Don’t Be Heavy-Handed with “Nutrition” Talk - Teaching Nutrition to Kids

I had the best time on Friday! I was invited to the Valentine’s Day party at the local elementary school. I brought a variety of fruits and veggies and led an activity where we used cookie cutters to cut out hearts and thread them onto wooden skewers to make cupid’s arrows (thank you Pinterest). Do I have the best job or what?! But was I just playing? No. There’s a method to my madness. I’ve learned something in the (gulp) 20 years that nutrition’s been my world. It’s that teaching nutrition to kids isn’t the way to inspire people to have healthy eating habits. Sure, talking about vitamins, minerals, etc will change what some people eat. There will be the exception that proves the rule. But it truly is the exception. I learned this lesson the hard way. When I was a bubbly, enthusiastic nutrition student, I shared my new-found knowledge with anyone and everyone (whether they asked for my 2 cents worth or not). Guess what? Not surprisingly, most people rolled their eyes at me and went on with their same (unhealthy eating) behavior.

I’ve learned that the most effective way to influence people’s behaviour is to simply serve them delicious, healthy food. And don’t say anything about it.

With kids there is even more opportunity! You see they haven’t had 10, 20, 30 years-of habits that we need to break. With kids, all we need to do is to include healthy foods in fun and everyday activities. To make healthy eating the norm. That’s why I worked to get myself invited to the Valentine’s Day party. Because, it was a fantastic way to infuse a celebration day with healthy food. The kids totally got into it and had a fantastic time. In fact, we hardly had enough fruit to thread on the skewers because they were eating so much of it. I can honestly tell you that they didn’t miss baking cookies one bit.

Creating a positive association with healthy eating is more powerful than knowing that I “should” eat something because it has vitamin so-and-so in it.

Recently a study confirmed my experience. They found that kids were less likely to try a food. And, they rated a food as tasting worse, if they were told that it was healthy.

It’s so tempting to go on and on about WHY kids should eat a healthy food. But do your best to resist the temptation. It’s more effective if you aren’t heavy-handed with the “nutrition” talk.

As the saying goes:

“Actions speak louder than words”.

How do you incorporate healthy eating into fun activities? I'd love you to share in the comments below!

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Chocolate Fruit and Nut Bark

I'm frequently asked for healthy treat recipes. With Valentine's Day around the corner, I figured that today was the perfect time to share an idea for a healthy (and delicious) chocolate fruit and nut bark.

Like many of the food ideas that I share, this is more of a technique than a recipe. Pick and choose the dried fruit and nuts that you want to use. Add more or less chocolate. Once you get the hang of this you'll wonder why you've been eating cheap chocolate bars!

The healthiest options are raw (non-roasted, unsalted) nuts, unsweetened, unsulfured dried fruit, and dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa.

Note: Chocolate does best when allowed to cool slowly. Make this the night before you want to eat it!

Chocolate Fruit and Nut Bark Ingredients

1.5 cups nuts (e.g. hazelnuts, cashews, peanuts, almonds, pistachios)

1.5 cups dried fruit (e.g. raisins, goji berries, mango, apricots)

400g chocolate (NOT semisweet baking chocolate)

Chocolate Fruit and Nut Bark Directions

1. Chop larger fruit and nuts into bite-size pieces.
2. Spread evenly over a parchment-lined baking sheet.
3. Chop the chocolate.
4. In a medium-size pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Turn off the heat.
5. Place the chopped chocolate in a large, heatproof (i.e. not plastic) bowl. Place the bowl over the boiling water. Using a spatula, stir the chocolate until it melts.
6. Pour the chocolate over the fruit & nut mixture.
7. Allow the bark to cool to room temperature. Then, refrigerate overnight.
8. Cut into pieces and enjoy!

In this photo I'm testing out different fruit and nut combinations. It's a tough job but someone has to do it!

Matches made in heaven: hazelnuts and dried mango, cashews and goji berries, salted peanuts and raisins, almonds and golden raisins, pistachios and apricots.

Get more healthy recipes here.

Peer Pressure is a Good Thing (How to Use It With Picky Eaters)

Did you grow up hearing about how peer pressure was a negative influence on our lives and how we should resist its evil pull? I sure did. Which is why I needed to do a double take when I read a study about how peer pressure can be a useful technique for getting kids to try new foods.

There’s a study that was done a number of years ago where they set up a daycare situation and had a few kids who hated carrots spend the day at this daycare. These kids had been served carrots many, many time by their parents. And these parents had done all the usual things to get their kids to eat the carrots – the 1 bite rule, no dessert if you don’t eat them, etc.

The rest of the kids in the “daycare”? They all loved carrots.

Guess what they served for snack? Carrots of course. You can also likely guess what happened next. Many of the kids who hated carrots watched their new friends eat the carrots. And then they too ate them. All without any prompting from the adults.

I had forgotten all about this study until recently when a friend was telling me about how, this week, her son had eaten salmon for the first time. She’s followed my techniques with feeding her 3 year old son. As a result he’s a pretty good eater, enjoying a decent variety of foods.

They had served him salmon many, many times. But he had never tried it. Until one day when they were over for dinner at his friend Chloe’s house. Salmon was on the menu that night – one of Chloe’s favourite foods.

