can make it themselves and choose different ingredients to put in it.

The only hitch is that it needs to stay in the refrigerator for a few hours so that the oats soften. My kids have it for breakfast most mornings. We make it the night before, and we call it our “breakfast cookie”.

Ingredients

1. 1 small plate
2. 1/3 cup oats
3. 1 1/2 teaspoons nut butter
4. 1/8 cup milk (soy milk, almond milk, etc.)
5. 1 teaspoon raisins
6. 1 teaspoon maple syrup

Method

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl with your hands (kids will love this!). Mush onto plate, wrap with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

This recipe was submitted by Lisa Cain, PhD. She is an avid healthy snacker, foodie, published author, and mother of 2.

An evolutionary biologist by training, she has become obsessed with how food contributes to our overall health. Check out her Snack Girl website for other healthy snack ideas.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Quesadillas are so easy to make and, lucky for us, our twins like them a lot! Not only that, recently we realized that this way we could also involve them in a cooking project for some fun in the kitchen. They took turns spreading the chicken, shredded cheese and cilantro over a tortilla.Then came the second tortilla on top, next a little olive oil with a brush and then it was ready to go on a hot grille.

Ingredients

1. Flour tortilla, about 12
2. 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken, fully cooked
3. Shredded cheese
4. Chopped cilantro
5. Olive oil
6. Salsa and yogurt

Method

Cook chicken and shred it into bite size pieces. We cook chicken pieces slowly inside a covered saucepan on oven top. You could also bake or grille. Place one flour tortilla on a flat surface like a cutting board and spread a few pieces of chicken, cheese and chopped cilantro. Cover with a second tortilla and brush lightly with olive oil. Place inside a hot grille at 400 ºF and cook until a crispy finish. Serve with salsa and yogurt.

It is easy to get creative with quesadillas. Instead of chicken, you can also use grilled vegetables, rice and beans or even ground beef. The possibilities are limitless!

What is your favorite quesadilla recipe?

I know – the title does not make any sense whatsoever! But hang on, because this post is less about nutrition and more about getting creative and having fun at the table!

One of my blogger friends Jenna of KidAppeal is hosting her Big Words from Little Foodies Recipe Swap. It is an interesting project because it takes the focus away from feeding and nutrition to engagement and interaction with the kids and having fun. That is why the weird title because I want to share with you a recent mealtime experience I had with our twins.

My son is crazy about trains! He lives and breathes diesel engines. Sometimes I get a sense that he imagines himself to be a diesel engine! That is why the only sure way of capturing his attention (and imagination) is to talk to him about trains. These days, I try to spin a story about adventures of a diesel engine at the dinner table so he can stay seated for at least 15-20 minutes and try the food on the table.

Now, did you know that there are many different kinds of diesel engines? There is Santa Fe, Canadian National, CSX, Burlington Northern, Amtrak and Southern Pacific? Well, don’t feel too bad if you had no idea because I had no clue either before he got so fascinated with diesel trains. (Strictly speaking, these are the railroad companies who own the diesel engines. But to my son, the name belongs to the diesel engine because that is what he looks at in his train books and magazines).

Recently we had our Green Bean with Olive Oil, basmati rice, meatballs and salad on the table for us at dinner. TwinToddlersMom also had a few other options for the twins – spaghetti, cut cucumber, baked fish sticks, feta cheese and strawberries just in case. Some of these items are their favorites so we try to keep them handy. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not!

Anyway, here is how our conversation went -

Me – Do you want to hear the story when Canadian National diesel became very hungry and his engineer got him some diesel food?

Son – YES, tell me the story baba!

Me – Well, you need to come to the table so we can have our dinner and listen to the story

It worked, because he was in his chair in no time, eagerly waiting for the story as he scanned the different options on the table.

Me – Ok. Canadian National diesel engine was a very strong engine. He was red, orange and yellow…

Son – no baba, Canadian National engine is red and white!

