This is a guest post by Amanda Kidd. By profession, she is a writer and internet marketer . She is a health buff and a strict follower of a healthy lifestyle. Her health guide specifically includes healthy food to maintain physical and mental health. She also helps parents with her write up regarding health problems in children.

It has often been seen that kids are very fussy about food. They usually prefer junk food that does not have any nutrition. They fail to understand that proper nutrition is very essential for their overall development. It is the parents’ responsibility to teach them healthy food habits. If kids consume nutritious food right from the beginning, they will obviously grow up to become healthier human beings.

One main reason for the children to opt for junk is that they feel it is tastier and looks attractive as well as delicious. Today, fast food centers are coming up with smart ideas to prepare and serve their junk food. We often find food being served in pretty boxes with cute toys, different colors, funny shapes and mouth-watering smell. All this is sure to attract these kids who do not understand that the delicious-looking food actually lacks all the nutrition.

In such circumstances, parents should come forward to help their kids in developing good eating habits. Kids often have the misconception that healthy food is boring. This is not true. Nutritious food can also be turned into tasty and interesting preparation.

Kids often like to add some fun to their food, so why not be a little creative and turn your daily food into something funny that would attract the kids toward the dining table? It is generally seen that all kids love finger foods, different types of dips and scoops, different sauces and toppings, colorful frosting and fillings, unique shapes and foods that they can easily have on the go. All these features can even be added to nutritious homemade food.

So, do not worry about how you will convince your kids to have healthy food daily. Modify your food and add the fun factor to it and see your kids grab it. Some of the ideas that can help your kids eat nutritious food are:

1. Give them breads and biscuits made of whole grain. Try and find biscuits with interesting shapes. You can also cut them at home to give them funny shapes.
2. If your kid loves dips, you can prepare healthy dips at home with the help of yoghurt, cheese and fruits. These will look good and taste awesome.
3. Make healthy vegetable sandwiches with onions, cucumbers, tomatoes or any other vegetable that your kids like.
   Instead of making a simple round pancake, try being creative and give different shapes to the pancakes and offer it to your kids in the breakfast.
4. You can also make tasty fruit salads by mixing different kinds of colorful fruits. Kids often love berries so you can encourage them to eat strawberries, blueberries or any other berry of their choice.
5. If they really want to have pizza, prepare one at home. Use whole grain and add the toppings of their choice to make their personal pizza.
6. Another idea to make them eat good food is to involve them while shopping for vegetables, cooking or serving. Let them take the decision.
7. They will love it. It has always been seen that the kids who love cooking often enjoy eating.
8. A lot of whole grain pasta and noodles are available in the market. You can prepare them with lots of sauce and vegetables. Kids will love it.
9. You can also prepare smoothies with fruits, yoghurt or milk. It is very tasty as well nutritious.
10. Encourage them to snack on some healthy nuts, popcorn, salads or fruits. Also, make them develop the habit of drinking lots of water.

Try these ideas and watch your kids developing healthy eating habits. Eating good food is very essential. These days, as most of the parents are working, they have very little time to think about the food their kids are eating. The ideas given above are simple and easy to follow. They are good for your kids and make them enjoy whatever they eat.

This is a guest post by Allison Gamble, who has been a curious student of psychology since high school. She brings her understanding of the mind to work in the weird world of internet marketing, and is still trying to teach herself not to clean her plate.

photo credit: left-hand

Food and nutrition are difficult subjects for adults, and even more so for kids. A child’s taste preferences are influenced by outside sources almost from birth, so it doesn’t take a psychology degree to realize that it’s necessary for parents to guide them in making healthy food choices.

Clearly, your kids don’t think about nutrition the way you do, so you need to look at things from their perspective in order to avoid common pitfalls in the emotional realm of food and eating.

Kids and Healthy Eating Habits

Kids begin to develop preferences for food at a very young age. If you want your kids to grow up eating a variety of foods, aim to give them a number of options as these preferences develop. As they get older, encourage them to choose different kinds of healthful, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Even if you make many wholesome foods available, chances are your kids will want something sweet from time to time. Instead of slapping a label of “bad” or “unhealthy” on desserts and treats that will turn these foods into guilty pleasures, allow your children to eat them in reasonable portions. If they ask why they can’t have more, use their questions as an opportunity to talk about how different foods affect the body. Your kids will probably notice that they feel better after eating fruits and vegetables than after candy or cake, and helping them to understand why goes a long way towards giving them the tools to make good food choices in the future.

Above all, be a positive role model for your kids. If you’re constantly hung up on calories, fat content, carbs or weight, your kids will be too. Remember that kids are extremely observant and will often do what they see you doing, regardless of what you say.

The Many Faces of Food

For kids and adults alike, food is more than just physical nourishment. Advertisers work hard to target kids by using specific situations, emotions, and ideas to convince youngsters that eating a certain food will yield a positive result. Unfortunately, parents can be just as much at fault when it comes to attaching emotion to food. Saying things like, “You can’t have cake until you finish your vegetables,” or “If you’re good today, we’ll go get ice cream,” sets kids up to think of food in terms of reward or punishment instead of health and nutrition.