You see, this little guy has a really special relationship with Chloe. He thinks that the sun rises and sets over her. Well, he took one look at Chloe eating her salmon and he tucked right into his salmon as if he’d been eating it his whole life.

His Mom nearly dropped her fork she was so surprised! But she remembered my tip of not making a big deal of it when your little one tries a new food. So she did an imaginary happy dance and then nonchalantly continued with the dinner conversation.

Six months later he still eats salmon. Peer pressure is a good thing.

Do some of your child’s friends enjoy foods that you’d like your child to eat? Arrange play dates or invite the family over for lunch or dinner. Serve the target foods. I can’t guarantee 100% success. But it’s another technique to create an environment that supports your child to choose to try new foods on their own.

Has this technique worked for you? I'd love you to share your story in the comments below!

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Creamy Quinoa Pudding

This is the #1 most frequently pinned recipe from my Pinterest boards. A totally delicious update on tapioca pudding from the cookbook Quinoa 365.

This dish is fantastic for little ones who don't like to eat meat or other protein-rich foods.  If you're looking for more ways to use quinoa, I highly recommend the book. I've enjoyed many of it's recipes.

Creamy Quinoa Pudding Ingredients

1/3 cup quinoa

2/3 cup water

2 cups half and half cream

2 large eggs

1/4 cup white or cane sugar (I use less)

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Creamy Quinoa Pudding Directions

1. In a saucepan, bring water and quinoa to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 6 minutes.
3. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and allow to cool.
4. Place the cream in a medium saucepan and heat on medium-high until hot but not boiling (steam will rise from the top). Remove from the heat.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and cornstarch with 1 TBSP of the hot cream.
6. Add an additional 3 TBSP of hot cream, one TBSP at a time, whisking constantly.
7. Whisk the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan and return to medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the pudding has thickened.
8. Remove from the heat and stir in the quinoa and vanilla.
9. Pour the pudding into individual serving bowls.
10. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
11. ENJOY!

Check out more healthy recipes.

Should I Make My Kid Taste New Foods?

I received the following question from a parent this weekend: “Should I make my kid "taste" new foods / challenging foods that I put on his plate? If I don't make him taste them he just ignores them and it's debatable whether we are actually moving closer to him deciding he likes them.”

Should I Make My Kid Taste New Foods?

In short: No, I don’t believe in making kids try new foods.

And YES, there absolutely is progress…even if they don’t try it!

By seeing the food over and over again, you are normalizing the food for your child. Many kids are honestly scared to try new foods. The more times that they see it (even if they don’t try it), the less scary it becomes. And, by seeing you (and other influential people) eat it, it helps them come to trust the food.

You never know when the magical day will come that your child will try it. If you stop serving it now you’ll never know if it would have been the next time, or the time after that.

Tips to Get Kids to Try New Foods

Here are some tips to follow to make sure that each time you’re serving these vegetables you’re maximizing the likeliness that he’ll try them:

• Make sure there isn’t any pressure to try (and like) foods. Many picky eaters are sensitive kids. They can feel pressure coming from you a mile away. By preparing and serving foods you’ve indicated that you want them to eat it. Enough said. Instead, focus your energy on enjoying each other during this family time. It seems counter intuitive, but the more pleasant the table experience, the more likely kids are to try new foods.

• Give small servings. A small serving is less intimidating than a large one. If he tries it and likes it, he can ask for more. If he doesn’t, then you’re minimizing your food waste.

• No “one bite rule” (also known as the “no thank you bite”). While the “one bite rule” may work for some kids, it only fuels picky eating in many, many kids. And while it may get one bite of that food in your child today, it isn’t teaching him to like these foods. What he’s learning is to eat to please others – the opposite of mindful eating.

• Allow touching, licking and spitting out. For picky eaters, putting a food in their mouths is a very intimate action. These steps allow a child to ‘get to know’ a food before eating it. Teach your child how to do these activities with good manners (such as spitting food out into their napkin).

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Make Weekday Evenings Easier: A (Not So) Secret Way

If you’re like most of the Moms and Dads whom I’ve worked with over the years, then you find the dinner-bath-bedtime routine of weekday evenings to be a stressful, rushed time. One way to make these evenings easier is to plan your meals. When I suggest creating a meal plan, often people respond something like:

“I’m already crazy-busy. How am I supposed to add one more thing to my life?!”

I agree that at first it seems like making a meal plan is adding more to your already overly full schedule.

But, in reality it actually saves time and stress.

I grew up watching ‘80s cartoons. One show had a saying that they’d repeat:

“Knowing is half the battle”

This phrase is true when it comes to meal planning.

Long gone are the days before you had kids when you could leisurely stop in to the market to wander the aisles and decide what you feel like eating tonight. Then taking your time cooking dinner. Or, perhaps you were more likely to eat out most nights – catching up with your partner and/or friends over an hour-long (or longer) meal.

A good portion of the stress of making dinner each night is figuring out what the heck you’ll make. Many parents admit that this thought (and it’s stress/ worry/ fear) starts creeping into their minds at about 4pm.

Not having a plan leaves you multi-tasking to come up with some idea while you’re finishing up your work day, rushing to pick the kids up from daycare, and fighting the traffic to get home and/or to extra-curricular activities.

Not having a plan likely means creating an extra task of running in to the grocery store, with kids in tow, when the store is at it’s busiest. Not fun.