Me – Yes, that’s right! Anyway, he worked hard pulling his freight trains from city to city from Canada to the United States…

Daughter – No baba, only Amtrak goes city to city, not a freight train! (she tries to jump in to get her share of attention!)

Me – Yes, that’s right! Anyway, he worked hard pulling his freight trains from the docks to the city. He carried all kinds of stuff. He had hopper cars, tank cars, flat cars, box cars, gondola cars and a caboose. But one day, he got very hungry and his tummy started grumbling…

Son - you mean he lost all of his diesel gas?

Daughter - and his diesel energy?

By now, they were nibbling on a couple of cucumbers, bits of feta cheese and a meatball…green beans stayed untouched!

Me - Yes, that’s right! So he asked his engineer for some diesel food so he could get his diesel energy back. Do you want to get your diesel energy back?

This was clearly a ploy to get them to try some of the green beans, but it didn’t work! And I of course did not push. If they wanted to, they could always eat a few of those sitting on their plate.

Anyway, this went on for a while, when suddenly, out of the blue, my son announced -

I NEED TO GO POOP!

I know, I know – it does not sound very appetizing on the table and even somewhat of an anticlimactic ending to a silly, but otherwise engaging story! But I am sure every toddler parent has heard this announcement on the table at least a few times. The only way to deal with it is to laugh it off!

So I guess, that’s it. Call it funny, silly, hilarious, insane, nonsense! The real challenge is not getting them to eat the food, but to get them to pay attention. Stories help, so give them a shot.

What is your favorite story? What has worked for you? Please share in your comments.

And of course, make sure you visit Jenna’s blog for stories from other parents.

Enjoy!

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Ask The Expert is a weekly column on Littlestomaks.com. The idea is to have a reader-submitted question answered by a nutrition expert or a pediatrician. Feel free to submit your question in the comments section below.

This week, Registered Dietitian Rebecca Subbiah offers tips for getting your toddler to eat better.

Question: How do I get my 3 year old to eat better and make mealtimes more enjoyable?

Answer:

Here are a few easy tips for you to encourage your 3 year old to eat better.

• Don’t make mealtimes a battle.
• Little ones don’t have much control over things and refusing to eat and being fussy is their way of showing independence.
• Stay calm over what you have cooked and don’t worry if they don’t eat much the next meal they will make up for it!
• Get your little one involved in grocery shopping and choosing new fruits and vegetables, then on returning home get them in the kitchen even if its just washing the produce or shirring things.
• Visit Ethnic grocery stores and restaurants to expose your child to new and exciting foods.
• Sit your little one with kids who do eat vegetables they might copy them!
• Have a rule to just try a new food and if they don’t want it no worries maybe next time they will.
• Add vegetables to mashed potatoes, spaghetti sauce and soups.
• Make smiley faces on the plate or fun shaped sandwiches
• Have fun more than likely its just a stage

©2010 Littlestomaks.com. All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer – Information provided in Ask The Expert column on Littlestomaks.com is intended to give you general guidance on a question related to toddler nutrition. It is not meant to be treated as medical advice. You are welcome to contact this expert for a detailed consultation on your specific situation to determine what actions, if any, you should take regarding nutrition and health of your toddlers. We do not recommend you to take any action based solely on the information presented in this column. Experts have agreed to provide their professional opinion on toddler nutrition related questions on a voluntary basis and no compensation is offered to them by Littlestomaks.com.

Here is a secret from the world of business marketing you can use to help your toddler build healthy eating habits. I heard about this from a colleague of mine recently. I was thinking about it over the weekend when it occurred to me that it could be applied to building healthy eating habits. In fact, you could consider it for most parenting situations.

Think of companies and brands that you are a fan of. What do they do well to keep you coming back to their products and services? Surely, a lot of companies have good products that meet your needs, but there are some in particular which you keep going back to over and over again.Not only that, you tell your friends about them and get them hooked too! How could it be that they have figured out a way to have you keep doing what they want you to do – that is keep buying their products, sometimes even without thinking!