Odds are, your kids know how to listen to their bodies much better than you do. Young children haven’t yet been exposed to societal pressures that make adults fixate on food choices. Kids naturally eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re full, an instinct that’s important to honor. Forcing kids to clean their plates when they’re not hungry or don’t feel well leads to the feeling that they must eat even if they don’t want to, undermining the natural cycle of hunger and fullness. Don’t worry if your child doesn’t eat very much one day or decides he’s not hungry. Instead, let the matter drop and go do something else he enjoys. When he’s ready to eat, he’ll let you know.

Teaching kids to make healthy food choices is as much a matter of showing as it is of telling. Giving kids a positive perspective through discussion and being a good role model leads to intelligent choices based on facts about nutrition rather than perceived ideas of good and bad. Kids know how to listen to their bodies, so as a parent, all you have to do is nurture that natural instinct.

In summary

• Encourage your children towards healthful, whole foods.
• Don’t turn desserts and treats into guilty pleasures or rewards.
• Be a positive role model
• Let your child eat intuitively. They’ll eat when they get hungry. Don’t force it.

What has worked for you? Share your tips!

©2011 Littlestomaks.com

photo credit: Ani Carrington

“If you could be a fruit, what would you be?”, I asked my daughter on a whim at bath time tonight.

“Pineapple!”, she said without any hesitation.

“Why?”, I asked to get the conversation going…

“Because it is sweet and I love it!”, again came the reply without any hesitation…

It came as a surprise because we aren’t really into pineapple in our household. No special reason, it just turns out to be that way.

Maybe they get it at daycare, I thought.

I turned my attention to my son this time.

“If you could be a vegetable, what would you be?”

“a potato”, he said after a brief pause.

“Why?”

“Because I love it”.

Hmmm, it must be the waffle fries we got him last Friday at a Chick-Fil-A take out, I thought.

Whatever the reason may be, kids relate to a specific fruit or a vegetable because they love it, not because it is good for them.

So often, we get carried away by the science and what we read that we try to motivate kids to eat fruits and veggies because we think it is good for them.

Somehow, we need to figure out how we can get them to fall in love with fruits and veggies.

What has worked for you? Please share.

©2011 Littlestomaks.com

This is a guest post by Michelle May, M.D., a physician and recovered yoyo dieter, and the founder of Am I Hungry?® Mindful Eating Program. She is the award-winning author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle. Download the first chapter here.

Out of the Mouth of Babes….

photo credit: saia.neogaia

There are many important things that we need to teach children as they grow – but they have many natural behaviors that we shouldn’t try to change. In fact, we could learn a few things from kids. Here are some important lessons:

1. Eat when you’re hungry. From the time they are born, babies know when and how much they need to eat—and they cry to let us know too! As they grow, this important instinct can be un-learned. By the time they are adults, they may have learned to eat for many other reasons besides hunger—mealtimes, tempting food, stress, anger, boredom, and countless other triggers. By recognizing the difference between needing to eat and wanting to eat, adults can re-learn when and how much to eat too.

2. Stop eating when you’re full. An infant will turn their head away when they’ve had enough to eat, and a toddler will throw a plate of food on the floor when they’re done. But as adults, we clean our plates because “there are starving children” somewhere—or just because something tastes good. I’m not suggesting that we start throwing our plates on the floor again, but we need to remember that food is abundant in our society so there’s no need to eat it all now.

3. Being hungry makes you grouchy. Being hungry, tired, or frustrated are sure to make a child crabby—and they affect adults the same way!

4. Snacks are good. Kids naturally prefer to eat smaller meals with snacks in between whenever they get hungry. That pattern of eating keeps their metabolism stoked all day. Adults who need to fire up their metabolism should try this too.

5. Play with your food. Most kids love to examine, smell, and touch their food. Since eating is a total sensory experience, they get the most from every morsel. This childlike approach will help you eat less food while enjoying it more. You’ll appreciate the aroma, appearance, and flavors more if you aren’t driving, watching T.V., or standing in the kitchen.

6. All foods fit. Children are born with a natural preference for sweet and higher fat flavors. Though parents sometimes worry about it, these “fun” foods can be part of a healthy diet. In fact, overly restrictive food rules usually lead to rebellious eating anyway—just think about the last time you weren’t “allowed” to eat something on a diet! Children and adults both eat healthier when they learn to enjoy these less nutritious foods in moderation.

7. Be a picky eater. Kids won’t easily eat something they don’t like. Think of how much less food you would eat if you didn’t settle for food that tasted “so-so.”

8. You can learn to like new foods.  Healthy eating is an acquired taste. Good nutrition is essential, so providing a variety of appealing, healthful foods will benefit the whole family. In our house, we have a two-bite rule. Everyone tastes two bites of everything; if they still don’t like it, they don’t have to eat it—but they have to try it again the next time we have it. Since that’s “The Rule,” there are no battles at the table and the kids (and parents) often surprise themselves by liking something they thought they wouldn’t.

9. Follow the leader. Face it, kids watch and often imitate everything we do. If they observe us eating a variety of healthful foods and exercising regularly, then they’ll learn to take good care of their bodies. Likewise, if they don’t hear us making comments like “I’m so fat” or “She looks fat” then they’re less likely to suffer from poor self-esteem and a judgmental attitude.

10. There is more to a party than cake and ice cream! Invite a child to a party and they’ll want to know what they are going to get to do. Invite an adult and they’ll wonder what food will be served. You don’t have to avoid parties to manage your weight; just focus on the real purpose of social events—to be social.