While it does take time to sit down and create a meal plan, doing so will save you hours of stress each week.

It’ll also save you time and money. Imagine no more:

• Last-minute trips to the grocery store.
• Staring blankly into your fridge.
• Garbage bins full of veggies, bought with the best of intentions, but now gone bad.

Does the structure of a meal plan make you feel constrained? Remember that it’s your plan – change it whenever you want! Did you plan to make a complicated, new recipe tonight but you had an awful day and all you want to do is order pizza? Order the pizza! And revise your plan so that the ingredients that you bought for that new dish are used up before they go bad.

Not convinced? Give it a try, just for this month. It’s only 4 weeks. December is an extra busy month, if meal planning can save you time, this is the perfect month to try it!

I’d love to hear how meal planning is going for you – the good and the bad! Share your experience in the Comments section below…

Can Kids Have Too Much Fruit?

Here’s what a Mom recently asked me: "I have what may be a silly question. Should I be concerned with my 8 month old getting too much fruit? In other words, can kids have too much fruit?

Can Kids Have Too Much Fruit?

In a word: yes. Let me expand with 2 key points.

1. All of us (i.e. adults too) can get diarrhea from eating too much fruit at once. If your child’s stools are getting loose, then it's a sign of too much fruit.
2. Of course, fruit is a healthy food. But human beings need a wide variety of foods from all the food groups to meet our nutrition needs.

In particular, for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, iron is a key nutrient that we’re looking to provide through food. Fruit is low in iron. It’s recommended that you offer iron-rich foods twice a day.

It’s normal for kids to have food preferences. However, kids aren’t at a developmentally ready to understand that human beings can’t survive on a favourite food alone until they’re well into their school-age years.

How to Make Sure Your Child Doesn't Get Too Much Fruit

If you notice that your child will always choose one or two favourite foods, I recommend starting a technique that I call “controlling what’s on the menu”.

Here’s how. You choose what foods you will offer, i.e. what foods are on the menu, at meals and snacks. Your child gets to choose what they’ll eat from what you’ve provided. And, they get to control how much of each food they eat (yes, including zero bites).

This way you are creating a situation where your child eats a balance of food groups throughout the day. And, your child gets to express themselves by controlling what they eat from what you’ve provided. You’ve created an environment where you’re making sure that your child is getting good nutrition at the same time as your child’s personal boundary with their body is respected.

For example, for this mom’s 8 month old, at one solid food time each day serve an iron-rich food either on it’s own, or with another food that isn’t fruit – maybe it’s a vegetable or a grain. Feel free to offer fruit at the other solid food time where you’re offering the iron-rich food. If your child eats a particularly huge amount of fruit one day and you notice that his stools are loose, hold off offering fruit for a day or two. Create balance by offering vegetables, protein foods, and grains.

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How to Get Kids to Behave at Restaurants

A question that I'm often asked by parents of toddlers and preschoolers is how to make it possible to eat out at a restaurant. The good news is that it's completely possible. And, these strategies also help kids behave well at family holiday meals. And you know that those are just around the corner. The key to making it happen is to start at home. In this video I share three steps to start in your home.

And, three additional tips for in restaurants.

Enjoy!

It’s Less Work than You Think (Healthy Snacks)

When I’m introducing my concept of 5-6 equal opportunities to eat to Moms and Dads many think that it sounds impossible – it’s too much work. But I promise you it’s not. In fact, it’s likely the same amount of work that you’re currently doing. But it’s work that’s moving you in the right direction of getting your picky eater to try new foods (instead of inadvertently fuelling pickier eating).

But I think I’m getting ahead of myself here. First let me explain what I mean by 5-6 equal opportunities to eat.

Toddlers and preschoolers have little tummies, short attention spans, and big nutrition needs. That’s why they need more than just 3 meals a day. I’ve found that most kids so best with three meals plus two or three snacks per day.

When I say the word “meal”, you likely imagine something with healthy foods from multiple food groups, perhaps eaten while sitting at a table. In contrast, when I say the word “snack” you likely think of something small to eat, perhaps less healthy foods, grabbed and eaten on the run.

Most toddlers and preschoolers don’t have appetites that are bigger at “meal” times and smaller at “snack” times. Instead of differentiating between “meals” and “snacks”, I recommend treating these as all as “opportunities to eat”.

So, instead of giving your child 3 meals plus 2 – 3 snacks per day, I recommend re-framing the concept to offering 5 – 6 opportunities to eat each day.

But the phrase that I started with in this post had the word “equal” in it: “5 – 6 equal opportunities to eat” .

Here’s where the “equal” comes into play.

To best meet kids’ nutrition needs in the face of their short attention spans, I recommend taking each of the 5 – 6 opportunities to eat to provide kids with healthy foods. This way if they eat a lot at afternoon snack and only two bites at dinner, it’s less of a worry than if you gave your child junky foods at afternoon snack and were relying on dinner for those vegetables, fruit, and whole grains.

Consider each opportunity to eat an equal opportunity to provide healthy foods from 2 – 4 food groups. Yes, this may mean that you’re putting more thought and effort onto your child’s snacks.

However, I can’t tell you how many families I’ve worked with who are providing quick snack handouts all day long. These parents are feeding their kids almost every hour of the day. That’s a lot of work!!