The secret is CONSISTENCY!

Consistent quality and service builds trust and a natural desire in the customer to keep reaching out for the product. Miss on either quality or service a few times and you lose the customer for good in today’s competitive world. The top companies have figured it out how to do it consistently over and over again. Of course, it does not happen overnight and takes a lot of effort to build.

So how can it be applied to building healthy eating habits in toddlers?

Just like building a bedtime routine at the end of the day, consistency at mealtimes helps your toddler to latch on to foods and behaviors you want him to develop. Here are a few tips for you to try consistently:

1. Eat dinner as a family and only offer whatever you have prepared for yourself. No need for a special Kids Menu at home (via Sandi of @5and1).
2. Make the environment fun and stress-free. Play is the secret ingredient of success at mealtime!
3. Don’t wait until everyone, including your child, is starving to begin dinner. Timing is critical so a little planning will help tremendously.
4. By the same token, avoid forcing your child to sit down and have dinner with you if he just had a snack because of a change in schedule or something else.
5. Understand the division of responsibility in feeding to unleash the true power of family meals, according to Dr Kathleen Cuneo of Dinner Together. Your job is to put food on the plate; let your child decide whether and how much to eat.
6. Make only a few ground rules for both adults and children. Too many rules don’t work, plus they are very hard to enforce. Be a role model yourself and ask help from others in the family to stick to them at mealtime.
7. Avoid talking about food as good or bad. If it is on the table, it is good enough to eat even if the nutritional value is not so good. Nutritional value is best considered before the food reaches your table!
8. Keep everything same or nearly the same each day. No need to be spontaneous about the seating arrangements.
9. If the TV is usually on, let it be even if you are tempted to turn it off after reading in a book!
10. Stay flexible, everybody including your child can have a bad day!

Consistency takes practice and perseverance. But it can be extremely rewarding in the long run.

Moms, what your most useful tips for building healthy eating habits? Share in comments below.

Photo Source: PhotoExpress
©2009 Littlestomaks.com

The title of this book resonated with me a lot! Except that in our case, we have two hungry monkeys on our hands!!

I first came across this book by Matthew Amster-Burton when I read a review in the New York Times last month. I contacted Matthew who graciously sent me a complimentary copy so I could write my own review on this blog. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I read it cover-to-cover during the last couple of weeks. I wish I had time to try out a few of his recipes before writing this review, but I don’t want to delay presenting to you my first impressions about this book. I will surely be writing more about it as we try some of the recipes and tricks with our kiddos.

Overview

Overall, I found this book honest, delightful and deliciously funny! And of course, extremely useful because of over 50 recipes spread across the 21 chapters. Don’t let that scare you though – the book is just a little over 200 pages and reads extremely well, almost like a nice story!

Written in an informal and conversational tone, it keeps your interest while delivering a few chuckles if you have lived through the daily battles with a picky eater. As a dad, I could relate to Matthew’s trials and tribulations on many levels. In all honesty though, I must admit that I frequently felt pangs of envy since he gets to spend so much time with his daughter Iris while having a lot of fun experimenting with all sorts of recipes. His knowledge of food, different cuisines and cooking methods is very impressive. Although he has the right experience over the years as a restaurant critic and food writer, he does not take the high ground in this book and writes in a down-to-earth practical way. Here are a few things I really liked about this book -

• His overall attitude that you don’t have to be a good cook to share food with your child. No need to put so much pressure on yourself to make perfect recipes all the time.
• No reason to prepare a different meal for your child; make something that all of you can eat as a family.
• I loved the Little Fingers tips in his recipes for getting the kids involved in a cooking project.
• His attitude on picky eating – picky eating is annoying but not a medical problem. It sure puts things in perspective.
• Reading the chapter Sugar Makes Parents Hyper made me realize that my son’s interest in anything sweet is perfectly normal. Of course, it is fine to regulate the overall sugar consumption, but there is no point getting agitated by a few cookies during the day.
• Eating = Fun, that’s the attitude we need to cultivate as parents.
• Amazing stories of how he managed to teach Iris to cook pancakes and grilled sandwiches.
• Good breakfast tips- McCann’s Irish Oatmeal, french toast and syrup, homemade waffles