11. Eating with your family is fun. Since babies and toddlers must be fed by their parents, they naturally love eating with other people. Family mealtime is your opportunity to model good habits and connect with each other. We still play “High-Low” with our kids at dinner. Each member of the family takes a turn telling the others about the best and worst parts of their day. What a great door opener to dinner conversations.

12. It’s boring to just sit around! Toddlers seem to be in perpetual motion while they constantly explore their world. Young kids love to run in the grass, play on the playground, and challenge themselves and each other to increasingly more difficult activities. Of course, as they get older, television, computers, and electronic games compete for their attention. In our family, to encourage other activities, we use “screen time” which limits how much time our children are allowed to spend on anything with a screen. Sometimes adults would benefit by limiting their screen time and exploring their world a little more!

13. Sleep is good. After a full day, children need a good night’s sleep to prepare for all of the adventures that tomorrow will hold. Wouldn’t we all benefit from a consistent bedtime to make sure we get our rest too?

14. Live in the moment. Kids are masters at living in the present. They don’t waste a lot of energy worrying about what has already happened or what might happen tomorrow. They are fully engaged in small pursuits like discovering where the ants are going, chasing the dog, or seeing how deep they can dig with a plastic shovel. We, on the other hand, continue to scurry around, chasing after our dreams, and all the while, digging ourselves deeper and deeper. We could learn a lot from children!

©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.

Most toddlers are picky eaters and getting them to build lifelong healthy eating habits is a challenge for most parents. It is not unusual for a child to fill herself with drinks and only nibble on a few foods occasionally. This week, Registered Dietitian Ashley Rosales offers a few tips to bring variety in your child’s diet and encourage healthy eating habits.

Ashley Rosales, RD B.S. in Clinical Nutrition from UC Davis, Dietetic Internship completed at Napa State Hospital Project Manager Dairy Council of California Past Experience: Clinical nutrition, nutrition communications, senior nutrition and food service management Expertise: Registered Dietitian with a focus on effective nutrition education, providing parents with realistic approaches to raising healthy eaters, and blog writer for MealsMatter.org Twitter: @Ashley_RD Contact via email – arosales@dairycouncilofca.org

Question: My little one drinks and drinks and drinks but only nibbles on food here or there. Is this okay or should I try to make her eat actual food? Or maybe a nutrition shake?

Answer:

Many parents of young children question if their child is getting enough nutrients through food. It is important to remember that although they’re no longer babies, young children aren’t ready for adult-sized portions. Their little stomachs just aren’t big enough. Although it is true that they need the same nutrients as adults, the amounts do differ greatly. It is also very common for your child to show day-to-day appetite fluctuations. If your child is occasionally “picking” at a meal, chances are that he or she will make up for it later. If your child is growing normally, seems healthy, and has energy to play, then he or she is probably getting enough to eat. Despite this, it is still normal for parents to feel insecure about “what” or “how much” their child is eating.

One of the hardest things for a parent to do is trust in their child’s hunger and satiety cues. This is a critical time when your child is learning how to make food choices and is establishing patterns of healthy eating that they will take with them the rest of their life. If you are doing all you can as a parent to set your child up for feeding success, then you can feel confident that they will eventually make the right choices and that they will get enough nutrients in the process. Here are a few guidelines to consider to give you some peace of mind.

Establish a routine. Children do best with a routine, so try serving meals and snacks at about the same time every day. Limit snacks that are served as a “pacifier”, such as in the line at the grocery store or while running errands in the car, as these types of snacks can interfere with mealtime. Plan snack and meal times to coincide with your families schedule in order to ensure you have adequate time to prepare a healthy snack and eat meals together as a family when possible. When children don’t feel rushed, or when they eat with others, they tend to eat better.

Serve smart snacks. In addition to meals, young children need 2 to 3 snacks each day. Plan snacks that include something from at least one of the food groups. An example would be sliced apples with string cheese or whole grain crackers with hummus. If your child likes to sip on beverages for a snack try serving up a delicious and nutritious smoothie by blending fruit, ice and milk together. Snacks should be a nutritional complement to meals, so try offering snacks two hours before meals so that your little one is hungry again by mealtime.

Beware of beverages that compete with nutrients. Beverages are important for many reasons, with the highest being that they ensure your child is getting enough fluids for hydration. However, many beverages consumed by children today are loaded with calories yet provide no essential nutrients. These beverages, like soda, fruit and sport drinks, often replace nutrient-rich beverages like milk, which provides the calcium, vitamin D and potassium that children need each day. On the other hand, although your child needs nutrient-rich beverages, don’t be so quick to reach for those child “supplement shakes” unless directed by your pediatrician, as these really can interfere with your child’s hunger at mealtimes. So what should you serve your child to drink? The best rule is thumb is to serve milk with meals, provide 100% fruit juice in moderation (around 4-6 oz per day) and offer water throughout the day when your child is thirsty.

Be a good role model. What are your eating and drinking habits? Do you snack on nutritious foods and eat a balanced meal with your children? Do you drink milk at meals and choose water when you are thirsty? Children are observant and they rely on you to learn their habits, attitudes and beliefs around food. Role modeling is one of the most powerful and effective ways to help your child eat healthier.

©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.

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.

It is no secret that most people in America today do not eat enough fruits or veggies each day. According to a recent report from the CDC, only 26% of adults admitted to eating 3 or more servings of vegetables a day. Even the well-known health benefits of eating veggies do not entice people to give veggies the love they deserve!