Instead of putting all your time and effort into providing constant snacks, I recommend offering 5 – 6 equal opportunities to eat each day, each of which has 2 – 4 food groups.

It’s less work than you think. And, you will be more successful in helping your child get the nutrition they need and have less picky eating behaviour.

Have you been using the 5 – 6 equal opportunities to eat strategy? Have you found it to be more work? I’d love you to share your experience in the comment section below!

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How to Handle Halloween Candy

Halloween is a fun and exciting holiday for kids. And, while as a parent you may not love the idea of all that candy, the last thing that you want to add to an already hectic day is a battle over food. Here’s some ideas about how to handle Hallowe'en candy.

Before I go into the ideas, first let me tell you that I’ve never come across any research studies where they specifically looked at family rules for Halloween candy and how it impacted kids’ life-long eating habits. But there have been studies about how sweets/ junk food in general are handled in the home and it’s impact on life-long eating habits, so that’s on which I’m basing my advice.

The reality is that unhealthy food is all around us. It’s an important life skill to be able to make healthy choices. Halloween is an excellent opportunity for kids to learn that skill of self-regulation.

Whenever I discuss this topic I’m transported back to my own childhood and how my brother and I had such different Halloween candy strategies. A child’s Halloween candy strategy is such an indication of their personality. Me: I ate it quickly. My brother’s pile, on the other hand, seemed to last forever, beckoning to me as I walked past his open bedroom door. I was certain that he ate it so slowly, and put it on display, just to torture me - a clever payback to his bossy older sister :)

How to Handle Halloween Candy: Toddlers and Preschoolers

Take advantage of these little ones’ naiveté and short attention spans. Limit the number of homes at which you trick or treat to only 2 or 3. This way they get to be involved in the fun of the holiday, but there isn’t too much candy received.

How to Handle Halloween Candy: School-Age Kids

Step #1 Fill Those Tummies: Fill their tummies before they go out trick or treating with a filling, healthy, favourite meal.

Step #2 Celebrate the Haul: When kids return home from trick or treating, let them be excited about their hauls. Afterall, they’ve been looking forward to this night for weeks!

Optional Step #3 Switch Witch: I like the idea of the growing tradition of the ‘Candy Fairy’ or ‘Switch Witch’. Inspired by the Tooth Fairy, kids can choose to leave out their candy for the ‘Candy Fairy’ who takes the candy away and leaves behind money. I’ve heard that some dentists and others are even getting in the act so that parents don’t have to pay out of pocket. An important point regarding this idea is that kids need to be able to have the choice of keeping their candy or leaving it for the ‘Switch Witch’. Remember, it’s important for kids to be given the opportunity to learn how to self-regulate with candy.

Step #4 Structure and Choice: For kids who keep their candy, I recommend letting them eat as much as they want on Halloween night. It’s a part of this one day’s celebration. But the next day, life is back to normal with planned meals and snacks (or as I like to call them: opportunities to eat). As the adult, you choose when candy gets to be on the menu. For example, at afternoon snack. Provide foods from 2 – 4 food groups along with the candy as normal. Let your child choose how much candy they want to eat at the meal/snack that candy is on the menu. Yes, it may mean that your child eats nothing but candy for that meal/snack. But it’s only once a day. And, they’ll eat through their candy faster. Create balance by not providing other treats at other meals (i.e. stay away from sugary breakfast cereal, sugary granola bars, no dessert at dinner).

Here’s an alternative strategy for older school-age kids who help to pack their own lunches and understand how to have healthy bodies we need to eat a balance of healthy foods and treats. You determine how many pieces of candy that your child can have in their lunch, e.g. 3 pieces. Your child chooses what pieces they want to pack. Again, balance this by not providing other treats at other meals.

Healthy Hallowe'en Fun

Are you looking for some fun, but healthier, Halloween ideas? I share lots on my Pinterest board. Check it out at: www.pinterest.com/kristenyarker

Happy Halloween!

When to Ignore Messy Eating. When to Nip it in the Bud.

I’m often asked about kids' messy eating. Parents often wonder what’s normal and at what age kids will learn to use utensils. Recently I received this question from a Mom:

My question is regarding messy eating.  My daughter (just turned 4) often eats with her hands and then has food obviously all over her hands but also on her face from ear to ear.  She also plays with her food a bit (ie:  bites a few holes in her bread and then pauses to see what shape she has made).  How much emphasis should I put on eating neatly with a fork and spoon and how do I do this or should I just be happy that she’s eating?

It's normal for preschoolers (3 - 5 year olds) to eat with a combination of their hands and utensils. Most are still working on the dexterity involved in using utensils. They're curious about the world, so yes, they'll likely explore their food too (like the example you give with the bread).

As long as her behaviour is coming from a place of eating and interest in her food, don't sweat this mess. Because we want her to continue feeling confident with eating. We don't want to make her feel self-conscious about the way that she eats.

Teach through role modelling. Have an adult join her at as many meals and snacks as possible. Her internal drive to grow up will motivate her to copy your use of utensils and other actions at the table (e.g. wiping your mouth with your napkin when you finish eating).

In the meantime, go ahead and start teaching other manners like saying please and thank you, taking turns to speak during a conversation, asking to have someone pass you the peas, and asking to be excused when finished eating.