10 things I learned from this book I did not know before

1. You can blend spinach into meatballs. I want to try his recipe for chicken and spinach meatballs.
2. Some veggies, especially leafy greens can irritate the taste buds of a small child. That could explain the early aversion to vegetables.
3. All eel sold in the US comes from China even though a lot of eel is caught off the Southeastern US and shipped to Japan. Doesn’t sound very “green” to me!
4. Chicken Teriyaki is Seattle’s favorite lunch. I have never been to Seattle, so I did not know that. Amazing coincidence – our twins love to go to the local Mall to enjoy the Japanese style fast food Teriyaki chicken with fried rice.
5. Meat grinding at home can be fun for kids to watch as the “worms” come out of the other end. It also gives you higher quality meat since oxygen has not had enough time to turn it “stale”.
6. Quote from Ellyn Satter – involving children in cooking and gardening in the hope that doing so will make them eat better does not work.
7. You can mix shrimp with grits. I always thought grits were something you had for breakfast – and for some reason – I never thought of mixing it with shrimp.
8. Taste for food develops over time and is based on personal experience. Based on an experiment from MIT, if you know you are not going to like something, it is unlikely you will develop a “taste” for it after trying it. This flies in the face of “try a bite” strategy for getting your child to eat new foods.
9. Peer pressure works very well in getting people to develop a taste for different foods later during the adult years. I wonder – can it start early?
10. Iris had raw fish at 11 months in the form of mashed tuna from a spicy tuna roll. Bottom line – be adventurous (but not foolish) when it comes to exposing your child to new stuff.

What I did not like so much

• I thought Matthew was a little too harsh on Ruth Yaron’s Super Baby Food especially when it comes to food allergies. I admit, I have not read this book, nor do I plan to. I am glad things worked out well for Iris, but there is nothing more nerve-wracking for a parent than to watch her child throw up violently for no reason. In my opinion, it is better to be cautious at least in the first two years. I do like his attitude that of still finding ways to enjoy food when you have known food allergies by experimenting with recipes and ingredients.
• I am surprised that he did not mention Basmati rice even though Iris is a big rice-eater. Unlike jasmine rice, basmati rice is low in glycemic index and has a great texture and fragrance.
• He uses  a little too much butter in his recipes. I am also not a big fan of pork and bacon.
• I would have liked a few more vegetarian recipes.
• I love pictures, so it would have been nice to see the pictures of his recipes.

Recommendation

Overall, a very entertaining and yet a very informative book, which you may consider in case you find yourself

• wanting to read a real dad’s real experiences when it comes to raising a healthy eater;
• wanting to experience a variety of foods and eating experiences with your child;
• feeling overwhelmed and confused by tons of heavy technical information related to nutrition;
• feeling motivated to bring a sense of fun, adventure and enjoyment to family mealtimes;
• wanting to enjoy your child’s growth in the early years when the daily battles at mealtimes make you want to say I quit!

Overall, I give it a big thumbs up! Visit hungrymonkeybook.com to read the first 3 chapters and information on how to buy this book.

Leave me a comment if you found this review useful.

©2009 Littlestomaks.com

This is a guest post by Christine Kane-McKenzie, owner at “Falling Through the Cracks”, a non-profit she created for single parents who have fallen through the bureaucratic cracks to help them achieve a better future. She is also a distributor for Juice Plus^+®.