On the other hand, I am sure that most parents want to get their kids ingesting veggies at each meal. After all, no parent wants to feel like they don’t care about their child’s health and nutrition! In desperation, they may rely on offering rewards or issuing threats to ensure their child’s cooperation.

Well, according to this Chef Boyardee advertisement, an alternate strategy is to hide the veggies in the food and just don’t tell them! Brilliant idea from their highly paid marketers!

What do you think? Is it smart to get a full serving of veggies, or whole grain pasta in your child’s tummy no matter what even if it means you hide it behind loads of salt, fat and sugar?

It is about time we give up on such stealth tactics and promote veggies in an overt, intelligent and sustainable way.

We are not impressed. Share your opinions 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.

We all know that growing children need to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables each day. But getting them to actually do that is every parent’s most difficult challenge. This week, Registered Dietitian Patricia O’Keefe offers 10 ways to get your kids eating (and loving) fruits and vegetables.

Patricia O’ Keefe Girbal, RD B.S. in Dietetics from Montclair State University B.A. in Communication from Rutgers University Experience: Nutrition Research Associate II for Cooperative Extension of Alameda County, University of California at Davis; Nutrition Educator for Share Our Strength: Operation Frontline; Nutrition Panelist for Shop Well Expertise: Healthy cooking, food allergies and intolerances, early childhood nutrition Website: Dish by Trish Twitter: @DishByTrish LinkedIn Profile Contact: via email patricia.girbal@gmail.com

Question: How can I get my child to love eating fruits and veggies?

Answer:

We already know that fruits and veggies are associated with good health and reduced disease risk. Unfortunately, very few of us are meeting recommendations for these foods, particularly our little ones. Less than 10% of kids are eating the recommended amount of fruits and veggies.

Two of the biggest things that predict whether kids will eat veggies are preference and availability. Let’s first start with making these foods available. Let’s give our kids veggies regularly and let them taste-test different foods. Even if they don’t like it or try it the first few times, they may eventually warm up to it.

A new study finds that the more (higher amount) a certain veggie was given to kids, the more they ate that veggie. Here they discuss carrots:

As the amount of carrots the kids were given increased, from 30 grams to 60 grams (about a half cup) to 90 grams, so did the amount eaten. Doubling the portion size of the carrots resulted in the kids eating 47% more

The kids ate up to twice the amount- but after that there was no effect. Studies have also shown that kids are more likely to try new foods if they helped prepare them or grew them from a garden.

Top 10 Ways to Get Kids Eating (and Loving) Vegetables

1. Serve them. As obvious as it sounds, serve veggies with every meal or snack. Young kids need about 2-3 cups of vegetables every day. Make half the veggies leafy greens or orange veggies, such as spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and carrots.
2. Display them. Keep a bowl of fresh vegetables on the counter. Refrigerate cut up vegetables in small bags or containers for easy snacking so they’re ready to go.
3. Experiment. Encourage kids to be experimental and let them regularly taste-test different veggies. By trying new foods, kids are more likely to grow into adventurous eaters. Try pairing some new foods with some of their favorites. Don’t forget to praise your child for being brave and trying new foods.
4. Taste-test. Offer small tastes at first and introduce one new food at a time. Try to offer new foods at the beginning of the meal when they are hungry.
5. Beautify. Try to make food fun and beautiful. Cut veggies up into fun shapes, such as cubes or matchsticks. Make the plate beautiful using color. Serve a rainbow of foods, such as white fish, brown rice, red tomatoes, and green broccoli.
6. Vary your cooking style. Try using different textures and temperatures of foods. For an exciting change, alternate between pureed, lightly cooked, roasted, and raw veggies. Along the same lines, alternate between serving veggies cool with a chilled dip and heated in a casserole or warm soup.
7. Name it. Give a veggie a clever name, such Fire Engine Red Peppers, Sunshine Yellow Squash, and Mighty Strong Spinach.
8. Involve kids. Let kids help out with the food shopping, prepping and cooking. Let them help set the table, bring food to the table, chop herbs and greens with safe scissors, crack eggs, and be in charge of stirring. Here are some more quick tips on involving kids in cooking and shopping.
9. Plant veggies. Try planting a small vegetable garden, if you have the space, or a tomato plant. Research shows kids are more accepting of veggies and eat more of them when they plant them themselves.
10. Set a good example. Kids pick up on adult attitudes towards foods. Eat at the table with them and encourage conversation about how the food tastes, smells and looks. So eat your veggies too!

Remember, kids may take a while to warm up to veggies. Try to be patient. Studies show some kids need to be offered a food up to ten times or more before they will taste it.

Don’t give up and stay positive.

©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.

photo credit: kodomut

Hey guys! Let’s go get some breakfast. McDonald’s or Burger King?

I was half amused, half shocked as I overheard this conversation at my physical therapy session this morning. My shoulder has been bothering me a little, which is why I have been going there for the last few weeks. This morning, an elderly lady brought her young daughter for therapy. Her second daughter joined the family a little later as she came in with her 3 year old, fairly active and energetic son. They seemed like a happy family, very talkative and supportive of each other. The boy ran around the room fascinated by the different equipment, trying to mimic the movements of his young aunt undergoing therapy for her ankle.

