A Helpful Interview

2/3/2012 8:10:21 PM

Feeding went pretty well this week, so I don’t have much to report on feeding challenges. I made my Black Bean Quesadillas the other night and they were a huge success with the whole family. If you haven’t tried them yet, I highly recommend them. I served them with some Stahlbush Island Farms frozen spinach that I defrosted slightly, sautéed with olive oil and seasoned with garlic powder, salt and pepper. It tasted great inside the quesadillas, which we all personalized with our favorite toppings.

It is so nice when feeding goes smoothly and everyone can be relaxed at the table. This week, my daughter’s appetite was very strong, which meant that she both ate very well at meals and stayed at the table for the duration of each meal. Some weeks, however, it is the exact opposite: she eats very little and pronounces herself “all done” early on and fidgets and makes herself unpleasant until she can leave the table. I know that her erratic eating is all normal for a toddler, but sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of what normal behavior is and how to handle the roller coaster of feeding a child. I was very happy to come across this helpful interview (despite the title) Getting Your Kids to Eat with Ellyn Satter on The Mother Company’s informative parenting website. I love how relaxed Ellyn is about feeding, how she recommends strategies for dealing with common feeding challenges and how honest she is about her own feeding errors with her family.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My two-year-old’s favorite condiments are mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese. She also likes yellow mustard, especially when it is mixed with mayonnaise. She mainly prefers the shredded kind of Parmesan, but will eat finely grated, sliced or shaved if that’s all that’s available—and she will eat any of them by the fistful. For whatever reason, she is reluctant to try ketchup, so that is not yet part of her repertoire.

I used to feel a little uncomfortable with her love of condiments and would not always put them on the table. I think I was too caught up in all of the dietitian food rules that apply to adults about choosing healthful foods. Children eat what tastes good to them; they don’t eat something simply because it is good for them. Condiments just make food taste better. Steamed broccoli tastes much better with some parmesan cheese and olive oil than it does without. Being overly strict with the condiments meant that I was being too strict with feeding and eating, and it felt wrong. I realized that I needed to adjust my attitude in order to do a better job with feeding my daughter.

These days, I’m free with the condiments. I put Veganaise (canola oil mayonnaise) and parmesan cheese on the table and I let my daughter serve herself as much as she wants. She heaps an insane amount of both on her food—way more than you would imagine tasting good—but she seems to enjoy it. Once she even asked me as she was piling the cheese into her soup “Mommy, don’t you have something to say about my cheese?” I responded that I didn’t and she continued piling on the cheese to her taste. I want to teach my daughter how to enjoy her food and eat a variety of foods. If she needs to moisten her chicken with a little mayonnaise, that’s fine with me. I like to think of condiments as training wheels that can help her learn to eat a larger variety of foods, become familiar with new flavors and enjoy the foods she already likes even more.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Yesterday I had the privilege of participating in one of Ellyn Satter’s webinars. She is my feeding guru and it was great to be able to listen to her speak on the topic of feeding. I honestly did not hear anything new, but I did learn something. (Isn’t it funny how you can hear or read something over and over and think you understand it but then hear it presented or explained in a slightly different way and it has a whole new meaning?) I leaned that I need to start doing a better job of feeding my toddler daughter “forbidden” foods.

Ellyn calls sweets, treats, junk food, dessert, fatty fried food, etc. “forbidden” food because there is so much stigma, emotion and attention surrounding them. She maintains that it is important to offer these types of foods with meals occasionally in order to teach children how to handle them and because they are yummy. Sweets with meals should be portion controlled and fatty foods can be unlimited as long as there is enough for everyone to have some. We have dessert with meals about twice a week, and once and a while we will have fries or chips at a restaurant with our meal, so I feel good about that part of the feeding equation. However, Ellyn makes the point that because dessert is portion controlled at meals, it sets up a kind of scarcity where children may feel that they haven’t had enough or they want the option of eating more. Restricting certain foods can lead to sneaking and overeating these foods at other times, which is certainly not what we want to achieve. In order to counter-balance that scarcity, we need to let children know that sometimes they can have as much as they want. That perfect sometime is snack time, since the forbidden foods won’t displace or compete with other more nutritious foods that are being served.

I have served “forbidden” foods at snacks before, but I don’t do it as often as I should. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I did. I do remember that it went very well in the past. It’s not that I’m afraid of her eating these foods; it is more that I’m not doing a good job of planning to include them. I understand that it might feel scary for some parents to allow their child to eat as much as they want of these types of foods; it takes practice, self-awareness and using Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility in Feeding in order to feel somewhat comfortable with allowing your child to indulge in “forbidden” foods with abandon. Remember that it is our job as parents and caregivers to raise competent eaters who know how to handle “forbidden” foods. Starting this weekend, I will start including these types of foods for snacks once or twice a month. For more about this topic, see Using "Forbidden" Food.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

The holidays were fun, but disruptive to our regular routine: we ate lots of special holiday foods and desserts; my husband and I took our daughter on vacation for several days (more of a trip actually—is there such thing as a vacation when a toddler is involved?); and one of my daughter’s caregivers went on vacation for a few weeks. Now that we are settling back into our normal routine I’ve noticed that we could all use a refresher on good feeding practices.

Even if the holidays were low-key and pretty routine for your family, I still believe that once or twice a year it is a good idea to review the basic principles of healthy feeding with everyone who eats with or feeds your child on a regular basis. These are the points that I will review with my daughter’s caregivers:

1. Ellyn Satter’s division of responsibility holds that parents and caregivers do the what, when and where of feeding, meaning we plan the menus, the schedules and the locations of meals and snacks. Children decide whether and how much to eat from what is offered, meaning they can eat all, none, little or several servings of one item from what is offered.

2. Children do not get to plan menus (though they can make requests for future menus), beg for handouts between scheduled meals and snacks or eat while playing (food must be eaten at a table or other designated eating place with no other distractions).

3. Adults do not get to short order cook, pressure or praise about eating, limit the amount that is eaten, reward with food or make one food (like dessert) contingent upon the consumption of another food.

4. We parents and caregivers must remain neutral when feeding and try not to talk about food too much. Any talk about how good the food is or how much we like or dislike a food is construed as pressure, and children rebel against both positive and negative pressure. Pay attention to your own plate and quietly set a good example of how to enjoy a variety of foods without worrying about what or how much (or little) your child is eating.

5. The only thing that is predictable about children’s eating is that it is unpredictable, so keep your expectations reasonable and do not worry when they don’t eat their vegetables or seem to eat nothing at all. Do the what, when and where of feeding to the best of your abilities and allow children to do their jobs of deciding whether and how much; things will fall into place.

Our job as parents and caregivers is to raise competent eaters who can eat a variety of foods while listening to their bodies and eating according to their hunger and satiety. The feeding practices I discuss here help support children in developing life-long healthy eating habits.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that eggs are a food that my daughter has not yet fully accepted in all forms. I love eggs and eat them almost every day, so naturally I want my daughter to enjoy them, too. Eggs provide more than just excellent protein; their yolks contain zinc, riboflavin, folate, vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, lutein, zeaxanthin and choline. (If you’re not familiar with those last three nutrients, lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids that are important for healthy eye development and preventing vision problems. Choline is an essential nutrient that is important for brain development and for preserving memory. Young children may develop better memory skills if they have adequate amounts of choline in their diets.)

Aside from being delicious and nutritious, eggs are convenient. They keep in the fridge for weeks and can always be whipped up into a delicious meal in a pinch. This week, my daughter and one of her caregivers made egg salad for lunch, which helped boost her egg acceptance quite a bit. Her caregiver boiled, cooled and peeled the eggs and put them in a large mixing bowl on the floor. My daughter used her fingers to squish and break up the eggs, which was fun and great for her sensory development. She then mixed in the pre-measured mayonnaise and salt with a spoon and her egg salad was ready. She ate it on some toasted Food for Life Ezekiel bread and had braised red cabbage and apples, sautéed asparagus and fresh raspberries on the side for a beautiful and yummy lunch. While she was eating she declared “this is a really good egg salad sandwich!” Below is our favorite egg salad recipe, which I make using organic omega-3 eggs, which are worth the extra money since they provide a significant amount of omega 3 fats, which are important for brain and heart health. I also use Veganaise, which ironically is an eggless mayonnaise. It is made with canola oil instead of pro-inflammatory soybean oil and preservatives. You can easily cut this recipe in half.

Egg Salad

Serves 6

12 Gelson’s Finest organic omega-3 eggs (older eggs are always easier to peel)

4 tablespoons Follow Your Heart Veganaise

1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt

Place eggs in a single layer in a large pot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 14 minutes. Pour out hot water and add ice water to cool. Peel, rinse and dry the eggs. Allow your toddler to break the eggs up with their hands over an extra-large bowl or grate eggs on the large holes of a box grater. Add Veganaise and season salt and mix well. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter attends a nut-free preschool which means that all nuts, including peanut butter and almond butter, are prohibited. Packing lunches can be creatively challenging without those options to fall back on. That’s why I was overjoyed to discover MaraNatha sunflower seed butter at Gelson’s last week. Sunflower seeds and other seeds, such as sesame and pumpkin seeds, are permitted at our preschool, but you should check the policy at your child’s school before packing any nuts or seeds in your child’s lunch.

