Don't you love how parents give each other the best advice? After one of those kind of parent chats yesterday, I realized I hadn't shared some of my hard-earned tips for feeding a child who we recently discovered is allergic to EVERYTHING and super picky to boot. JJ is allergic to the following: dairy (milk/cheese), soy, tree nuts, peanuts, and eggs. She's intolerant to: gluten, coconut, … [Read more...]
Weekday Breakfast Tips #QuakerUp
It's time to go back to school and Quaker has asked me to give you some quick and healthy weekday breakfast tips. Plan for Calm A few years ago, I realized that in order to have a calm, organized morning routine (including breakfast,) we had to wake up 15 minutes earlier. Now breakfast for is our for-sure family meal of the day. It sets the tone for the rest of the day. Get up earlier. Get … [Read more...]
5 Healthy Eating Strategies for Picky Eaters
Don't you feel frustrated reading how easy it's supposed to be to get your picky eater kids to like healthy foods? It's not easy. Not for some kids. With my first baby I slaved over the hot stove, cooking organic vegetables into a puree to freeze for baby food. And the kid ate everything. Until about age 2. When she became a cracker-itarian. It's been a challenge ever since. (Her … [Read more...]
11 Favorite, Healthy After-School Snacks
Sometimes we just need fresh snack ideas -- with pictures! So here are pictures and ideas for healthy after school snacks that my kids enjoy. I hope yours will, too. Healthy After-School Snacks Ritz Cracker Sandwiches Are your kids sick of sandwiches but don't always get much protein in their diet? Mine, too. But they do love cracker sandwiches - cheese, organic lunch meat, and whole wheat … [Read more...]
The Best Lunchbox Containers and Accessories for Kids
Another day, another lunch to pack. Groan. Anyone else not enthusiastic about this? But first, let's talk lunchboxes and accessories. I think we've tried them every container and system so I'll give you a sampling of what we like and why. Lunchbox Containers 1. Fit and Fresh On the Go *Favorite! We've used this system for two years very happily. The lids and container sizes work perfectly … [Read more...]
A Munch-and-Slurp Pop Up Book For Hungry Giants
Caitlin Friedman asks How Do You Feed a Hungry Giant? Well, I don't know. Do you? Oscar doesn't know either. He's the boy who finds the hungry giant in his backyard. Holding a "Food Please" sign. Right next to the swings and sandbox. Gulp. What should Oscar feed the giant? Well, he starts with grapes. Then leftover pizza. Then 50 strawberry yogurts, a pot of tomato soup, a bunch of … [Read more...]
Food and Nutrition Learning Ideas for Kids
Look up picky eaters in the dictionary and you'll find my children. But, it's not for our lack of trying. Jeff and I have always eaten healthy ("clean"); we want our picky eaters to know why it's important to make healthy choices, and what food does in our bodies. Yes, we have a garden, yes we buy organic. Yes, Jeff even juices, and yes, we make our kids try a bite of everything. Only they still … [Read more...]
Back to School Eco-Friendly Lunchbox Ideas
You already know that bringing your own healthy lunch to school is more nutritious than buying school lunch, right? But have you thought about all the waste that happens if you send food in throw-away plastic baggies and don't reuse those baggies? I have lunchbox ideas to solve that dilemma. In a class of 20 students who all bring a snack from home and 8 pack a lunch, that's 28 plastic bags in … [Read more...]
Mrs. Q Goes to Washington
My new favorite woman, teacher, mom and activist is the blogger Mrs. Q. Have you heard of her? She’s the anonymous teacher-blogger who ate school lunch (162 school lunches,) took pictures with her cell phone and blogged about it at “Fed Up with Lunch”. “It’s actually not just food – it’s everything. It’s the basis of learning,” she said last week at Mom Congress. "I was really naive," … [Read more...]
Eat the Alphabet
Guest post from writer, editor and mom, Dawna Edwards. Eat foods alphabetically, starting with A and ending with Z. That's right, commit to 26 days-worth of different letters at each meal. You'll add new dimension and learning to meal time. Unless you're a die-hard meal planner blessed with children who have super-flexible tastes, you may want to limit the number of new letter meals you … [Read more...]