The therapy session coming to an end , the Grandma naturally thinking ahead of breakfast offered the choice between McDonald’s and Burger King to the family.

“I don’t care”, chimed in the two daughters casually, indicating either would be just fine.

Well, at least these consumers don’t find any difference between the two brands I thought. The food is just about the same, the price and service quite comparable and equally appealing to them. So much for the millions of advertising dollars spent by the two building their brand equity!

Just like paper or plastic at the grocery store, it doesn’t really matter!

The real problem, of course, is that the young boy doesn’t have a choice in this matter. Both of these options put him in a lose-lose situation over the long run. He has no way of knowing if there is another alternative for him. Even if he does not grow up to be overweight or obese, which I sincerely hope turns out to be the case for him, doesn’t he deserve a third option of breakfast at home?

I know it is not a good idea to judge too soon, and there is nothing wrong in going to McDonald’s or Burger King once in a while on a weekend. Still, I would have loved to hear a third option.

What do you think? Aren’t our kids entitled to better options?

Please share your opinion in comments below.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Struggling to get your growing child interested in fruits and veggies? Well, you are not alone because this is a big challenge for most toddler parents. There is a lot of advice out there on how to encourage your child to eat fruits and veggies, but no good tool that can help you succeed. That is why I was super excited to get this handy kit from Kia Robertson of Today I Ate A Rainbow!^TM. She has developed this tool especially for young children to get them excited about fruits and veggies. It is a very simple colorful chart you can post on a refrigerator or a magnetic board. The chart has 5 columns corresponding to different colored fruits and veggies – red, orange, yellow, green and blue/purple. Using color coded round or square shaped magnets, you can teach your child to track his intake of fruits and veggies during the day.  If they complete all 5 colors, they get a reward sticker!

We had a lot of fun with our twins the other night who found it fun as they tried fruits and veggies of these 5 different colors just to be able to stick those magnets on the chart.

My son picked the square shaped magnets while his sister got the round ones.

Here is what we like about this product -

1. It works!
2. It is simple and colorful
3. Kids love it and get a sense of accomplishment
4. They learn about different colored fruits and veggies
5. The kit also contains a very nice illustrated book “The Rainbow Bunch” written by Kia Robertson, perfect for bed time reading to reinforce the idea of eating fruits and veggies
6. There is a blank shopping list you can use to involve your kids in selecting their favorite fruits and veggies

Here is what we don’t like about this product -

1. The kit is supposed to have 4 sets of distinct round and square magnets for family of upto 4 children to track their progress. We found it a little confusing because it was not easy to separate them in groups. Still, it worked out for us since we have only 2 and we decided to play round magnets vs. square magnets.
2. If you have a stainless steel fridge, like we do, the magnets will not work. We decided to use a small magnetic dry erase board instead.

Overall, we love this product and will continue using it as long as our twins remain excited about it! Check out the Today I Ate A Rainbow!^TM website for details.

Disclaimer – The Today I Ate My Rainbow!^TM kit was sent as a gift to us for this review. Our opinions are based on our personal experience.

©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.

Kids love Mac’ n Cheese! Sometimes, so much that they don’t want to eat anything else! This is challenging for toddler parents who try hard to provide a healthy, balanced nutrition. This week, registered dietitian  Lindsey Walder tackles this issue and advises parents to shift their focus from nutrient intake to establishing and maintaining a healthy eating environment.

Question: My child eats only cereal and mac & cheese. How can I improve his nutrition?

Young children commonly go through phases during which a few foods are accepted and everything else refused.  One reason these food jags occur is that young eaters are neophobic—in other words, they fear new foods and tastes.  Interestingly, toddlers’ taste buds become much more perceptive around the time they start walking, making them increasingly selective about what they eat.  Researchers believe that the sudden change around age two from eating a wide variety of foods to eating a limited number actually may have a genetic link that could have served to protect our prehistoric baby ancestors as they first toddled out of the cave.  What exacerbates children’s innate reluctance to try new foods at this age is the pure delight most toddlers take in attempting to, for the first time, exert control over some aspect of their lives.

While having a picky eater is extremely frustrating for parents, the good news is that nutritional deficiencies in the United States are rare.  If your children are growing normally according to your pediatrician, rest assured that they are more than likely adequately well-nourished.  So, take a deep breath and present your child with broccoli for the tenth time.  Even if you are turned away – again – take comfort in knowing that this stage usually only lasts until age four or five.  That said, the malleable years of early childhood are still crucial for establishing good eating habits, and parents should make the most of it.  It’s not as difficult as you may think.

First, to avoid driving yourself crazy worrying if your toddler is getting the right nutrition while also trying to accommodate his seemingly undying yearnings for macaroni and cheese, I recommend shifting your focus from nutrient intake to establishing and maintaining a healthy eating environment.  Doing so will lay the foundation for an appreciation of a wide variety of healthy foods.   In my practice, parents who fret and stress about their child’s eating (or lack thereof) during meal time are the ones who usually face the most resistance from their child.  In addition to not worrying so much, there are five simple things parents can do now to foster good eating habits and encourage venturing beyond mac & cheese.

Expose your toddler repeatedly to new foods

Offering the same new food every day for 5-14 days can be effective.  Including these unfamiliar or previously-rejected items at meal times without forcing your child to eat them helps him to become more comfortable with the food item and may increase his willingness to try it.  Remember, meals should be eaten together as a family (without any short-order cooking), so your child can see you enjoying a wide variety of foods.