I made a sunflower butter and jam sandwich for my daughter to take with her to school/winter camp yesterday. I used Food for Life Ezekiel bread (my daughter’s favorite, but Rudi’s 100% whole wheat might me more acceptable to most kids) to make the sandwich along with Rigoni di Asiago Fior di Frutta organic fruit spread (the lowest sugar and most delicious organic jam I’ve ever had). My daughter loves both the strawberry and apricot spreads and can never choose just one, so I made one half of the sandwich with strawberry and the other half with apricot. Last night I asked her how she liked her sandwich and she said it was “really good!” I’m thrilled that we have a new sandwich option to add to the lunch mix.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I can't believe that it has been two years and exactly 100 Healthy Families blog posts since my daughter started solid foods. When I told her about the milestone this morning at breakfast, she responded by jokingly asking me to feed her granola like a baby. She is actually quite independent with her eating now, and uses a fork, spoon and her hands to feed herself. She really wants to be able to use a knife, and I told her that she first has to master using a fork before she can use a knife. That deal (everything is a negotiation these days!) has helped motivate her to use a fork more frequently, though she uses her free hand to hold food on the tines of the fork while she puts the fork, food and fingers in her mouth.

Using Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility in Feeding from her first bite of solids has helped her become a competent eater who enjoys food and eating. I've noticed that all children are very different in their eating and move along at their own pace. Some things go well and others don't. My daughter loves beans, meat, chicken, fish and vegetables, but she will not drink milk from a vessel (mixed into food is fine) or eat scrambled or fried eggs and her avocado must be in the form of guacamole. I think a lot of toddlers have the exact opposite preferences from my daughter, but I'm not worried. It is normal to have preferences for certain foods and it is our job as parents to help expose them to new foods over and over in a neutral manner. It may take another two years or more of offering avocado, eggs and milk before she accepts them, but I will keep doing it.

Even after two years, feeding my daughter still feels like an adventure. I never know if she will eat even a bite of a meal or ask for thirds on everything. It is fun to see progress and know that she is able to listen to her body and give it the amount of food it needs. Last night, for example, we had dessert with dinner and she didn't even finish her cake. That's not toddler willpower; that is successful internal regulation in action. My job going forward is to help her maintain her ability to self-regulate, as well as her love of food and eating.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Ice cream is my daughter’s all-time favorite dessert. You can only imagine her delight when earlier this week she received an ice cream maker from a family friend for the holidays. My daughter, who was staying at my parents’ house that day, was beyond excited and insisted that they make ice cream right away. My mom measured out all four of the ingredients and allowed my daughter to add them to the machine and push the “on” button. They had a great time making ice cream together, though my daughter was disappointed that she would have to wait until the following day to eat it. Making ice cream was a great experience for my daughter on so many levels. She:

• spent quality time with her grandmother

• refined her motor skills by adding the ingredients to the machine

• saw the project through from start to finish

• practiced delaying gratification

• felt the pleasure of feeding others

• boosted her self-esteem

The next night, she and my mom took the ice cream out of the freezer and divided it up into serving dishes. We all enjoyed her homemade ice cream for dessert. She was so proud of her herself. She went around the table asking each of us individually how we liked her ice cream. It was so sweet—and the ice cream was pretty good, too!

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Meals with my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter have been frustrating this week. She keeps interrupting meals to leave the table for one reason or another, and it has been getting on my nerves. I strive to create an optimal eating environment for our family meals so that we will all be able to eat mindfully and I will be able to parent mindfully. After giving this new feeding challenge some thought, I realized she lately has had too many opportunities to be distracted at meals, so I decided to see what I could do differently to help us get back on track.

First, I took all of her stuffed animal friends away from the table. My husband and I started allowing her to have her "baby" (a stuffed lamb) at the table because she was so caring and nurturing with it and we wanted to encourage those behaviors, plus she wasn't really playing with it at the table (we have a rule that we don't play while we’re eating and we don't eat while we’re playing). Recently, more and more animal friends started joining us at the table and mealtimes turned into a zoo with my daughter jumping up from her chair every few seconds to attend to each of them. She had crossed over into playing while she was eating, which has been the major contributor to our less-than-pleasant meals. It was difficult to tell if she was really eating and it was disappointing that the food I had made was not being enjoyed and the high expectations I had set for having a pleasant meal were not being realized. The other change I made was to make the environment as calm and relaxing as possible. I had read that undesirable behaviors can often be traced back to "lousy local conditions" or a less than optimal environment, so I've been trying hard to stick to her meal and sleep schedule as closely as possible and working to make sure that I'm in a good frame of mind and realistic of my expectations for her behavior.

I can't say if my changes are working yet. At the last few meals we ate together, she announced "I'm all done" while she continued to eat. I know that part of her just wants to leave the table so she can play, but I'm also wondering if all of the mealtime distractions over the past week or two have interfered with her internal cues of satiety and hunger. It feels like she is not sure when to stop eating. After reading The Modern-Day Mom's Question: Are You Satisfied? from the Just the Right Byte blog, I think I will also start asking my daughter if she is satisfied when she announces "I'm all done" and keeps eating. The post makes some interesting points, especially with regards to eating to the point of satisfaction rather than fullness. I really want to bring mindfulness back to the table at our family meals and I will continue to do all that I can to facilitate a good eating environment and teach my daughter about staying tuned in to her satiety.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Longtime readers of this blog may recall that when I offered egg yolks to my daughter for the first time at ten months she totally rejected them. Ever since then, we have been working on accepting eggs in various forms. She eats quiche weekly and egg salad sandwiches often, but more overt forms of eggs are still rejected. We offer her omelets, frittatas, scrambled and hard-boiled eggs when we eat them and she politely declines. This week, we had a small breakthrough at the Gelson's salad bar. She loves to join me for lunch at the salad bar because she is obsessed with beans and the salad bar offers such a great selection for her (butter beans are her favorite right now). I make a big salad for the two of us to share and I allow her to choose some of the items. She actually requested hard-boiled egg on our last visit together! She calls them "peek-a-boo eggs" because she can take out the yolk and look through the hole in the white part when she holds it up to her eye.

The fact that she asked for some egg and allowed it to remain in her salad is a big step for my daughter. She inadvertently ate a bite of egg yolk and then spit it out, which tells me that she still may not enjoy the texture or the flavor of plain eggs, and perhaps she never will, but I can tell that she is trying to like eggs in different forms. We still have a long way to go towards full acceptance and it may even take another two years. If there are foods that your child still has not accepted, please do not give up. Make it a point to neutrally serve and offer those foods in different forms on many occasions along with other familiar foods that you know your child already likes. It may take a lot more than 20 exposures before your child even gives it any consideration, but it will happen eventually.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I'm happy to report that we got through our Thanksgiving dinner without any comments or praise about my two-year old daughter's eating. I watched her start out the meal being adventurous and trying something new: chocolate chip zucchini bread. She loved it and promptly filled up on three slices of it before the turkey ever got to the table. She refused all of the main course offerings after sucking down a few fistfuls of turkey, and then patiently waited for dessert. She miraculously found her appetite and sense of adventure again when the sweets hit the table. She tried everything, though we kept each item portion controlled and she did not finish all the samples on her plate. She ate a lot, but I don't think she overate. She may have eaten differently if the chocolate chip zucchini bread had not been served, but we have to accept that she can decide whether and how much to eat from what we serve. We parent and feed the same way every day, but holiday meals are special and we all eat differently on holidays, and then we go back to eating the way we normally do.

It felt good to be so relaxed about my daughter's eating and not have to worry about her eating too much of one food or not enough of another (or have to respond to comments about her eating). I marvel at how she can listen to her body and eat a combination of both healthful and not-so-healthful foods and just stop when she has had enough. She loves ice cream and brownies and looks forward to eating them (she asks that they be "put on the menu" once in a while), but she doesn't ask for treats every day. When she does get her favorite dessert, as she did last night, she savors every bite and is content that her request was granted. I admire her eating style and strive to eat more like her. If you want to learn to eat more intuitively, stay tuned for my December 2011 Nutrition Notes newsletter in which I discuss strategies for getting more in touch with your satiety and hunger and moving away from unhealthy emotional eating practices.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I love food-centered holidays like Thanksgiving, and I especially enjoy observing my daughter on these occasions. What I don’t love are the comments and the pressure that she receives from other adults at the table who don’t know her well or have the pleasure of dining with her on a regular basis. I know that we are not alone in dealing with relatives pressuring, bribing, rewarding and restricting food at holiday meals. In order to help you come to the holiday table prepared of these types of interactions, read Dr. Katja Rowell’s advice on Dealing with family interference and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Preventing winter colds and flus has been on my mind, especially since lately my two year old seems to be touching everything from public restroom floors to car tires, and then sticking her fingers in her mouth. My daughter, husband and I all got our flu shots this week (better late than never, right?), but there is plenty more that we can do to stay healthy this holiday season.

First, we will emphasize regular hand washing. Washing hands before eating or preparing food, after using the restroom and when coming home from public places is a must for staying healthy throughout the year, and especially during winter months. My daughter is potty training now and hand washing is a post-potty requirement, no exceptions.