A few facts about Childhood Obesity in Texas

The statistics in 1962 showed that 13% of the U.S. population was obese but by 2000 this rate had increased to 31% according to American Sports Data.  The population of Texas is about 24 million. The population of children, ages 10-17, ranks first in the US at 21.4% with 32.2% being overweight or obese, according to Trust for America’s Health .  With that said, those same children rank 31.7% overweight or obese across the US.  Their statistics also show that the state of Texas has 21.4% of children under 18 who are uninsured.  Finkelstein and his collaborating researchers reported in Health Affairs – The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere – a drastic increase in medical coverage for obesity through Medicare/Medicaid since 1998.  In 1998 approximately half of the over $78 Billion spent on health coverage was financed by Medicare and Medicaid.  Through 2006 that number is estimated to have increased $40 Billion. Taking care of our health now will alleviate most insurance costs attributed to obesity.

What I’m getting at here is our children need to understand the importance of good health, good nutrition, and proper exercise practices.  The first step to improving or maintaining a child’s proper weight is to inform the parents about nutrition, exercise, and quality time with children.

How do you determine if a child will be obese? Is it genetic?

The obesity-predisposing genotype is heritable in 10% of individuals according to a 2006 article in the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Beyond genetics is the susceptibility to dietary variations, along with a major contribution of familial influenced learned behaviors such as exercise and regular activity away from the TV, computer, and video games according to researchers from Canada who published their findings in this article on PubMed.

Does this mean that everyone who has the obesity-predisposing genotype has to become obese?

No. It only means it’s a possibility.

The fact is anyone has the potential to become obese, unless they have hyperthyroidism, if their caloric intake outweighs their physical activity. Eric Ravussin, Chair in Diabetes and Metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher, was recently quoted in this TIME magazine article – “exercise is pretty much useless for weight loss”. Exercise is great to keep the body healthy and the ability to stave off disease processes such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and stress levels.  Being in shape strengthens muscles that support the skeleton and alleviates back problems. I, for one, am living proof that obsessively excessive exercise has done nothing for me when it comes to losing weight. I felt great but the weight just hung around. During a five year period I had invested in a local work-out plan and also hired three separate trainers as well.  I was well toned, to say the least, but still gained 5 – 10 lbs and was always exceptionally hungry.

Basically, we need to expend our energy on daily activities in balance with caloric intake. Think of it this way. Our ancestors (yes, even the kids) gardened, plowed fields, bailed hay, walked or ran everywhere, scrubbed everything around the house and barn by hand, took care of farm animals, and so forth, so their energy expenditure equaled or exceeded their caloric intake (in some cases they may have not had enough food).  In any case, there were still a few individuals who became obese due to genetics.  Now days kids get up, run out the door without breakfast, get on the bus for school, sit in a desk most of the day (most schools only have P.E. a couple times a week now), come home, relax in front of the TV/video game and eat unhealthy snacks before a hearty dinner, then off to bed.  Where’s the energy expenditure?

What can be done before it begins or reverse the weight gain in children?

Children follow what they see.  If your routine is to stop at the local drive-thru, you’re setting the scene for obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, and other chronic health risks.  Delayed satisfaction is a great lesson for our children in this era of remote controls. Cooking wholesome nutritious meals together as a family will benefit everyone in more ways than one.  The main point is, as a parent, what we do as parents we pass on to our children.  We all want what’s best for them… is obesity one of those things?

Trimming the fat tips for the budget and the waistline

Here are a few tips for Cutting eating costs – even with special diets based on an article by the Chicago Family Health Examiner:

• Look up sites for coupons for whole foods.
• Go to farmers markets instead of the fruit & veggie aisle at the supermarket.
• Stop going out to eat so much and make good choices when you do.
• Have fun growing a garden with the kids – an herb garden, tomatoes, broccoli, and peppers are easy and really don’t take up a lot of room to plant.
• Look into supplementation  like Juice Plus+^® – 17 organic whole fruits and veggies, ground up and put into caplet’s for adults and chewables and gummies for kids for about $1.50/day.
• Another good site to look at is called “The Science of Appetite”. It has tips on what foods make you eat more, what people eat around the world, how to curb your appetite, and more.