On the other hand, pay close attention to see if her behaviour is motivated by naughtiness. That is, if she's acting out and purposely taking actions to get negative attention. You'll recognize this right away. If so, then do nip the behaviour in the bud and explain that we don't play with our food.

How do I Help My Baby Feed Himself/ Herself?

I’m often approached by parents of babies between 9 months and 12 months old who are concerned that their children aren’t learning to self-feed as quickly as other babies. Here’s an example of what one parent asked me: “My son is 9 months and has been eating finger foods since about 7 months however he will not feed himself. Is there something I can do to help this? Or will it just come to him? How do I help my baby feed himself” Without doing a full assessment of a child, I can’t say for certain what’s causing a child to learn self-feeding slower than their peers. But I can share the common causes that I see and their solutions.

Common Causes for Baby Not Self-Feeding:

1. Medical conditions or developmental concerns. Because you didn't mention it, I'm assuming that your son doesn't have any medical conditions or developmental concerns that would affect his dexterity/ motor control.
2. Missing role models. Kids learn from watching others - particularly older kids and adults. If no one else is eating there isn't anyone to act as a role model for how to do it. Also, eating is a social activity for us human beings. Kids of all ages eat better when adults join them at the table.
3. Temperament (also known as personality). Some little ones are what I call "outsourcers". They're happy to sit back and let others do things for them instead of doing the hard work of figuring it out themselves. Because learning to self-feed does take work at this stage.
4. Over-helpful caregivers. Sometimes parents (and other caregivers) have such strong desires to help their little ones that they jump in and "help" instead of sitting back and allowing their little one figure things out for themselves. This can sometimes also be fuelled by impatience and/or anxiety about your little one getting enough to eat. The result is a learned helplessness.

Solutions to Help Baby Feed Himself:

If the cause is #1 then working with an Occupational Therapist can be a great help.

The solution to #2 is to sit and eat with your child. Ideally, eat the same foods too. This way you're sending a message loud and clear that you want him to eat what’s in front of him. And, you’re creating the social environment that’s most conducive to eating and learning.

The solution to #3 and #4 is the same. Resist the urge to jump in and "help". You're actually being more helpful by holding off and allowing him to learn the skills himself.

Take Home for How to Help My Baby Feed Himself:

Note that the most common cause that I see are # 3 and 4. In other words, a combination of a child’s natural temperament and parents who are either overly anxious or keen to help.

It’s a classic case of fantastic intentions inadvertently taking things in the wrong direction.

Thankfully, it’s super easy to fix! Babies this age are compelled to master the skills that they see others doing. Just like learning any new skill, kids learn to feed themselves with finger foods at different rates. They want to learn how to self-feed, we just need to create the environment that supports them in mastering it. When you do, they’ll learn this new skill in their own timing that’s perfect just for them.

Secret Tip for Using Packed Lunches to Get Picky Eaters to Try New Foods

Guest Expert article at Health Your Way Online It’s back to school. Which is the perfect time for me to share this secret tip that’s been super successful with my picky eater clients.

In the 6 years that I’ve worked with Moms and Dads of picky eaters, I’ve noticed that almost every family makes the same mistake. The only time that they offer their picky child a challenging food is at dinner. (Note that a “challenging food” is either a new food or one that their child has seen many times but refuses to eat). This backfires because even toddlers and preschoolers will notice this pattern. And so they will refuse to eat, act out, or come up with any other excuse not to come to the table and eat dinner. For many kids, picky eating stems from being afraid of the food. It’s a developmental stage that I call “food-wariness”. Instead of facing their fears, kids will do everything that they can to avoid the dreaded challenging food.

The first step to getting these kids to try new foods on their own is to have them become accustomed to seeing a new food in front of them. It’s the first baby step in overcoming their fear. By frequently presenting a new food, they become accustomed to the food’s presence. Thus they become more confident. Eventually that confidence, along with their desire to grow up, is what motivates them to try new foods.

So what’s this secret, successful tip that I promised to share?

Include challenging foods in packed lunches.

Now take note that I’m not saying to pack a lunch that only includes challenging foods. What I’m saying is to frequently (not necessarily every day) pack one challenging food along with your child’s favorites. The “bento-box” style lunch kits make it easy to include a challenging food because the challenging food won’t touch your child’s favorites. And, we all know how much young kids don’t like their foods to touch. Even if your fussy eater doesn’t eat the challenging food, you’re building their food-confidence because you’re helping them become accustomed to seeing a challenging food in front of them. And, what’s even better is that you don’t have to watch your child not eat it (which I know drives so many parents nuts)!

Use After School Snacks to Get Picky Eaters to Try New Foods

{Guest Expert Contribution to Kidzedge} If you’re like the parents of picky eaters I’ve helped for the last 6 years, you’re constantly on the look out for ways to get your kids to eat more (healthy) foods. After school snacks are a great (and often overlooked) opportunity to contribute to kids’ nutrition. Here’s why after school snacks are such a great time to get kids to eat more foods, how to do it, and some snack ideas.

After School Snacks Why it Works:

Have you ever tried getting a child to eat a new food when they aren’t hungry? It’s a lesson in futility. Many kids have big appetites at after school snack time. Appetite is a great motivator for kids to try new foods. Take advantage of this natural window of opportunity and use after school snacks to offer your child new foods.