A healthful, balanced diet is also essential for a strong immune system. As you can imagine, we eat lots of veggies, fruit and other plant foods in my family. When I plan meals, I try to offer two different vegetables at lunch and at dinner, and I vary the colors, since different colored plant foods supply different nutrients and a colorful plate is much more appetizing than a white/brown plate. Two veggies are better than one, as research shows that children are more likely to eat any vegetables if they are offered more than one at a time (choices can be empowering). It can be difficult to know if a toddler is eating enough of the nutrients he or she needs because it almost always appears that they don’t eat any nutritious plant foods. When it comes to produce, or any other food, you can’t force your child to eat. The best you can do is reliably offer a variety of vegetables and fruits at each meal. Family meals are also important for supporting healthful and varied eating, especially when parents and siblings can neutrally model eating and enjoying a variety of foods.

When it comes to bolstering children’s immune systems, one nutrient I pay particular attention to is iron, since low iron can weaken the immune system. I will continue to serve iron-rich foods, like lentils, beans and dark meat poultry often and separately from dairy foods (calcium interferes with iron absorption). I will also make a point of serving them with vitamin C-rich foods, like broccoli, tomatoes, strawberries, cantaloupe and citrus, since vitamin C helps with iron absorption. If your child seems to get sick often, you might want to have his or her iron levels checked.

There are lots of foods and healthful practices that can bolster our defenses and help keep us healthy this winter. While I can’t always prevent my daughter from coming into contact with germs, I can certainly help strengthen her immune system to prevent her from getting sick sometimes. For more information on what you can do to help keep you family healthy, see my December 2010 newsletter.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I got ambitious again this week and decided to make dinner on a weeknight. I needed something fast and I found inspiration where I usually do: in the produce department. I love the Harvest pre-cut vegetable blends, and their Asparagus Sauté sounded particularly good for an Asian-themed meal. I asked our full-service meat department to trim and cut my chicken into thin slices so it would be ready to throw into the pan without any preparation or extra mess on my part. I use chicken thighs because they are high in iron, which kids need, and they tend to be juicier than breasts, but you could use either one or a mixture of both. I paired the following recipe with Village Harvest frozen quinoa and brown rice blend (ready in 90 seconds in the microwave) and my Sesame Sugar Snap Peas and Edamame recipe (I had made it earlier in the week to pack in my daughter’s lunches and knew I would use the remainder for dinner one night). My daughter enjoyed the meal so much that she keeps asking me to make it again. Success!

Chicken and Asparagus Sauté
Serves 3

1 tablespoon Napa Valley organic olive oil
1 teaspoon Sun Luck sesame oil
4 Rosie Organic boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and thinly sliced for stir-fry
2 tablespoons Yamasa less sodium soy sauce (the lowest sodium content I’ve ever seen for a soy sauce)
2 tablespoons Kikkoman plain rice vinegar (not the seasoned kind)
2 packages Harvest Asparagus Sauté
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon organic honey

1. Heat olive and sesame oils over medium heat in a large skillet that can be covered. Add chicken pieces and cook about 90 seconds on both sides. While chicken is cooking, combine the soy sauce with the vinegar in a small cup. Stir in vegetables and pour soy sauce and vinegar over mixture. Season with pepper and mix well. Cover tightly and cook until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked all the way through, about five minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring, for one more minute.
2. Use a slotted spoon to transfer chicken and vegetables to a serving bowl. Stir honey into remaining sauce and cook about one more minute to thicken sauce slightly. Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables and serve.

My two-year-old daughter now proudly declares “I’m two-and-a-half!” Other favorite statements include “Mommy, go away!” and “I can do this by myself!” She also likes to assert her independence and test new boundaries at the table. She hardly ever wants to sit in her highchair anymore. She prefers to sit in a “big chair.” So I put a thick towel down over the seat cushion and let her climb onto her own chair. She loves the freedom of being able to climb on and off that chair, but it often leads to struggles at mealtimes, since she keeps leaving the table to do other things, like play. She usually comes back to the table several times, takes a few bites, and just when we think she has settled back in, she runs off again. This is not the fun part of parenting because my husband and I need to be as strong willed as my daughter and lay down the rules at that point in the meal. We remind her that it is time to eat, not time to play; she can play after we are done eating. After a few back and forth reminders (from us) and protests (from her), she declares “I’m all done.” OK. She can be done eating, but we are not. My husband and I stay at the table and finish our dinner at our pace and we do not let my daughter interrupt our family meal.

This week we had two dinners that ended with an unhappy toddler. On a dessert night earlier in the week, my daughter did not get to eat her dessert because she decided to leave the table early-- even after I reminded her that we were having dessert that night and offered her dessert before she left the table for the last time. Later, when she realized that she didn’t get to eat the chocolate she had been looking forward to, she started to cry. I sympathized with her and told her that I would put chocolate on the menu again soon, but I did not let her go back to the table. On another night, my daughter also said she was finished eating early in the meal, but she wanted me to get up and go play with her in her room. I told her that I was still eating my dinner and I would play with her when I was finished. I reminded her that just because she was done, doesn’t mean that everyone else has to stop eating. I invited her to sit with us while we finished eating, but she decided to cry on the floor next to me instead. I did not cave in to her tantrum and only got up after both my husband and I had finished eating. It was not pleasant, but I know that in order to teach my daughter how to behave at the table, I have to model good table manners and be willing to endure her occasional tantrums and tests. She is pushing herself along to learn how to sit in a chair and advance her eating skills as she approaches the very sophisticated age of two-and-a half.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

For the past couple of weeks there has been a big Halloween candy display right outside my office. People have been asking me how I feel about it. What they really want to know is how I am going to handle the fact that my two-year-old daughter will have access to so much candy on Halloween. Many even propose elaborate schemes to hide or limit or take away or slowly dole out their own children’s Halloween candy.

Everyone is shocked to hear my straightforward approach to handling Halloween treats. On Halloween I maintain our regular meal and snack schedule and I allow my daughter to eat whatever and however much of her candy she wants at meals and snacks. It is a holiday and I want her to enjoy it and participate in all aspects of it. I do not believe in micromanaging Halloween candy except for looking it all over in the light at home before kids eat any and removing potentially unsafe items (i.e. choking hazards, allergens for allergic children, wrappers that show signs of tampering such as tears, pinholes or an unusual appearance) and removing any food that is not commercially wrapped.

Eating lots of candy one day, or even a few days, out of the year will not affect her health, so I am not really concerned about it from a nutritional standpoint. I am more focused on the parenting aspect of handling the treats. Throughout the year, I try to teach my daughter how to handle treats and balance sweet foods with other types of foods, by giving her treats at meals and snacks two times a week. Halloween represents a great opportunity for kids to learn to manage candy--if we parents handle the situation well ourselves. My daughter is young and she will not come home with very much candy, so I do not expect that there will be any leftover the following day. For children who are older and will probably collect a larger stash, you may want to read Ellyn Satter’s advice on handling Halloween treats in her October 22, 2008 • Family Meals Focus #30 • The Sticky Topic Of Halloween Candy.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Toddlers waste food. That’s a fact that we need to accept when we choose to use the Division of Responsibility in feeding them. Waste can happen at least three different ways:

1. Waste will happen when children get full. The child’s job is to determine whether and how much they eat, so at any given meal, they may enthusiastically eat three servings of broccoli and at another meal only eat one piece of broccoli or none at all. Because toddlers can be erratic in their eating, there is no way to predict ahead of time how much they will eat at a meal.

2. Waste will happened when new foods are being introduced. Kids need at least ten to twenty exposures to a new food before they accept it. Exposure can mean actually chewing and swallowing it , putting it in their mouth and taking it out, smelling it, touching it, or even just allowing it to sit on their plate. Sometimes a new food will sit untouched on the plate for the first nineteen exposures.

3. Waste will happen when children are allowed to serve themselves at family meals. Toddlers are working on becoming more independent and advancing their eating and table manners. Starting at around 18 months, they may like to serve themselves from the communal dishes at family meals. The novelty of scooping or spearing food and transferring it to their plate like everyone else at the table may lead to oversized portions on your toddler’s plate. In these situations, keep in mind that our ultimate goal is to help our children eat the amount that is right for them on a meal-by-meal basis and research shows that children self-regulate best when they are allowed to serve themselves. Do not make them eat all the food that they have put on their plate. Instead, make plenty of food, take a deep breath, hold your comments and remain neutral.

How much children eat is up to them at every meal and we parents and caregivers need to expect waste and remain neutral about it. That doesn’t mean you have to allow them to put someone else’s portion on their plate—remember that we are also teaching them how to behave at the table. A gentle reminder that the food in the serving dish is for everyone can do the trick. Also, you don’t have to throw out the food they leave on their plate if it is in relatively good condition and not all jumbled up. I often save my daughter’s leftovers to pack in her lunch a day or two later (I don’t serve her leftovers from the previous meal, since that is a recipe for starting a food fight).

When you know what normal toddler eating looks like it is a lot easier to accept that there will be waste. We must not interfere with the amount they eat and instead trust them to know how much they need to eat at each meal.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I have two new recipes out this month that have been pre-approved for your family by my two-year-old daughter. Both recipes feature pulses (beans), which are high in protein, fiber, iron and antioxidants. In my family, we try to eat two vegetarian meals a day, so beans are often the vegetarian protein in one of those meals. I usually serve my daughter beans for lunch with brown rice or quinoa, a vegetable or two and fresh fruit.

