PROPAGANDA? LOVE IT. At least where the kids’ health is concerned. That’s why I’m such a fan of books with a smart food theme. I wrote about 5 of our favorites a while ago, but there’s another one on the bookshelf these days. Dinner With Olivia is surprisingly helpful because it’s not really about nutrition–it’s…
5 ways to teach toddlers table manners
Around here, my aim is to make healthy, delicious food, both with and for kids so they’ll grow up to cook themselves, and better yet, enjoy sitting around a table full of family and friends for years to come. Here on Foodlets I’ve got tips (let the kids help cook) and tricks (grate vegetables and…
A surprising way to cut dinner stress: simplify the menu
There’s a hilarious cartoon circulating on Pinterest with a woman hunched over the arm of a chair in despair. The caption reads “Why do they want dinner every single night?” It’s funny…because it’s true.
4 ways to make a boxed brownie mix healthier (and still every bit as delicious)
THERE’S SOMETHING FANCY GOING ON HERE and it’s not brownies. We’ve got a couple of new features on Foodlets and one of them is the “Your Favorite Posts Right Now” list, which now appears on the right side of every page. This measures the most clicked on posts of the last 30 days, and vying…
10 Reasons Why French Kids Eat Everything…Anywhere! Questions for Karen Le Billon of
I’M TOTALLY OBSESSED WITH INSPIRED BY the lovely stories and excellent advice in this book, French Kids Eat Everything. We’ve tried a few recipes, and had success (thank you Karen!). In the meantime, more advice from the smartest family cook on two continents… What’s been the hardest part of sticking to the French way of eating now…
Why French Kids Eat Everything
Here comes another one… but it’s not what you think. French Kids Eat Everything is a surprisingly charming memoir about a family who moved to France with two picky eaters in tow and returned to Canada a year later with a happier, healthier, more educated outlook on food. Make no mistake: This isn’t a U.S.-bashing…
Foodlets appears on the Mommy Bites show via Blog Talk Radio
WHAT FUN! This week I was invited to be part of a talk radio discussion about international parenting differences on the Mommy Bites show. It was an hour full of interesting insights from another mom in Bahrain and an anthropologist who is an author of nine books about parenting and children around the world. There…
10 most pinned posts
I LOVE PINTEREST. Posting (and keeping track of) amazing ideas from all over the web has long been a dream/idea of mine, one that I pestered my technically savvy coworkers at HGTV to produce for a long time. At last, the super smarties at Pinterest have made it happen (and you’re not limited to new…
Tips for taking kids to the best restaurants London
WE LIVE IN OSTRIA, so it goes without saying that we love eating out. (Who doesn’t enjoy a plate full of pasta?) And while restaurants in Italy aren’t marketed as “family-friendly”–there’s usually one broken high chair and never, ever a changing table–the vibe is always friendly and welcoming. And who doesn’t love some fine italian…
5 ways to make any dessert recipe a little healthier
IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR. Once the tree goes up, the Christmas cookies come out and most of us, my pregnant self included, aren’t kidding around when it comes to enjoying the festivities! But if you want to avoid a sugar-induced meltdown (or two, or seven…) for the smaller members of the household here are…
5 Tips for Traveling with babies & toddlers, Plus 25 On-the-go snack ideas
Need snack ideas for traveling with babies or toddlers? Since we live overseas, this post will be geared toward plane travel but it all works for for car trips too. The point is, it’s a long way and the last thing you want to worry about is who’s hungry, and whether it’s worth buying a…
10 gift ideas for grown-up cooks
IF SOMEONE COOKS FOOD in your house, this list is for you! Based on years of collecting, experimenting, ditching, investing and trying new stuff again, these are my must-have, best-of kitchen essentials. Most aren’t cheap but they’re excellent tools and literally guaranteed to last a lifetime. That’s my kind of investment. All-Clad Stainless Steel Cookware…
15 gift ideas for mini foodies in the making
IT’S HERE, THAT SPECIAL TIME OF YEAR when kids start asking for everything and the only thing that makes it tolerable is your ability to threaten them with Santa’s List. Ah, Christmas. Actually ours are still too little to have gimme fever–just wait until next year–but I’ve still got lots of great ideas to foster…
5 great kids’ books about food
IT’S NEARLY GIFT GIVING TIME and if you’ve got a picky eater, or a great little eater for that matter, on your list, maybe one of these could make its way into a stocking. 1. I Like Vegetables. As though the title alone weren’t enough to sell a gal like me, the images are just…
a sweet shop birthday party theme: happy 8th birthday, rian!
NOTHING COULD BE SWEETER than a candy store birthday party. “Rian’s birthday is the day before Halloween,” says mom Amber Schotemeyer from her Virginia home. “She wanted to do a sweet shop party so we tied it in with a sweet Halloween theme.” Here’s how they pulled off the best bash of the year.
Best baby food freezing trays
I LOVE THESE THINGS. We got our first Beaba tray on a trip to Paris before Phoebe was even born, which makes it about a year before the thing was used. But once it was…perfection. Isn’t it refreshing when you buy something that actually makes your life easier instead of annoying? A series of baby…
Beginner baby food: 5 first foods for babies
HERE WE ARE AGAIN. I’m thrilled to say that Estelle is now officially an eater. A foodlet, I don’t know but she’s eating solid food and that’s good enough for me. We started her on the classic “beginner” foods and once she got the hang of it her reaction went from eyes-closed shuddering to an…
The easiest way to get kids to eat vegetables: Add veggie puree
IT’S SUCH AN EASY IDEA, and a good one. Like Mrs. Seinfeld says in her book, Deceptively Delicious, adding veggies on the sly is the simplest way to pack in nutrition without a fight. From brownies to breakfast bars, it’s a smart strategy but that’s just the beginning. I’ve started stocking our fridge with a…
10 foods to avoid and 6 to make a healthy habit
COUNTING CALORIES IS OUT. So says The New York Times in a story about the new study from Harvard University. More than 120,000 people were followed for 12-20 years, the most comprehensive study to date, revealing a few key factors in weight-loss. Or rather, how to not gain weight over the years. It seems that…