Family fun and exercise = Quality time

Quality time is the most important part of having healthy balanced children.  Taking time to talk about health together is just as important as talking about drugs and alcohol to your kids.  Everyday should have some sort of fun activity that is shared by the family such as:

• Playing football or baseball
• Walks around the block a couple times a day
• Ride bikes
• Roller blade
• Skate boarding
• Dancing together

©2009 Littlestomaks.com
Disclaimer: I have not received any sponsorship from Juice Plus+^® and publication of this article is not an endorsement of their products by Littlestomaks.com

Getting your toddler to sit down at the dinner table and eat with you as a family is a task of monumental proportions for most parents, us included! It is something we all want, yet we struggle each day; only to pick up the pieces of our valiant efforts and move on to the next! We even stop going out to restaurants because we hate the looks we get from others – some sympathetic, some politely unapproving while some others rudely hostile! We wish for the toddler years to magically fly by hoping that one day our energetic monkey will simply learn to sit quietly in his seat and finish his meal like a grown-up, well-behaved child.

In her guest post The Power of Family Meals – Tips for Feeding Toddlers, Dr. Kathleen Cuneo offered some tips for making mealtimes a pleasant experience unlike the daily battles most toddler parents are used to. We have been trying some of these ideas, sometimes with success. But there is nothing predictable about our 3-year olds when it comes to mealtime behavior. Recently, however we stumbled upon a trick that seems to have worked a few times. I want to share it with you in this post.

A couple of days back, we took our twins to the community pool, and on our way back stopped by to pick up some pizza we had ordered earlier. As soon as we came home, we got the twins in their high chairs on the dinner table and immediately offered them a slice of their favorite cheese pizza. We got our own plates out and started with our own veggie pizza. A few minutes passed by, and still no one jumped out of their chair! So far so good, I thought – give them a few more minutes then we will see!

Suddenly, without any plan or serious thinking, I started a “question” game with the twins:

And my favorite food is?

PIZZA, shouted out my daughter.

I looked at my son, and asked “And what is your favorite food?”

He stopped, looked at me for a moment, his mouth full of the bite of pizza he had just taken. Holding the half-eaten slice in his hand, he shouted COOKIES! – well no surprises there!!

This is fun, let us keep playing I told myself.

And …. your favorite animal is? I paused as I looked at my daughter.

SHEEP, she answered, obviously remembering her recent favorite stuffed animal.

TRAIN, reflected my son – in his mind, a train was an animal! But hey there is no point debating on this topic with an imaginative 3-year old, right?

And my favorite animal ….I paused….is FISH!

They both looked at me and laughed. By this time, one full slice of pizza had disappeared.

And …… what is your favorite drink?

MILK (daughter), and a few seconds later, Hmmmm….ICE CREAM! (son). (we give him homemade OJ ice cream cup)

And my favorite drink…another pause…is WATER!

By this time, both of them were fully engaged in this game as the whole family enjoyed pizza. Almost 15 minutes had passed and everyone was still in their chairs. Their plates had a second slice of pizza now.

We kept on – the questions and answers kept going in a pattern, first my daughter, then my son, then me and then their mom, who by now seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this spectacle with befuddled amusement.

And …. who is your favorite person?

MOM! cried my daughter. I was so disappointed, but then the sight of mom’s beaming face was a memorable moment!

Eventually, we all finished the pizza. Mom and I even enjoyed a glass of wine!

Looking back, having fun is probably the most important trick of all. Play is the secret ingredient for success at mealtime!

What is your favorite tip for fun at mealtime?

In case you are wondering, the photo of our twins in this post was taken at a Thai restaurant when we went out to celeberate our 10th anniversary this year. It is not often that we find them having so much fun, but when they do, it is nice to have a camera handy!

Enjoy!

©2009 Littlestomaks.com