The first recipe is my new favorite vegetable dish: Sesame Sugar Snap Peas and Edamame. It is so easy, fast and flavorful and my daughter gobbles it up every time I make it. I even pack it in her lunchbox since it tastes great cold. For an even quicker version of this recipe, leave out the edamame and use two bags of sugar snap peas instead of one.

The other recipe that we all really enjoy is my Lentil Soup. It takes some time to cook, but you end up having a hearty soup that your family can enjoy for days (and it gets tastier each day). You can also freeze it in individual portions and defrost it in the microwave for a quick meal, like I do.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Everything I've read about toddlers and eating warns that they are neophobic, so I've been expecting my two-year-old daughter to resist trying new foods, but so far, so good. She has actually been asking to try new foods and spices that she encounters. This week at family meals she tried pomegranate seeds, dragon fruit, chopped liver, black peppercorns and kreplach (Jewish noodle dumplings filled with meat). She didn’t particularly like any of the foods, but even once she had them in her mouth, she didn't make a fuss or have a strong negative reaction. She just swallowed it, said "no" and either handed me any remaining food or left it alone on her plate. With the kreplach, she was actually served one in her soup. She immediately took it out and put it on my plate. I left it there without saying a word. After a few minutes she declared "I want to try my kreplach" and snatched it back and dropped it into her soup. After she tried it she just said "no" and put it back on my plate. I stayed neutral and did not comment or praise her. If she would have reacted more negatively, I would have calmly reminded her to just say "no thank you" and spit it into her napkin or move the leftovers to my plate.

We have been following Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility in Feeding from the beginning and it has helped us form a trusting and respectful feeding relationship with my daughter, which gives her the confidence to try new things. Offering new foods at family meals, where everyone else is eating the foods, also helps her feel more adventurous. Even if she does not like something instantly, I know that she will need at least ten more exposures to a new food before she will truly accept it. (Accepting avocado is still in the works, as she loves guacamole, but still won't touch diced avocado in salads. I know she'll get there, but she has had more than 20 exposures already.) I plan to offer her plenty more opportunities to try these and other new foods again and again. For more insight on helping your child become a competent and adventurous eater, see How Children Learn to Like New Food.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Think your kid isn’t noticing every little thing you do at the table? Think again. I don’t know why, but I’m still always surprised when my two-year-old daughter imitates things we adults do. The other night at dinner for instance, she was very busily tearing her pita into little pieces and dipping them into her avocado hummus and looking around the restaurant while my husband and I ate from the variety of foods on the table, including duck shwarma, which we rolled inside of pita bread and ate with our hands. I had put some duck on my daughter’s plate along with some quinoa salad and lentils, but she had completely ignored them for the whole meal up to that point. All of a sudden, she picked up half of a pita, placed the duck in the center of it, sprinkled some quinoa on top, rolled the whole thing up and happily ate her duck shwarma. I truly thought that she was going to leave the table without having eaten anything but pita and hummus, but she did things at her pace, and she ate what she wanted to and she ate it when she was ready—all without pressure from me or my husband.

It is so gratifying to watch my little girl push herself along to eat a variety of foods and hone her eating skills. I had no idea that she knew how to roll up her own pita! Children observe all of our behaviors and they imitate them. That means they see you when you eat and enjoy your vegetables and they see you sneaking that handful of chips between scheduled meals and snacks. They also respond negatively to pressure of any kind. I’m sure that if we had kept pestering my daughter about eating her duck or any of the other foods on the table, she never would have eaten anything but pita and hummus. If we had praised her for eating the duck, then she would have stopped, too (praising is positive pressure, but pressure nonetheless). Remaining neutral and quiet (i.e. putting on your poker face and talking about anything but food) are important parts of helping our children to advance in their eating competence.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

The recurring question I was asked this week was about helping overweight children, preteens and teens lose weight. Each parent who asked me this question was surprised when I answered them with tips on how to feed rather than what to feed. Most parents thought their work would be to support their child in making changes to his or her diet. Each was surprised to hear that they, rather than their child, would be the ones making most of the changes (though supporting children through their changes is also imperative). Changing our habits is incredibly difficult and it takes ongoing commitment, but it is important. How we parents approach feeding has a lot to do with how and what children eat and it helps to shape their relationship with food.

Feeding an overweight child is such an emotionally charged issue that has the potential to affect childrens’ eating habits and patterns for the rest of their lives, so we must take a deep breath and be thoughtful about how we approach the situation. I urge parents to look at the big picture and focus on long-term success, rather than how the child eats meal by meal. Having dessert or treats a couple times a week is not going to doom a child to obesity for eternity (in fact, the opposite is actually true). Mealtimes can easily become extremely unpleasant for everyone if parents start to play food police and restrict the amount their child is eating. Restricting and controlling your child’s food intake will just make them feel bad about themselves and make them eat more, not less. In order to preserve your child’s self-esteem, prevent eating disorders and make mealtimes enjoyable, parents need to implement the division of responsibility and have daily family meals. Don’t try to teach your child about portion control or choosing “healthy” foods. That’s not your child’s job. Focus instead on doing your job with planning healthful meals, providing plenty of structure around eating, presenting opportunities for physical activity and setting an example of how to handle desserts and other “forbidden” foods. Read Ellyn Satter’s handout Your Child's Weight: Helping Without Harming (PDF) and consider buying her book with the same title for more help.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I’m so excited to be getting back to the routine that the school year provides. This year, I hope to be more organized in my meal and snack planning so that I can cook in advance and have food readily accessible when it is time to eat. Of course, meals and snacks are still structured and planned; I just want to make the execution easier. My first order of business has been breaking out of my snack menu rut. My daughter needs a break from cheese and crackers for a while. I’m sure your kids would appreciate a few new snacks on their menus, too. I scoured the shelves at Gelson’s to find foods that will help add variety and ease to our kids’ daily snack offerings. Check out my September 2011 Nutrition Notes newsletters for some fresh snack ideas. Two of my favorites are the Frozen Banana Sandwiches (my daughter prefers them not frozen) and Kale Chips. Serve Kale Chips with a glass of milk or a hardboiled egg to make the snack more filling and long-lasting. Most of the items I recommend have long shelf lives, so it is easy to keep a good variety on-hand all the time.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I’m proud to say that I successfully “cooked” a family meal this week with the help of my two-year-old. Although what we did was mostly wash, chop, mash and mix, we had a great time preparing and eating our meal together. The menu was simple: Turkey and Avocado Tostada Salad from my August 2011 Nutrition Notes Newsletter and Easy Guacamole (recipe below). My daughter helped me wash the tomatoes, avocado, jalapeno and lime. Jalapeno and lime were unfamiliar foods for her, so we got to talk about them and explore their shapes, textures, colors and flavors. After he cut open, pitted and peeled one of the avocados, my husband got down on the clean floor with my daughter. He put the avocado in the wooden salad bowl (nice big, flat bottom with high sides), handed her a potato masher (the kind with rows of holes on the bottom) and let her go to work mashing up the avocado for guacamole. A lot ended up on the floor, but she enjoyed wiping it up with paper towels as much as she enjoyed mashing it. After the avocado was thoroughly mashed, we transferred it to a serving bowl and she got to mix in the rest of the ingredients. I could tell that my daughter liked helping us and having important responsibilities in the family meal prep process. She was proud of what she made and we all thoroughly enjoyed eating our dinner that we made together.

If you have the time and can tolerate some extra mess to clean up, I highly recommend trying out these recipes with your children. I made the Tostada Salad even easier by using frozen corn that I defrosted in some hot water and by buying three or four ounces of sliced red onion from the salad bar, which I then chopped according to the recipe instructions.

Quick Guacamole

Serves 4

1 ripe organic avocado, pitted and peeled
3-4 tablespoons Casa Sanchez no salt medium salsa organica
1/8-1/4 teaspoon Le Saunier de Camargne Fleur de Sel sea salt

Allow kids to mash avocado until smooth in a bowl with a flat bottom. Measure in salsa and salt (older kids can do the measuring with some supervision). Allow kids to stir ingredients together. Serve with Guiltless Gourmet baked corn tortilla chips and raw or lightly steamed vegetables.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Now that the weather is finally heating up, I’ve been reminded that our little ones need to drink plenty of extra water to stay properly hydrated (infants should not be given water in the first six months of life). I guess my daughter hasn’t been drinking enough this week because she’s been struggling with constipation all of a sudden, confirmation that we need to be offering her even more fluids and water-rich foods. Here is my hot-weather strategy for preventing dehydration:

• I always keep water with us at all times, but I’ll be extra vigilant about offering her sips more frequently.

• Like most kids, she loves very cold water. I usually give her two ice cubes to put into her water, but now I’ll let her count out however many ice cubes she wants into her water cup—and make sure that her water stays cold by replenishing the ice often.

• I always incorporate fruits and vegetables into her meals and snacks because they are an important source of fluid and fiber.