Give 2-3 choices of healthy foods

One mother told me she successfully employs this tactic with her four-year old: for snacks, she asks her son if he would like an apple or a banana.  This is a win-win approach to avoid a power-struggle since both parent and child are part of the decision.

Avoid forging a connection between eating and good or bad behavior

Too often we use food to assist with parenting responsibilities—down the road this practice can lead to an unhealthy food relationship.  Consequently, do not bribe your child with food.  Instead of offering food for rewards or comfort, give your child stickers or a hug.  And, try not to put any food or food group on a pedestal; simply teach your child that some foods are healthier than others.

Keep the highly-processed, sodium and sugar-heavy, refined foods like packaged frozen meals, chips, high-fat meats, cookies, cakes, and sugary drinks out of the house

Your three-year old can’t take the car and go pick up a box of sugary cereal at the grocery store.  Take advantage of the fact that you are the food gatekeeper and have control over what foods get offered.  Go ahead–cross the hot dogs off your shopping list!

And finally, stock your kitchen with healthy, delicious foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, fish, lean protein, and reduced-fat dairy products

Not immediately, but over time, your youngsters will learn to prefer healthy types of foods if that is what they’re accustomed to.

©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.

There are so many handy snacks around these days. No wonder kids get hooked on them at an early age, so much that they don’t eat anything else. This week, registered dietitian and exercise physiologist  Susan Dopart advises parents to get their kids involved in shopping and cooking as they try to introduce them to vegetables and other healthy foods.

Question: My 5 1/2 yo prefers not to eat! She will “snack” on muffins, goldfish crackers if you let her, but will only eat a handful of other things, none that include vegetables. She weighs 34 lbs and is almost 6 years old; 25% percentile on weight since she was 1 or 2. What should I do?

Children will eat what you feed them.  If you offer your daughter a variety of healthy choices (and not the muffins, goldfish or other) eventually she will give up and pick one of those.

Involve her in the shopping and cooking process.  Bring her grocery shopping and have her pick out 2-3 favorite fruits and vegetables each week.  Educate her at the store about what vitamins and minerals are in each one so she knows why they are important to eat.  For example, a strawberry has vitamin C which is important for healing when you scrape your knee.

In my office I show children the list of multiple ingredients in snack or processed foods.  I then tell them it take their bodies longer to process and digest those foods rather than foods without a label, like fruits and vegetables.

Taking the snack foods out of house will eliminate temptation and keep the environment clean.  If those foods are not around or accessible, and nutritious foods are in their place it will encourage healthy eating.

There are ways to make vegetables more kid-friendly.  I have a vegetable casserole that combines vegetables with eggs and cheese in tomato sauce that kids love.

To encourage new foods have your daughter try a no thank you serving.  Since many children have aversions to vegetables due to their strong flavors, their taste buds need conditioning over time.  A “no thank you” serving is having her try a bite or two (one or two teaspoons) of something she does not like each time it is served.  Research shows a child may need to eat a new food 10 times before they start to like it and ask for it.

One of the most important aspects of feeding your child is being a healthy role model.  If a child sees you eating vegetables each day, it is one of the best ways to encourage healthy eating.

With respect to your daughter’s size that may be what is normal for her. There is not a concern about her size unless she falls below the 10% percentile for height or weight.

Good luck.

©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, registered dietitian and contributing editor of Parents magazine Sally Kuzemchak offers tips for creating a healthy food environment at home to foster lifelong healthy eating habits and preventing childhood obesity.

Question: My son just turned one and since I have struggled with obesity most of my life, can you suggest what I can do nutritionally to ensure my son doesn’t face the same struggles?

It’s great that this is on your radar and that you want to take action while your son is still so young. As you already know, you can’t do anything about your son’s genes. But you can make sure he grows up with healthy eating habits and physical exercise. That can make a huge difference for him and help lower his chances of obesity in both childhood and adulthood.

Here’s how you can establish a healthy food environment at home:

Keep your kitchen stocked with a wide variety of nutritious foods that are yummy and accessible, like a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter and snacks like low-fat yogurt and whole grain crackers front and center in the fridge and cupboard.

Plan regular meals and scheduled snacks instead of all-day grazing or constantly grabbing food on the run.
Include a small amount of goodies like desserts or chips that you treat as “sometimes foods”. You don’t want these foods to become forbidden and more desirable.

Eat most meals at home together as a family at the table. Researchers have found that children who eat meals with their families (and the TV turned off!) get a much healthier diet overall.

Offer milk and water as the primary drink choices. Sweetened drinks like punch and regular soda are linked to weight gain among kids and adults—and you can even skip fruit juice if your son eats a lot of fruit. You should also ask your child’s doctor about giving your son two-percent milk right now instead of whole. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently stated low-fat milk is a better option for toddlers who have a family history of obesity (after age two, you can switch to one-percent or skim).

Model healthy choices and attitudes. As a parent, you’re the single biggest influence on your child right now. Let your son see you take the kinds of positive steps you want him to make as well, like drinking water instead of soda, enjoying vegetables with meals, and being active. And avoid making any critical comments about your weight or your body, since studies shows that those negative attitudes can rub off on kids and damage their self-esteem too.

©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.