After School Snacks Steps to Take:

Step #1: Plan snacks that include foods from 2 or more food groups. Often we think of snacks as a time for junk food. Or, as a time for a single food – e.g. an apple. But kids have big nutrient needs and small tummies. They need healthy foods more than just at 3 meals per day.

Step #2: Consider meals and snacks to be equal opportunities to eat. A mistake that many parents make is to give their child healthy foods at meals and favorite foods at snacks. This stacks the odds against kids eating well at meals. Instead, frequently, give your child a snack that includes either a new food or a food that your child has seen many times but hasn’t tried yet.

Step #3: Think outside the snack aisle. When looking for snack ideas, it seems natural to look in the snack aisle of the grocery store. But this aisle is mostly filled with highly processed, junk foods. Instead, look for easy to eat versions of meal foods. Focus on providing foods from the food groups where your child isn’t meeting the recommendations. To see the recommendations, check out My Plate or Canada’s Food Guide

After School Snack Ideas:

• Edamame and an orange (2 food groups)
• White Bean Dip* with a variety of raw veggies such as snow peas, carrots, and zucchini (2 food groups)
• Hard-boiled egg and toast (2 food groups)
• Yogurt with blueberries and hemp hearts (3 food groups)
• Sliced banana on top of whole grain crackers/rice cakes/corn cakes spread with peanut butter, nut-butter, or non-nut butter. (3 food groups)

White Bean Dip Recipe

Makes 12 Servings

1 can (14 oz, 17.6 oz) cannellini beans, canned, drained 1 bulb garlic, raw 1/4 cup (2 oz) olive oil 1/4 cup (2 fl oz) lemon juice, fresh

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Remove the outermost skin of the garlic bulb (the loose stuff). Cut off the very top of the bulb so the tip of each clove is exposed. Rub the entire bulb with some olive oil. Wrap in tin foil, shiny-side inwards. Place on a cookie sheet or in a casserole dish.
3. Roast in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until the bulb gives off the distinct roasted garlic (not raw garlic) aroma and the cloves are squishy.
4. Allow to cool.
5. Drain and rinse the beans (rinsing removes some of the “magical” part of the beans). Place them in a medium-size bowl.
6. To the beans, add half the olive oil, half the lemon juice, and half of the cloves of garlic. Using a hand-held blender, blend the mixture until it’s smooth. Adding more olive oil, lemon juice and garlic to taste and to get the texture to the desired smoothness.
7. ENJOY with tortilla chips, crackers, apple slices, and raw veggies like carrots, celery and bell pepper strips.

Note: You can roast the garlic days in advance.

Check out my recipe page for more healthy after school snack ideas for kids.

When Should I Introduce Dairy to my Baby?

{Guest Expert Blog post at Love Child Organics} Many parents ask me about when they can introduce dairy to their baby. The recent recommendation from Health Canada, the Canadian Pediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada, and the Breastfeeding Committee of Canada is*:

“If parents and caregivers are introducing cow milk…delay until 9 – 12 months of age…limiting cow milk intake to no more than 750mL (3 cups) per day.”

A similar (but not exactly the same) statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics says **:

“Once your baby is past one year old, you may give him whole cow’s milk, provided he has a balanced diet of solid foods (cereals, vegetables, fruits, and meats). But limit his intake of milk to one quart (32 ounces or 946 ml) per day.”

These statements leave many parents asking me questions. Let me address the most common ones that I receive.

But first let me explain the reason behind the recommendations because I think that it will help you understand what to feed your baby. It’s not that there is something in dairy that’s unsafe for babies. The recommendation is related to iron. Iron is important for babies’ growth and in particular their brain development. There are 3 ways that dairy foods can be a concern with respect to iron:

1. Dairy foods aren’t a source of iron.
2. Many babies love drinking cow’s milk and eating other dairy foods. Thus, the dairy foods can crowd out iron-rich foods.
3. Dairy foods can interfere with babies’ absorption of iron.

So the recommendation was created to provide advice on how to include cow’s milk in a way that doesn’t interfere with babies’ need for iron.

Here are my responses to the questions that I’m frequently asked:

Question: Does this mean that I need to wait until 9 – 12 months to give my baby cheese and yogurt? What about foods that contain cow’s milk?

Answer: No. Any time from about 6 months onwards, feel free to introduce small amounts of yogurt and (pasteurized) cheese amongst the wide variety of foods that you’re introducing to your baby.  Just don’t make yogurt or cheese a food that you’re giving large amounts of, day after day. Make them a ‘sometimes’ food, not a ‘frequent’ food. The same goes for other foods that use cow’s milk as an ingredient, such as sauces and dips.

Q: 9 – 12 months is a big age range, should I wait until 9 months or 12 months?

A: The reason behind the age range is that you want your baby to be regularly eating a good amount of solid foods multiple times a day before you introduce cows’ milk. Like learning any new skill, some babies master eating solids quicker and some take longer to actually get any significant amount of food in them (as opposed to on their face and clothes, in their hair, and on the floor). If your baby is eating lots of solid foods (particularly iron-rich foods), feel free to start introducing small amounts of cows’ milk after 9 months. If your baby is slower to get the hang of eating solids (particularly iron-rich foods), wait until 12 months.

Q: Why do the statements give a limit per day?

A: It’s above 3-4 cups per day that we start to see the negative effects of cows’ milk on eating iron-rich foods and iron’s absorption. This can result in iron deficiency.