• Melons, berries, citrus, broccoli, cucumbers, lettuce, bell peppers, and corn have especially high water contents, so I will try to incorporate these particular foods into her meals.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Meals with a two-year-old aren’t always easy or fun. Some days they’re just another thing to get through, especially when my daughter is pulling out all the stops on her toddler behavior. It can be difficult to think of how to handle every trick she throws at me while dining at a restaurant or when I’m just plain worn out at the end of a long day. That’s why I was so excited to come across this newsletter from my feeding guru Ellyn Satter: January 2010 • Family Meals Focus #41 • The Division Of Responsibility In The Trenches.

I was so happy and relieved when I read it after a particularly exasperating family meal at a restaurant the other day. My daughter was disruptive and didn’t want to sit down to eat. Reading Ellyn’s advice made me realize that we probably need to cut back on eating at restaurants again, since it is too dangerous to implement Ellyn’s solution of letting her leave the table if she is done eating and it’s not right to make one of the adults interrupt their meal to entertain her outside. Now I feel more prepared for our next challenging meal—which I know will be just around the corner!

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

This morning at breakfast my 2-year-old declared “Mommy, I’m full.” I responded by saying “But you haven’t even had any of your granola with cranberries yet” and proceeded to put a spoonful up to her lips. She took it into her mouth and then promptly spit it out. She rarely spits food out and she is obsessed with dried cranberries right now, so I was really jolted to attention by her reaction.

What was I thinking? Why did I ignore her when she clearly said that she was done eating? She had already eaten a good amount of her breakfast and I know very well that food always gets wasted with toddlers. I felt both regret and relief after she spit out her granola. I instantly felt terrible about pressuring her to take another bite after she clearly stated she was finished eating because I had stepped over the line by doing her job instead of mine. I was actually relieved that she spit out her granola since it showed that she knew for sure that she was done eating and she would not let me interfere. Her strong will is certainly an asset in situations like these!

I’m not perfect and, even after two years, practicing the division of responsibility in feeding is always a work in progress for me. I know that children can regulate their eating better than adults because they are born knowing when they feel hungry and when they feel full. It is only when they are fed with pressure, restraint or agendas (you must eat your vegetables!) that they lose touch with their feelings of hunger and satiety. One of my goals with feeding my daughter is to help preserve her connection to those feelings. After this morning’s incident, I will certainly work harder to stay on my side of the feeding line and not pressure her to eat more than she wants.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I’m not sure about how I feel about expecting children to sit down and eat in a place where they also play. We have a membership to a “children’s restaurant” that also has a big indoor play area as part of the dining room. We go there to play, but never eat there because I think the playground, televisions, video games, music and other children are too distracting to be conducive to a pleasant meal. I hate it when my daughter jumps up and runs around in the middle of a meal and I hate trying to practice good table manners and the Division of Responsibility when there are so many distractions. I always feel anxious and unhappy at the end of meals where I had to try too hard to facilitate my daughter’s eating.

Despite my hang-ups about eating and playing, I’ve been feeling adventurous and relaxed this week after a fantastic vacation (it’s amazing how a little R&R without a toddler can actually make you a better parent when you return home!). I’ve been in a picnicking kind of mood and we had two picnics this week! They went pretty well, mostly because my husband and I were so relaxed from our vacation, I think. On Tuesday we picked up some food from the Service Deli and then headed to a local park. We played at the playground for about an hour. After washing our hands, we relocated to a grassy area away from the playground and ate our dinner on blankets. My daughter, who had worked up an appetite on the playground, dove into her food and enjoyed the new experience of having a picnic (food was all over her and the blanket, but I didn’t care; everything could be thrown in the washing machine later). Luckily, she only got up to run around after she was finished eating, which made the experience even more pleasant. Last night we went to a concert in a small park without a playground, but with lots of people and kids, including some we knew. My daughter ate a little dinner, but not as much as she usually does. She was more interested in socializing and frankly, so was I. I did not eat as much as I normally do, either. I didn’t worry about how much she ate or how much food was on her clothes; we were having fun and enjoying this new experience. I think that the messiness of Tuesday’s picnic, combined with the recent experience of surviving my daughter not eating any dinner one night AND the fact that we are very structured with eating at most other meals helped me be more relaxed at this special occasion meal. On the way home, we all felt happy and satisfied and we agreed that we would go again next week.

I don’t think that our positive picnic experiences will open me up to eating at the “children’s restaurant” and I’m not going to start allowing toys or unnecessary distractions at most meals, but I am certainly looking forward to having more special family meals like the ones we had this week. These kinds of experiences make for happy memories and they help to bring us closer together as a family—and isn’t that the way we should hope to feel after most family meals?

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

We recently had a family over for breakfast and it was a blast. It was so easy and relaxed that I have to share my strategy with you. I don’t think brunch is realistic for toddlers because you can’t disrupt their meal schedules too much (that won’t be fun for anyone!). Lunch is kind of in the middle of the day and dinner is too big of a production, but breakfast is just the perfect time to get families together for a meal/playdate. I wanted to make something a little special, so I made my Spinach, Cheese and Mushroom Strata. It was a big hit with everyone and so stress-free! I assembled it the night before, stuck it in the fridge, and when I woke up in the morning, popped it in the oven to cook for an hour. It was ready when the doorbell rang. I also made a little fresh fruit salad, sliced a colorful variety of heirloom tomatoes (lightly sprinkled with sea salt and olive oil), put out a bowl of Greek yogurt and a dish of granola. I brewed some coffee for the adults and voilà! Cleaning up was easy and quick and my kitchen didn’t look like a tornado had hit it when the guests arrived because I had cleaned up all the preparation mess and set the table the night before. The meal was delicious, fun and relaxed—now we want to entertain every Sunday morning!

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Whether and how much--that’s my daughter's job. What, when and where--that's my job. Yet when my two year old did not take a single bite of her dinner on Monday night, it was a little hard for me to accept her choice. I went out of my way to make dinner for us and she even got to help me find lids for the pots and set the table. Things were going so well, and then…nothing. Not a single bite or sip. She said she wasn’t hungry and instead of eating, chose to play near the dinner table (but not at the table). My husband and I reminded each other that it was up to her to choose if and how much she would eat. We also tried to keep the dinner conversation at the table and not engage her too much or ignore her. We did not pressure her to come to the table or take a bite of food, but we did give her a couple of neutral reminders that dinner would be ending soon. While we were getting her ready for bed, I checked in with her and she said she wasn't hungry. I responded by confirming what she already knows: "you never have to eat if you're not hungry." I hope she will continue to be in touch with her hunger and satiety for the rest of her life, as it is such an essential part of having a healthy relationship with food. Not pressuring her to eat is an important way that we can help her maintain her ability to eat—or not eat—the amount that is right for her body at any given meal or snack.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Our family meals had been getting a little hectic in the past few weeks as my daughter hasn’t had much patience for sitting at the table. The other morning, however, she told us that she wanted to sit in one of our chairs instead of her high chair (we haven’t used the tray in months; we just pull it right up to the table). I put a towel down over the upholstered seat and she happily climbed onto the chair. Voila! Breakfast was pleasant again!

It turns out that my daughter just wanted to sit in a chair like everyone else at meal times. Mimicking those around her and repeating everything we say is her latest stage of development. It’s fun, and I’m thrilled that I could accommodate her request to sit in a chair simply by protecting the fabric seat with a towel (it’s OK to take measures to protect furniture against food and dirty little hands). Granting small requests is often easy for us and it really can empower children, especially when they are pushing themselves to advance in their eating. I try to look for opportunities to support my daughter when she wants to try new, safe things at the table.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I love getting updates from parents who have been on my Super 4 Kids tours. It is so gratifying to hear success stories, see the relief on parents’ faces and learn about which new foods got the “thumbs up” from all the family members. I also love being able to personally help troubleshoot any issues that families may still be struggling with. This past week, I got to check in with a couple of moms. One told me she was still struggling to get her child to eat meat and the other recounted the different cooking stunts she was trying to get her child to eat “kid foods.” I first reminded these women that toddlers are like little teenagers and the more you want your child to eat something, the more they resist doing it, so pressuring will not work. Second, meat, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese and PB&J sandwiches are not essential to health, so we shouldn’t get too riled up when kids reject these foods.

But we shouldn’t get upset when kids reject their vegetables, either. Our job as parents is to help build competent eaters who can eat a wide variety of foods (flavors, textures, temperatures and colors), not just those that are their favorites and certainly not just goldfish crackers and hot dogs. We should focus on long-term eating habits. It’s more important that children will eat vegetables for the rest of their lives, than just at dinner tonight. The thing about children, though, is that they won’t eat foods that don’t taste good. They’re not going to devour a plate of plain steamed broccoli much past the age of one—unless you make it taste good.

