Can picky eating be transformed into kids who have the skills to try new foods? Will we ever enjoy family meals together? You might be surprised, especially at what it takes. Instead of recipes, raising happy, healthy little foodies calls for curiosity, patience and courage. Moving beyond picky eating is more about character than kale….
Recipes for Picky Eaters: 12 Ways to Add Secret Fruit & Veggies
It can be hard for kids to get enough produce, especially picky eaters. That’s why I love these 12 recipes to add secret fruit and veggies to their meals. In my experience, repeatedly offering vegetables to kids, in lots of ways, eventually works. But in the meantime, kids still need to shoot for the five recommended…
5 Ways to Help Picky Eaters
Sound familiar? Having a picky eater is such a universal experience. Most of us go through it, even if we had babies who ate everything. I’ve been in this position with my own kids, four times! Here’s what worked best for us: Limit snacks. Hungry kids are less picky kids. Our kids have two snacks…
Why are my kids such picky eaters? (And is it my fault?)
Why are kids such picky eaters, indeed. If you’ve ever sat at the dinner table asking yourself what in the sweet name of Ina Garten is going on with this child, you are not alone. Eating is one of my favorite things! You’d think I’d asked these mutinous littles to clean the bathroom with their…
Got Small Kids? Try These 3 Game-Changers for a Better Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving can be a nightmare for parents of picky kids. We’re planning on sharing the day with another family this year but it almost didn’t happen. “Well, I’m not sure if it’ll work,” my friend admitted over a text message. “I mean, my kids are so picky! I don’t want you guys to be offended.” …
Tired of Kids Complaining About Dinner? Try These Tips from a Mom of 4
My kids love complaining about dinner. I’ve got a six-year-old who typically walks into the kitchen around dinner o’clock with a whine locked and loaded. “But whaaaaat’s for dinnerrrrr?” You know. You’ve made dinner before. And you know who else gets it? My aunt. Family lore goes that she got fed up with my cousins’ complaints…
How to Sneak Vegetables into Food: 6 Delicious Recipes that Happen to Be Full of Veggies
Experts say kids should eat about five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. But most don’t. Sound familiar? Well, we can help with easy ways to sneak vegetables into food. How to sneak vegetables into food Just a quick word about “sneak”. You’ve got choices here. Either explain to your kids that vegetables make…
Welcome to Plain Pasta, Can I Take Your Order?
I saw comedian Tom Papa read this excerpt on Conan and laughed so hard I nearly cried. Because who hasn’t nearly cried when trying to feed their kids? It ain’t easy, all this trying to instill values and habits of good nutrition, but at least today it’s hilarious. From his book, “Your Dad Stole My…
5 reasons why kids won’t eat dinner (only 1 of them is about the food)
“My kids just won’t eat!” Sound familiar? As a mom of four small rascals who range from three years to eight, who’s also a family food blogger, I hear this all the time. I get emails, questions on the playground and have quiet conversations at birthday parties. Usually near the cake. With a mom who’s…
“I don’t like it!” What I Do When They Won’t Even Take a Bite
“I JUST DON’T LIKE IT”, George said on his way to the table. That’s right. He wasn’t even sitting down yet. He had no idea what “it” was. But George is two and that’s his auto-response to MANY things, often including dinner. I knew it might be an uphill meal. He’s always tired at this time…
10 Ways to Introduce Veggies to Veggie-Phobes
GETTING KIDS TO EAT MORE VEGGIES IS NOT EASY. We have four small kids. One of them is a baby and at that magical stage where she opens her mouth like a little bird as I drop in spoonfuls of veggies. It’s so satisfying. I give her food, she eats it. But the other three? They have opinions. The opinions of…
10 Ways to Help Picky Kids Enjoy Healthy Foods
The idea behind Foodlets has always been a testing ground for feeding kids, specifically to get kids to eat healthier food–and love it! My goal was to uncover the secret sauce that turns babies, toddlers, preschoolers and even their older counterparts into tiny people who enjoy eating real food. People who are open to trying…
How to get kids to try new foods (without begging, bribing or losing your mind)
Every meal with 18-month-old Estelle starts the same way. I lift the fork to her lips, just as she clamps them shut. “No.” There’s twisting, frowning and eyebrows furrowing and it would be maddening if this lasted for more than five seconds, but we’re on to her. At this stage, and there will be many…
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…
Stop making two dinners: Versatile ideas for the whole family
The other night I made herbed turkey burgers for dinner. Since our two-year-old has always been a die-hard condiments fan, I put neat little dots of ketchup and mustard on her bun, silently congratulating myself on knowing her so well. That’s when the screaming started.
Why are some kids such picky eaters? Simple solutions worth trying
A FRIEND OF MINE relayed a familiar scene with her four-year-old on Facebook. Lucy: “I don’t like these meatballs.” Me, noticing that they are still in big pieces: “Hmm, do you want me to cut them up a little more?” Lucy: “That won’t make them yummy.” So goes the battle that in our house, we…