Welcome to the July Carnival of Natural Parenting: You Are What You Eat

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about their struggles and successes with healthy eating. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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photo credit: timsamoff

Eat your food or else…

…you will not get your dessert
….you will not grow up strong
….you will stay hungry all day
….I will be very disappointed

Let us face it. Even though we don’t mean to, we often find ourselves using such tactics to push our kids to eat their food at mealtime. And when it doesn’t work, we try to bribe them with a reward at the end. Sometimes that works, but soon we realize that children become used to this system of reward and punishment and find a way around them. Maybe we cannot follow up on the threats, so they don’t sound credible anymore. Maybe the reward we offer is no longer enough and they want more. Whatever it is, the mealtime struggles with kids never seem to end!

It is so natural to fall in this trap that most parents – us included – don’t even realize it. We all live busy and stressful lives. We return tired from work, already feeling overwhelmed by so many things that need to be done before kids are in bed. We do not get enough sleep, we do not eat well and we do not get enough time to exercise. As a result, our patience runs thin and the last thing we want is an unhappy child throwing a fit at what we manage to put on the table. We just want to get it over with dinner as soon as possible.

No parent is mean or selfish. They simply want to do what is right for their child. They do not really mean to manipulate their children by promising a reward or issuing a threat. It just seems to happen on its own, and before you know it, you have established a pattern you cannot easily get out of. That is why it is good to be mindful of this risk when trying to encourage your kids to eat well and develop healthy eating habits.

We are a big fan of Dr Spock, who advises parents in his bestseller Dr Spock’s Baby and Child Care:

Don’t ask a child to eat to earn his dessert, a piece of candy, a gold star, or other prize. Don’t ask him to eat for Aunt Minnie, to make his mother or father happy, to grow big and strong, to keep from getting sick, or to clean his plate. Children should not be threatened with physical punishment or loss of privileges in an attempt to get them to eat.

What should a parent do if not use rewards or threats?

First, it is better to look at the process of eating from the child’s point of view. If you observe carefully, you will find that your child will eat pretty much anything you give him when he is truly hungry. And if you try to feed him when he is not hungry, then he

• Wants to play with his food rather than eat it
• Wants to have fun rather than sit quietly in one place
• Wants to do his own thing rather than follow your instructions
• Wants to test how much misbehavior you will tolerate at the table
• Wants  foods that he knows taste good (aka sugary, salty and fatty processed foods)

The problem here then, is to figure out the natural eating patterns of your child and gently encourage her to build a rhythm of eating that is consistent with the rest of the family. It is no easy task because children at this age have very unpredictable requirements for food. One day they seem to want to eat a lot, while on another day they may take only a few bites at a time. There are 3 important tools you can use to develop a pattern and sense of continuity:

• Play and physical activity
• Rest
• Timing and amount of snacks

Naturally, the first purpose of food is to provide energy to your child for daily activities and growth. The timing and level of activity combined with periods of rest determine when and how much energy is needed. There is a reason why building a regular daytime routine is an important priority at daycare. This way they can establish a pattern of play, feeding and rest so they don’t have to chase the individual needs of every child. Even if you take care of your child at home where you can attend to his every need, it is useful to build a routine.

One problem we face is that our kids are very hungry when we bring them back from daycare at the end of the day. We have no choice but to give them a snack at that time. It delays our dinner time because they are not hungry for at least 1-2 hours. We have learned that there is no use trying to get them to sit down if we happen to eat an early dinner. Key lesson – plan your dinner about 1-2 hour after your child’s last snack!

When we do want them to sit with us, we try to make the experience as much fun as possible. No bribes of threats – although at times, we do have to watch and take a step back. What seem to work for us is engaging them in a conversation by telling stories that tickle their imagination. Recently, we played the my little stomach, what would you like to eat now? game, which worked very well in getting the twins to try our favorite green beans with olive oil recipe. Eating salad like a giraffe got them eating salad greens while diesel food for a diesel engine story was a hit with my train-crazy son to get him to sit at the table with us.

By no means, I want to imply that this is easy. It takes a lot of energy and creativity on top of trying to figure out what to put on the table after a long day at work. Here are a few ideas to have a perspective keep it under control:

Don’t give in and don’t give up – if it doesn’t work one day, move on and try on another day
It’s not about you – the food is going in your child’s body, not yours. You are only responsible for offering food, not getting your child to actually eat it
Don’t be pushy, don’t be a pushover – feeding a child is not power play. Respect their feelings but also don’t let them run you over with their demands
Practice BVM – balance, variety and moderation. Food is not good or bad, it’s how it is eaten that makes it a problem. Sweet treats and yummy snacks all have a proper place in your child’s diet
Feeding kids is teamwork – don’t do it alone, engage your spouse to balance your parenting style

There is a lot of talk about food these days. We read and hear about all kinds of new food labels -natural, organic, locally-grown, minimally-processed, wholesome and so on. People are becoming more aware of what they eat, and food marketers are working hard to make food packaging scream out such labels at them. It is perfectly fine to pay attention to these labels and the what of food; but the how of feeding is equally important.