In order to grow into being competent eaters, children need to have positive eating experiences and to view food as something exciting and enjoyable. Offering good tasting food (but not mostly bland, sweet or salty “kid foods”) is part of what we need to do and not pressuring them to eat it is another part. Even positive pressure, like saying “yum,” or praising is still pressure and it will backfire. We parents need to do our job with providing regularly scheduled, good tasting, nutritionally-balanced meals and snacks and stop trying so hard to control what we can’t control. Offer support and serve previously unaccepted foods again and again, but don’t struggle, pressure or say much and children will learn to enjoy a variety of foods…eventually. Dr. Katja Rowell at Family Feeding Dynamics has a great personal blog post about her daughter’s eating: they don’t, they don’t, they don’t, then suddenly they do…

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I try my best to be prepared with well-planned meals and snacks for my daughter. I batch cook beans, grains and vegetables and freeze them in individual portions, so there is always a good variety of foods for us to choose from when we plan her meals and snacks. I combine a protein, a starch, two vegetables and fresh fruit to make her lunch and dinner. But I’m not always perfect when it comes to planning and feeding. For example, I’m not cooking as much as I used to and we are eating more take-out and restaurant foods for dinner, which is usually a family meal. That means lots of bread and butter, fewer vegetables and less organic foods for my daughter. We also get a little sloppy with the Division of Responsibility on occasion and end up granting her food requests (not the end of the world since we plan the meals and set the schedule 99% of the time). This happened on her first day of camp last week. I forgot that we need to pack a nut-free lunch (more of a snack than a lunch because they eat at 10:45), so there weren’t a lot of choices ready to go. I told my daughter I was going to pack cheese, crackers and blueberries and she asked for apples instead of berries. Her lunch was all the same unappealing color of beige and I was embarrassed when a parent asked me--the nutrition expert--if this was an example of a good lunch. Oops. No, it should be more colorful and include at least one vegetable. We will do better next week…

This weekend, I’m going to get organized and cook. I’ve been meaning to try kale chips (stay tuned for a recipe) and I think my Spinach and Cheese Mini Quiches will travel well in her lunchbox, so I will whip up a batch of those to keep in the freezer. I’d love to have a couple of weeknight dinners ready to defrost from the freezer, too, so I will make my Mojo Chicken recipe and substitute a couple of thighs for breasts since dark meat contains iron that is important for kids. I think that’s pretty ambitious, but I want to use my free time to be more prepared for hectic weekday schedules that could otherwise lead us down a less healthful path.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My 24-month old daughter has been taking antibiotics three times a day for the past week. She had to take antibiotics once before when she was an infant and the experience was very unpleasant for her and for all of us who were administering it. I really wanted to make things go more smoothly this time, so I did some research.

I learned that the Division of Responsibility doesn’t work with medicine like it does with food because kids have to take their meds—they can’t decide whether or how much in this situation. However, you can use what you know from practicing the Division of Responsibility to make things go well. Think patience, respect, neutrality and empowerment. We empower my daughter with the job of giving herself her medicine. We say, “Here is your medicine. It is your job to take it.” When it is time for her to take her medicine, we hold her in our arms or sit at the table with her in our lap and we set the medicine-filled graduated spoon in front of her. Sometimes she refuses the medicine at first, but we try to remain neutral and tell her that she has to take it so she can get better and remind her how much better it has already helped her feel. We sympathize with the yucky taste, too (medicine tastes nasty and it is cruel to ignore this fact), and we give her a bite or two of something yummy to wash down the medicine with.

We allow her to choose between a square of dark chocolate (Green & Black’s Organic 85% dark chocolate) or a teaspoon of ice cream (Alden’s Organic vanilla bean ice cream) and we put her choice out with the medicine and a cup of water. I know that I wrote about the dangers of rewarding with food a few weeks ago, but this is not exactly food reward. Plus, it is a very temporary arrangement and we will go back to offering treats just twice a week when she finishes her regimen. (Food rewards become a problem when they are used to manipulate or when they are used on an ongoing basis, but not when they are used on a temporary basis.) Each day we try to be more neutral and matter of fact about everything medicine-related. Although things are going well this time around, I’ll be very happy when she finishes her prescription!

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Dads play an important role in influencing their family’s eating and other health-related behaviors, but they may not be aware of just how pivotal they are in teaching their kids healthy habits. Studies show that children watch--and imitate--their parents, so modeling good eating habits is imperative if children are to learn to be competent eaters. Poor eating habits don’t magically disappear when we become parents, but for the sake of raising competent eaters, we parents should try to either get over our eating issues or learn to hide them really well (I, of course, recommend the former).

There are many things that dads can do to help their children grow to enjoy all foods, behave well at the table, eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. Having family meals is probably #1 on my list. This is the most important opportunity parents have to model eating and enjoying a variety of healthful foods as well as using good table manners. One meal a day should be your goal for eating together and it can even be breakfast. If dads don’t eat and enjoy a variety of foods themselves, then they should work on expanding their diets at the same time as they help their children do so. Make trying new vegetables a family project. Next on the list is to be on the same page as their partner when it comes to the parenting part of feeding (remember that kids see everything, especially conflicts!). I hope you will both agree on practicing Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility In Feeding in which parents decide the what, when and where of feeding and children decide whether and how much to eat. If parents can agree on and implement this method, mealtimes will be much more pleasant and everyone will be much happier at the table. Finally, I know that many dads are in charge of grocery shopping, meal planning and/or cooking, so I urge dads to make healthful choices for their families and always emphasize produce-centered meals and minimally-processed foods. Just in time for Father’s Day, a study has been released that reveals Fathers' Use of Restaurants Affect Children More Than Mothers' Use. Happy Father’s Day!

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Two is such a magical age. Feeding has already become more challenging in the last week! My daughter’s new “toddler test” (I call it that because toddlers are always testing limits to see how far you’ll allow them to go before saying “no”) is standing up in her high chair seat and demanding “down, Mommy!” Meals are less pleasant with this interruption, especially if we are at a restaurant. We always respond by holding on to her and saying “It is dangerous to stand up in your chair and we don’t want you to get hurt. Please sit down.” Then we ask “are you done eating?” She always says “yes.” If we are at home, we say “it’s OK if you’re done, but Mommy and Daddy aren’t done eating yet, so if you go away from the table, we can’t get up with you to play because we’re still eating. We would love it if you could sit with us and keep us company while we finished. Would you like to sit with us a little longer and have your fruit now or do you want to get down?” Sometimes she chooses to eat her fruit and sometimes she chooses to leave the table. Things really fall apart when she chooses to leave the table because she doesn’t quite know what to do with herself and she starts trying to make us get up with her. We hold firm in our position and endure the remainder of the disrupted meal. If she comes back to the table and starts to eat while standing up, we tell her that if she wants to eat more, she has to sit back down at the table, because we only eat while sitting at the table. She usually chooses to sit back down and eats the remainder of her meal. If we are at a restaurant when this happens, we say a lot of the same things and allow her to choose between sitting on one of our laps and staying in her chair. Of course, this is not ideal, but at least it empowers her with the ability to choose between two safe options.

During this phase, we are making even more of an effort to not pressure my daughter to eat because she will absolutely rebel against eating if we do; and we need to be more careful about having the right amount of time between snacks and meals. Last night I know she had her afternoon snack too close to dinner and was even asking for more right up until dinner time (we have to say “no” when she panhandles in between scheduled eating times so she learns that meals are designated eating times). When kids don’t come to the table ready to eat, they have very little tolerance for sitting. At this age, kids seem to have even less endurance for extended meals, so we need to set appropriate limits on their behavior (especially if it is dangerous), respect their appetite and eating rhythms, and still support them through learning how to eat and behave at the table.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My baby girl will be two years old tomorrow. The last two years have flown by! When I reflect back on how much she has grown and developed in such a short period of time, I am astonished by her capacity to struggle through each new physical, intellectual and emotional challenge and incorporate her new skills on a daily basis. I look at this little person who was so helpless just a few months ago and marvel at the independent person she is becoming. I have learned and grown so much in the past two years, too. I am grateful for having the opportunity to document my journey with feeding her in this blog, as it has helped me stay attuned to my daughter’s phases and forced me to both look for solutions when feeding challenges arose and to seek opportunities in supporting her in advancing to the next level of eating when things were going well—and share it all with you. Using Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility in Feeding her from the beginning has helped my daughter become a competent eater who can eat a variety of foods, be polite at the table, feed herself with a spoon, a fork and her hands, and remain in touch with her hunger and satiety. Our feeding relationship has a good foundation because we respect and trust each other. I know this will serve us well as she enters more challenging phases of toddlerhood in the coming months.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Yesterday I was talking to a caregiver who told me that her charge was “bad” at school that day so he wouldn’t be getting his favorite meal that he had previously been promised for dinner that night. Instead, he would be getting a “healthy” dinner that he didn’t like so much. From a parenting perspective, I understand that parents/caregivers employ a range of discipline methods, but as a dietitian, I don’t recommend using food as a punishment or a reward because it can set kids up for emotional eating and a troubled relationship with food that can last for the rest of their lives. When broccoli is your punishment food and pizza is your reward food, it’s easy to see how positive and negative associations can be made with food and how this can influence a child’s palate and food choices. Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, MS, RD has an excellent post about the long-term consequences of using food to punish and reward in her Raise Healthy Eaters Blog this week: What Rewarding Kids with Food Looks Like 20 Years Later.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Last week I was away at a nutrition conference that was absolutely amazing. I learned a lot and my “mommy brain” (yes, I think I still have a little after nearly two years!) is still buzzing with all of the new information I heard. Although the conference was mainly focused on adult health and nutrition, children’s eating and nutrition came up several times. It was abundantly clear that many health-care providers don’t know much about the parenting part of feeding, though this group did know a lot about what foods are healthful. Each day I found myself wanting to stand up in front of 1,000 people and yell “spend 15 minutes at www.ellynsatter.com, please!” Her division of responsibility in feeding is so powerful that it should not be a secret! Anyway, despite that little beef, I did come away with a few good, but random, points about children’s health that I want to share with you:

1. Soil (and foods that grow in soil) is good for human health. Soil contains many healthful components that can enter our systems and help us be healthier. It is believed to be the reason why farmers have fewer allergies and better immune systems. It is probably also the reason why people who eat a wide variety of foods are healthier than those who don’t. You should still wash your fruits and vegetables, sanitize your kitchen sink and counters and vacuum your house, but you and your kids should also stick your hands and feet in some dirt or sand sometimes. The day I came home from the conference, I took off my daughter’s shoes and socks and put her outside in the backyard to play. I’m also thinking about starting a little garden where we can really get our hands dirty!