Check back to this blog next month when I’ll cover when to introduce cow’s milk alternatives such as soymilk, almond milk, etc.

*  http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/infant-nourisson/recom/recom-6-24-months-6-24-mois-eng.php

** http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Why-Formula-Instead-of-Cows-Milk.aspx

Just Sit Down (or, How to Get Your Child to Stay at the Table)

Does this sound familiar? Your child sits at the table, eats two bites, then runs off to play, circling back to the table a few minutes later, eats two bites, then runs off to play, circling back to the table a few minutes later, eats two bites… (you get the picture). Here's how to get your child to stay at the table. I love this question because it’s one of the easiest to fix. It’s much easier than getting kids to try new foods.

How to Get Your Child to Stay at the Table: Step 1

Check in with your own behavior.

As the saying goes, actions are stronger than words. Do you eat standing at the kitchen counter? While walking down the sidewalk? While driving? You’re teaching that one doesn’t have to sit at a table to eat.

Many Moms I know are like a jack-in-the-box during meals, getting up every 30 seconds to grab something from the kitchen. Stop. Before the meal starts, gather within reach (e.g. in the centre of the table) what you expect you’ll need during the meal. This might mean serving foods family-style so people can help themselves to seconds and/or having a cloth at the table to wipe up spills. Let phone calls go to voicemail and not checking texts/ emails.

How to Get Your Child to Stay at the Table: Step #2

Set appropriate expectations.

I know that it’s going to come as a shock to you (not) that toddlers and preschoolers don’t like to sit still for long periods of time. To them it’s quite boring. So don’t expect them to enjoy sitting for an hour over a meal. An age-appropriate expectation is to stay at the table until they are finished eating. Or, until they are finished eating and a few minutes longer. An example is staying at the table after they’ve finished eating the number of minutes as they are old (2 minutes for a 2 year old, 5 minutes for a 5 year old).

How to Get Your Child to Stay at the Table: Step #3

Explain to your child that there will be a new rule at meals.

She is free to get up from the table when she is “all done”. But, if she gets up from the table, she is choosing to be “all done”. Which means that her plate is being cleared to the kitchen and there will not be any more dinner for her to eat. The next time that she will be offered something to eat is ___________ (fill in the blank with your family’s routine e.g. bedtime snack, breakfast the next morning, etc). Be clear that when she chooses to leave the table she can no longer come back for more bites.

How to Get Your Child to Stay at the Table: Step #4

Implement the Boundaries.

Now just because you explained the new rules to your child, don’t expect him to truly understand them the first day. When your child moves to get up from the table, remind him of the new rule. And ask him if he’s really all done.

Now’s the tough part, you need to follow through on the rule. Remove his plate from the table and continue on with your meal. When he circles back to the table expecting to take two more bites, remind him that he chose to be all done, so it means that he doesn’t get any more bites of dinner. Remind him when the next meal or snack will be (e.g. bedtime snack, breakfast, etc).

He’s likely to protest this new rule (that’s his job as a toddler/ preschooler). It’s important not to give in and let him take some bites. If you do then you’re letting him know that the rule doesn’t really exist. You’re teaching him that he can leave the table and make a fuss and he will get more food.

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Healthy Home-Made Ice-Pops for Kids

Recently my friends and I were having a nostalgic laugh about the rising trend of home-made ice pops – also known as paletas. The dietitian in me loves that parents are choosing to make tasty snacks for their kids that beat the heat that include real fruits (even veggies) instead of frozen, colored, sugar water. What made my friends and I giggle was remembering how we too had homemade ice pops when we were kids. However, we were raised in the suburbs in the early 80’s. Our ice pops consisted of frozen OJ concentrate, re-constituted with water, and then frozen again in the ice-pop molds. Not exactly gourmet!

Now pint-sized foodies are enjoying paletas (even the new name is fancy) made with on-trend, healthy ingredients like coconut, avocado, Greek yogurt, almond milk, even kale. And, while we were absorbing all sorts of plastic by-products, you can now buy BPA-free plastic molds and stainless steel molds. It’s amazing how far we’ve come!

Interested in making some yourself? A Google or Pinterest browse will supply you with a summer full of healthy frozen kids snack ideas. Here are two ideas to get you started. For the recipes, all the steps are the same:

1. Combine ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour into the paleta molds.
4. Freeze.
5. ENJOY!

Blueberry-Kale Home-Made Ice Pops

You really need to blend this recipe well, otherwise the kale pieces are quite big which I found unpleasant (and I love kale). The kale is never truly hidden in these, but when well-blended, it’s an enjoyable part of their texture.

1 cup frozen blueberries 1 cup kale leaves, stems removed (ideally baby kale leaves) 2 cups coconut water

Raspberry-Almond-Coconut Home-Made Ice Pops

A luscious, dairy-free recipe!

1.5 cups almond milk 1/2 cup coconut milk 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries 2 teaspoons honey pinch of salt

Combine your favorite fruits with other healthy ingredients for a delicious and refreshing summertime paleta treat!

Get more home-made ice pop recipes here.

Curing Picky Eaters (Can it Really be Done?)