Next time you find yourself in another eat your food or else battle with your child, stop and take a different approach.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

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Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Four Seasons of Eating Locally — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction has pointers for what fresh produce can be found year-round. (@MBJunction)
• Happy Families Can Have More Than One Diet — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now has figured out a way for her family to live happily as vegans and vegetarians with relatives who eat meat. (@DebChitwood)
• My Own Omnivore’s Dilemma — Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante prioritizes responsible consumer choices for her family.
• No Gluten — No Cry — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma learned to cook balanced meals when her son’s food sensitivities prompted a diet overhaul. (@kitchenwitch)
• Try, Try Again — Stefanie at very very fine has become an enthusiastic consumer of locally grown food.
• CSA — Week 1 — Casey at What Love Is wants her children to know where their food comes from, so she joined a friendly CSA. (@CBerbs)
• Food: Parenting or Homemaking? — Michelle at The Parent Vortex sees food as part of a parent’s nurturing role. (@TheParentVortex)
• 5 Tips to Help Kids Develop Healthy Eating Habits — If you struggle with healthy eating, helping your child develop healthy habits might be a challenge. Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares five easy tips that will help your kids learn to make good food choices. (@CodeNameMama)
• Family Food: Seeking Balance Between Healthy, Sustainable & Affordable — Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings has a whole list of ideas for how she can improve her family’s eating, both now and into the future. (@sunfrog)
• Whole Foods in, Wholesome Feelings Out — Jessica at This is Worthwhile has turned her back on the processed, preservative-ridden food of her childhood. (@tisworthwhile)
• When to Splurge on Organic (and When It Is Okay to Skip It) — Becoming Mamas tell you what foods to prioritize when buying pricier organic food, and where you can find it cheaper. (@becomingmamas)
• A Locavore’s Family Meal — Acacia at Be Present Mama tells a story in pictures of her family taking a trip to the local organic farmers market and then preparing a summer meal together with their bounty.
• Eat Your Food, or Else — Why should we not bribe a child to eat? TwinToddlersDad from Littlestomaks (Science Driven Real Life Toddler Nutrition) explains. (@TwinToddlersDad)
• Food, Glorious Food! — Luschka at Diary of a First Child describes three easy ways her family has started eating healthier. (@diaryfirstchild)
• Celebrating Food — Mrs Green at Little Green Blog believes in food as medicine and thinks it’s worth paying more to keep healthy. (@myzerowaste)
• Oil and Yogurt — What have you been motivated to do with the current oil spill crisis? midnightfeedings has started making her own yogurt. (@midnightfeeding)
• Growth-Spurt Soup (AKA “Beannut Stew”) — BeanMa has a special stew to help her baby through growth spurts that keep her up all night. (@thebeanma)

• Why I Love The Real Food Community — Much like many people who follow AP/NP values, Melodie at Breastfeeding Moms Unite! takes the parts of the “real food” philosophy that work for her family and leaves the rest. (@bfmom)
• Feeding a Family of Six — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children gives helpful tips for feeding a family of six.
• Starting Solids at 6 Months — Did your doctor recommend that you give your baby cereal? Sheryl at Little Snowflakes discusses how whole foods are so much healthier (and more delicious) than traditional cereal. (@sheryljesin)
• Am I What I Eat? — Andrea!!! at Ella-Bean & Co. has figured out a way to avoid grocery stores nearly altogether.
• Are We Setting Our Kids Up To Fail? — Megan at Purple Dancing Dahlias found that cutting out the junk also transformed her sons’ behavior problems.
• Changing your family’s way of eating — Lauren at Hobo Mama has techniques you can try to move your family gradually toward a healthier diet. (@Hobo_Mama)
• Real Food — What kinds of fake foods do you eat? And why?! Lisa C. at My World Edenwild talks about why she chooses real food.
• A Snackaholic’s Food Battle — Julie at Simple Life wants to stop snacking and get into the old ways of cooking from scratch and raising her own food. (@homemakerjulie)
• Food, Not Fight — Summer at Finding Summer doesn’t want her kids to grow up like her husband: hating everything green. (@summerm)
• How Do You Eat When You Are out of Town? — Cassie at There’s a Pickle In My Life wants some tips on how to eat healthy when you are out of town.
• Carnival of Natural Parenting: Food! — Sybil at Musings of a Milk Maker hopes that by serving her children healthy, balanced meals, they will become accustomed to making good food choices. (@sybilryan)
• There’s No Food Like Home’s — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing revels in the Bajan food of her upbringing. (@BlkWmnDoBF)
• This Mom’s Food Journey — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment made a journey from not paying attention to food to growing her own.
• Who Knew Eating Was So Hard? — The challenges involved in changing to healthier eating habits take on a whole new dimension when you have a child who has difficulties eating. kadiera at Our Little Acorn shares her own experiences. (@kadiera)
• Loving Food — Starr at Earth Mama truly believes food is her family’s medicine and is willing to spend days preparing it the traditional way.
• Food Mindfulness — Danielle at born.in.japan details how her family spends money on each category of food. (@borninjp)
• Food for Little People — Zoey at Good Goog wants to bless her daughter with happy traditions built around good food. (@zoeyspeak)
• Eat Like a Baby — Have you been told that you should not equate food with love? Kate Wicker at Momopoly shows us why that’s not necessarily true. (@Momopoly)
• Food — Deb at Science@Home tries to teach her children three rules to help them eat a healthy diet. (@ScienceMum)
• Healthy Eating Lactose-Free — MamanADroit gives us tips on how to eat healthy if you are lactose intolerant (or just don’t want cow milk). (@MamanADroit)