2. When kids have to take medicine or even vitamin supplements, especially for a prolonged period of time, it is important to teach them that they have some control over their bodies. Let them know what they can do to help themselves be healthier so that they don’t learn that all you have to do to be healthy or get better is take a pill. We give my toddler vitamin D drops every morning and now we will start telling her something to the effect of “we get some vitamin D when we play in the sun, but since it’s not always sunny and we don’t have a chance to play outside every day, we all take vitamin D to make sure we get all that we need.”

3. Sugar, especially the type of sugar in high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice and table sugar, may be more unhealthful than we originally thought. When it is consumed regularly and generously, as in the typical American diet, it can really start to affect blood pressure, liver health, fat storage and diabetes risk. I have a renewed enthusiasm for helping families cut back on the amount of added sugar that they eat. I’m not preaching NO sugar, and I’m not saying you can’t add a little sugar to foods here and there, but I am asking you to use added sugar and sweets in more moderate amounts. In other words: a treat should be a treat; something eaten once or twice a week so that it is a special occasion food and not an everyday food. For example, if juice or sweetened beverages are your thing, then maybe work towards cutting back to one serving a week. Have an excellent dessert once a week, too. The amazing thing about our tongues is that our taste buds turn over every three weeks, so children and adults can get used to less sweet and less salty flavors in three to six weeks.

I told you I learned some random stuff! I’m excited about these three new concepts and I look forward to continuing to put my new knowledge into practice and helping your families do the same!

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I try to keep “normal” toddler behavior in mind when my daughter does something unexpected and when I hear from parents about their feeding concerns. When a toddler doesn’t want to sit at the dinner table for 45 or 60 minutes or a young toddler can’t fully chew a sandwich or a piece of pizza, those are pretty normal things for children in this age range. Changes in appetite are normal, too. A couple of months ago, I stopped sharing my food with my daughter and started ordering her her own meals at restaurants because she was eating about 75% of the portions we were sharing, yet yesterday at lunch all she ate was butter with three slices of bread. Today at lunch she ate only a bite of each food on her plate. It’s weird to see her eat so much less than usual, but it is normal for toddlers’ appetites to vary. Their growth rate does slow down eventually, and with it, their appetites. You can really only expect a toddler to eat one or two good meals a day. It is more important now than ever to stick to a feeding schedule with meals and snacks spaced out every two to three hours. Don’t give in when they ask for food at non-scheduled meals or snacks, since they will not be able to come to the table ready to eat at scheduled meal times if they are allowed to graze. Offer them water, but otherwise ask them to hang on until the next meal or snack time, which should be soon. Growing up can be difficult, but as parents and caregivers, we need to support our kids through these challenges and help them advance to the next level of eating, whether it be sitting at the table for the duration of a family meal or even biting and chewing a sandwich. When it comes to appetite, however, it’s important to honor what they are feeling. We need to back off and allow them to listen to their bodies. I truly feel that helping our kids stay in touch with their hunger and satiety as they grow up is one of the most important gifts we can give them. Be patient with your toddler’s toddler behavior and remember that even if it is strange or unusual, it is probably somewhere on the spectrum of “normal.”

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms who read this blog! I know that your families will let you know how much they love and appreciate you on Sunday, but I hope that you will take the time to honor yourself and all of the work you do to be the best parent that you can possibly be. We moms can be so hard on ourselves; expecting perfection in all that we do. This Mother’s day, my wish for all of us is that we just let go for a while and enjoy all that we have created: our children, our families, our lives. Don’t worry if the kids ate enough vegetables or drank enough milk today. Stop pressuring yourself to lose the last of your “baby weight” and have dessert (and a cocktail!). Don’t kill yourself to make sure the kids go to sleep at their exact scheduled nap or bedtime. Just have fun, hang out, smile, laugh and stop trying to be perfect for a little while. For inspiration on how and why to start appreciating yourself a little bit more, read Tara Parker-Pope’s article Go Easy On Yourself, a New Wave Of Research Urges and enjoy your day!

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter is almost two years old and I’m amazed by how grown up she looks and behaves sometimes. At the table, she has really mastered eating with a spoon, is proficient with a fork and a glass and even puts her napkin in her lap. She is quite independent with her eating, but she still needs help from an adult sometimes. The other night we ate dinner outdoors at a casual restaurant and there was so much going on (busses driving by, babies at the next table, friends coming over to say “hi” and even a waterfall within sight) that my daughter just couldn’t focus on her meal. She spent most of her time swiveling her head from side to side so as not to miss any of the action. We couldn’t remove the distractions, so my husband and I helped her along by offering—but not forcing-- her bites of food when her mouth was in either of our general directions. She ate poorly to say the least and I worried that she was going to bed hungry, but she was fine. We will certainly be more mindful of the environments we choose to eat in from now on (take-out might be best from that restaurant for a while) and that dinner was a good reminder of how important it is to stay tuned into our little one’s needs at the table and help her just enough that she could at least participate in the meal, but not so much that we were forcing her to eat. She may be showing signs of independence, but it will clearly be a long time before I’ll be able to focus solely on my own dinner plate.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter loves butter (she calls it “bhuddeh”). For her, bread is merely a vehicle for getting the butter into her mouth. This week, she started eating butter straight up. Her politely nibbling on a chunk of butter the other night at dinner while everyone else at the table remained neutral made me realize how much progress we have made in practicing Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility in Feeding. Although we have been committed to it since we started feeding her, it does take a long time to settle into a feeding relationship that can feel very counter-intuitive to us grownups at times. Most adults don’t eat plain butter because, although it is delicious, it is not socially acceptable to eat forkfuls of condiments, and it is high in saturated fat and calories. Kids don’t know about social norms, though — they only know that they want to eat what tastes good. Although our initial instinct might have been to redirect the butter from her fork onto a piece of bread or even limit the quantity she ate, we are mastering what it truly means to only decide the what, when and where of feeding my daughter. We did our job by putting foods on the table that we are comfortable with my daughter eating — and she did her job by choosing to eat it in the amount and style that she wanted.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Every morning when I plan my daughter’s meals for the day I have to remind myself to add enough fat to her meals. Kids need fat in their diets, and many children don’t have enough total fat or they don’t have the right balance of fats in their diets. Fat is important for enhancing the flavor and mouth feel of foods—and we all know that children won’t eat foods that don’t taste good. Certain fats promote heart, brain, eye and skin health, especially when consumed in the right proportions (too much saturated fat is unhealthy, and there is no safe amount of trans fat). Fat also promotes satiety and helps to control blood sugar and it is a concentrated source of calories (important for kids whose tummies can’t hold a lot of food). The main fat in our diets should come from organic extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil, which is high in monounsaturated fats and important antioxidants. Other great sources of monounsaturated fats are avocado, nuts and seeds. Omega-3 fats are also important to include regularly. They can mostly be found in fatty fish, like salmon, canned tuna, black cod, herring and sardines and are also in omega-3 eggs and the meat and dairy products from animals that eat grass.

My daughter eats a mostly plant-based diet, which is naturally low in fat, so I have to go out of my way to add fat to her meals. Here are some of the things I do:

• Sauté vegetables in organic extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil. This works great for steamed cauliflower, broccolini and Brussels sprouts, as well as raw baby spinach and sliced summer squash. Add a little fresh minced garlic for awesome flavor.

• Serve almond butter sandwiches at meals or apples dipped in almond butter for snacks.

• Serve fatty fish, twice a week.

• Add butter to her brown rice, grits and bread.

• Spread mashed avocado on sandwiches, serve it diced in salads and made into guacamole for snacks.

• When cooking soups, stews and beans, start by sautéing vegetables in olive oil.

• Include softened sunflower and pumpkin seeds in granola or oatmeal.

I want to help my daughter have good self-esteem, trust herself, be independent and not have to look outside of herself for praise to know when she has made an effort to do something that she should feel good about. Mealtimes are a great time to work towards these goals. We don’t tell her when she’s had enough to eat or needs to eat more (doing so would diminish her trust in herself). We also try not to pressure her to eat or try anything new, instead we empower and support her in trying new foods by serving them on several different occasions (ten to 20, at least), eating them ourselves and by not talking too much about the food. When she tries something new, we remain neutral or casually acknowledge that she is tasting something that she had not had before instead of saying “good job” since praise can be positive pressure and we also don’t want to have to praise her for every bite of food that she takes. When it comes to feeding, being neutral is important; we want to allow our daughter to form her own opinions, since taste is, after all, very subjective.