I’m going to be truly Canadian here and apologize before I start this message. Because it is a bit of a rant. I really can’t help but rant here because supporting kids to enjoy healthy eating (from the very first bite) is my life’s passion. So, if hearing a person speak strongly about their passion isn’t your cup of tea. Then feel free to delete this. I won’t mind. But, if you want to know what I really feel about picky eating, then do read on because I’m being completely unfiltered here (maybe the heat’s making me a bit cranky?) Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about “curing” picky eaters.

Sure, I talk about “preventing” picky eating and “stopping” picky eating. Perhaps it’s just a lesson in semantics. But the word “cure” creates a strong, specific, emotional reaction in me.

We fundraise to “cure” cancer.

We search for a “cure” to AIDS.

We look to “cure” people of things that are fundamentally wrong. Un-natural states. Diseases.

Picky eating is stressful – for kids and their parents. It can have negative consequences on a child’s nutritional health. It’s absolutely worth intervening.

But, picky eating isn’t a disease.

Picky eating is a combination of a child’s temperament, developmental stage, and how we adults react to it.

Let me highlight this with a less emotional example – crawling. Is a child “cured” of crawling when they learn to walk? No. Crawling is a developmental stage. Some children crawl earlier. Some crawl later. And, some kids skip crawling all together, moving from scooting (or some other version of dragging themselves around) to walking.

And, how do kids move past crawling? Is it something that we adults do to them?

Somewhat, yes.

Kids are internally driven to learn to walk. We play an important role by creating an environment where they are encouraged to practice and build the skills that lead to walking. We allow them to pull themselves up on the furniture and “cruise” around from chair to table to sofa. We hold their hands above their heads as they take wobbly steps. We pull them up and bounce them on our laps. Some kids are more adventuresome in learning to walk. Some kids are more cautious. Both are normal, but we take different actions to support them to move ahead at their own speeds.

The same is true with eating. While kids are in a stage where they’re both loving power struggles and wary of foods, they’re also being internally driven to master new skills and grow up. We can create an environment where they are given the opportunities and are encouraged to try new foods. Or, we can (inadvertently) create an environment where they are prevented from learning to walk and kept in the crawling stage – i.e. where commonly used strategies with food actually fuel picky eating behaviour. We can restrict an adventuresome child to move too slow – causing them to rebel. And, we can force a cautious kid to move to quickly – causing them to either push back or withdraw.

So in a nutshell, no. I don’t believe that picky eaters can be “cured”.

What I know is that we can create an environment with food that supports kids to move through this stage with ease and grace, in a way that sets them up to have lifelong healthy eating habits. And, ensuring that they get the nutrition that they need. All while:

• Reducing the stress for everyone in the family,
• Celebrating and loving each child for who they are (adventuresome and cautious) and,
• Creating enjoyable family time at the table.

This is exactly what I devote my life to support Moms and Dads like you to do. How? Through my picky eater book and my individual picky eater nutrition services.

Picky Eater? 5 Great Benefits of Serving Meals Family Style

{Guest post for KidzEdge Magazine} Just like in the rest of their lives, kids (especially picky eaters) thrive with eating when parents provide both respect and boundaries with food. Yet this isn’t often talked about when experts provide advice on nutrition for kids.

A simple strategy for establishing respect and boundaries in ways that support kids to try new foods on their own is serving foods family-style.

Family-style is when serving dishes are placed in the middle of the table and everyone gets to serve himself or herself. Even toddlers and preschoolers can serve themselves with help.

I’ve had many families email me in disbelief that it’s worked like magic!

Why does it work? It’s not magic. It’s all about power and control.

• • Kids want to grow up and mimic what they see adults and older kids doing. Serving themselves seems like such a “big boy” or “big girl” thing to do.
  • Toddlers and preschoolers are in the “me do it” developmental stage. They take such pride in “helping”. Having them serve themselves uses this developmental stage to your advantage.
  • Serving family-style removes you from being a sparring partner for toddlers and preschoolers who love a negotiation. With no one to battle, many kids simply get down to the business of eating.
  • Cautious kids often crumble under the pressure of being forced to try something (also known as the one-bite rule). And, some crumble with even having a food present on their plate. Serving family-style allows them to proceed at their own pace. The offending food doesn’t have to be on their plate. But the opportunity is there for them to help themselves when they’re feeling brave enough to try it.
  • Toddlers and preschoolers often go through a stage where they’ll inspect each piece of food and reject it for microscopic flaws that are naked to the eye of anyone over the age of 18. Okay, I’m being facetious. But if your child is in this stage then you’ll know what I mean. Serving family-style helps you keep your cool because everyone else at the table can get on with eating their meal while your little one inspects each morsel. Therefore, resulting in a much more pleasant meal. And when mealtimes are pleasant, kids eat better.

Try serving meals family-style to see if this strategy will work its magic with your picky eaters.

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The Foundational Step to Prevent Picky Eating

I recorded this video on Sunday as a part of the launch that I'm preparing for my new service that I'll be offering you. Click here to check out my picky eating nutrition services. I wanted to share the video with you (consider this a sneak peek) because it really is such an important step to take.

In the 6 years that I've worked with families with kids who are picky eaters, I've learned that it's not just the strategies that you use that are important to support your little one to try new foods on their own. The order in which you implement the strategies really counts too.

In this video I share what I've found to be the most important strategy to use first. A foundational step, really to support your fussy eater to try new foods on their own.

Enjoy,

Kristen