But things don’t always go as planned, as we parents have learned on so many occasions. The other night at a family meal, my daughter served herself some yellow mustard that was on the table. When she stuck her spoon into it, someone at the table warned her “you’re not going to like that” and then after she tasted it and puckered her mouth came “see, I told you that you weren’t going to like it. Try it with some chicken.” My daughter, despite her puckering face, kept eating spoon after spoon of mustard. She was obviously enjoying something about it, despite what her expression was saying (or maybe she was being defiant). I would have preferred to have a conversation with my daughter about the sensations she was experiencing, but I was too busy trying to quiet the commentary.

Of course we want to protect our children from getting hurt or having unpleasant experiences, but allowing them to taste something with a strong flavor, like mustard, is not going to harm them. The remarks coming from an adult she trusts sent the message “you can’t trust yourself to know what you like and don’t like. Check with me before you try something new and I’ll tell you if you’ll like it.” My daughter might have even felt that there was something wrong with her for liking something that someone she trusted did not like. Not a great way to foster independence or trust. Resisting our instincts to protect or praise is really difficult, but the rewards can be great. For more information on building self-esteem see the article A Problem with Praise by the authors of my favorite parenting book, Becoming the Parent You Want to Be.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

This week I’ve heard from several concerned and frustrated parents that their toddlers are rejecting foods that they used to love. No more sandwiches, broccoli, pasta, etc. Parents, you are not alone. Loving a food one day and rejecting it the next is part of what toddlers do. They also eat a lot one day and close to nothing the following day. Sometimes they go through phases where they don’t want the different foods on their plate to touch each other and occasionally they only want to eat foods of a certain color. Don’t lose your resolve: please don’t start short-order cooking or showing your frustration/disappointment (try to remain as neutral as possible) when they reject foods they normally love. Keep doing your job with planning family-friendly meals, providing meals and snacks every 2-3 hours and bringing everyone to the table to eat. Support your child through this phase, but don’t pressure them to eat foods they don’t want. When planning meals, plan one meal for the whole family and include both foods that you like to eat and one or two foods that you know your toddler will eat. It takes time and patience, but eventually your toddler will come back around.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Now that my 21-month-old daughter is talking, I can see how feeding is going to get more challenging. She can now request her favorite foods by name, which opens us up to a certain amount of conflict. The other night at the end of a family dinner she decided that she wanted to have her favorite o-shaped cereal, which she calls “oooss.” I responded by saying that we were not having “Os” for dinner, but she could have more of anything else on the table if she was still hungry and that she could have “Os” for breakfast the following morning. She responded by howling “oooss! oooss!” and stamping her feet. This back and forth went on for about ten minutes (it felt like that long, at least). I admit that if my husband had not been there supporting our stance against short order cooking that I might have caved in and given her the cereal (it was a very cute tantrum). Instead, we stood our ground and she decided that she was done eating if she couldn’t have cereal. She quickly got over her disappointment when we left the table and the next morning she happily ate five bowls of “Os” for breakfast.

It is so tempting to give our children what they want when they ask for it, but with feeding, it is important to maintain the division of responsibility so that we don’t become short order cooks and children don’t become demanding and finicky eaters. Remember: the parent or caregiver’s job is to plan the meals and snacks as well as the eating schedule and dining location and the child’s job is to decide if and how much they eat from what is being offered. That means kids don’t get their mid-meal special requests granted and we don’t short-order cook. When we are committed to doing our jobs (and are willing to withstand the occasional tantrum), children will do theirs and the feeding relationship will generally be more harmonious.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I’m a huge proponent of family meals. They are important opportunities to model healthy eating behaviors and ensure that children eat more nutritious foods. They also help build strong familial and social bonds. There is tons of research that points to the many benefits of eating together as a family on a regular basis. In order to have a healthy family, you really do have to pledge to eat meals together at least once a day. Family meals can be breakfast (that’s what we do at our house), or any meal. I, however, am fixated on finding a way to fit family dinner into our crazy weeknights. That’s why I’m very excited about two new cookbooks that I just picked up. The first is The Family Dinner by Laurie David. I have barely delved into the recipes yet because this book is filled with so much wonderful information, including cooking, health and environmental tips; chef interviews; expert recommendations; and stories. The ones I have looked at are easy, quick and healthful for the most part. The other book is called SOS! The Six O’clock Scramble to the Rescue by Aviva Goldfarb. It’s all about getting a wholesome weeknight meal on the table in about 30 minutes while still using fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. The recipes are organized by seasons, with five weeks’ worth of dinner entrees (each with side dish serving suggestions) per season. You can even download shopping lists at the book’s website. Check out both books and see if they can help you get a family-friendly dinner on the table on a weeknight: thefamilydinnerbook.com/ and thescramble.com.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Today’s tsunami is a good reminder that we should all have our emergency preparedness kits up-to-date and complete. I was up in the middle of the night worrying about just how unprepared my household is for a natural disaster — especially if one should hit us in the next few hours. Having a young child and an elderly cat to care for makes the prospect of preparing for and enduring a natural disaster that much scarier. This weekend I am definitely planning to re-stock my pantry with shelf-stable foods and plenty of water and purchase an emergency kit. If you plan to do the same, check out my February 2010 newsletter, Preparing your Pantry for an Emergency.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My 21-month-old daughter came very close to being obsessed with raisins recently. Here’s what happened: she usually eats plain oatmeal cooked in milk and sprinkled with cinnamon as part of her breakfast. She was perfectly happy with this recipe until one of her caregivers decided that she would eat more or better if we sweetened it up with some raisins. My daughter loved her new and improved oatmeal and started refusing to eat her oatmeal without raisins. Her wanting the raisins so badly made me want to resist giving them to her at first. Once or twice I told her that we didn’t have any raisins and we would have them again tomorrow, but she would just fuss and point to the pantry from her high chair instead of eating her plain oatmeal (she can’t say “raisins” yet). On other days I tried serving her only cereal or almond butter and jam sandwiches instead of any oatmeal, but she still just wanted the raisins. The raisin situation was really nagging at me; the way I was handling it just didn’t feel right. My husband and I discussed it several times and we came to three significant conclusions. First, raisins aren’t that bad — yes, they are not good for her teeth and they are high in sugar, but most parents would be thrilled if their toddler got that excited about eating raisins. Second, we eat raisins in our granola every day and don’t think twice about it, so the double-standard really is not fair. Finally, the bigger the deal we make about her not having raisins, the more she is going to want them. We decided to stop making a big deal about the raisins and start serving them every morning with her breakfast before she could even ask for them and we served her more if she asked for seconds or even thirds. She was thrilled. At first she would only eat a bite of oatmeal if there was a raisin in it, but in the last couple of days she has even taken a few bites of oatmeal without raisins. This morning we served her an almond butter and jam sandwich with a banana. We completely forgot about the raisins and so did she.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

We try to practice the division of responsibility in feeding with my 20-month-old daughter: we the parents and caregivers decide the what, when and where of feeding and she decides whether and how much to eat. Yesterday, however, in a break from our routine my daughter also got to decide the what. I was very impressed with her menu: Organic Valley Munster cheese on Food for Life Ezekiel bread with mustard, edamame and apple. She did a great job of planning a well-balanced and colorful meal, but that really isn’t her job. Kids don’t have the capacity to plan meals until they are about 12 or 13. (Think about how difficult it is for us adults to plan balanced, healthful meals most of the time!) Balanced meals can help kids get the nutrients they need and grow optimally. Try to include a plant or animal protein, a starch (preferably whole-grain), one or two vegetables and a fruit at most meals. Making sure that the plate is colorful and has foods with different textures and flavors is important, too. If you feel like your family is in a food rut or needs some extra help with feeding, get a group of at least six parents together and organize a Super 4 Kids shopping tour with me at your local Gelson’s. It’s free, fun and informative! Email me at nutrition@gelsons.com or call me at 1-800-GELSONS to find out more.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Talking too much about food can really get us adults into trouble. It seems like the more we talk to our little ones about what they are eating or are going to eat, the more pressure we inadvertently put on them and the more self-conscious we make them about their eating. Pressure at the table makes kids rebellious and it can weaken the trust in your feeding relationship. The more you want them to eat or not eat something, the more they will resist doing what you want. Most parents are surprised to hear that remarking on how “yummy” something is is considered positive pressure, but pressure nonetheless. What if they don’t like something that you think is delicious? Could there be something wrong with them? Making conversation about the size of their meal can be dangerous too. Did they eat too much or too little? Can they trust themselves to eat the amount that is right for them? It can be difficult to make conversation with a toddler, but it will be best for the whole family if you try to think of things to talk about besides the food you are eating.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I would call my daughter an adventurous eater. If there is something new on a plate near hers she will usually reach out and grab it without hesitation. Not always, though. The other night we were having a family meal. The meal included edamame (which she loves) and spicy tuna avocado cut rolls with both brown and white rice. She has never tried sushi before, so I dipped one of each variety into a little low-sodium soy sauce and put them on her plate. She watched everyone else eating their sushi before she picked hers up. The one she decided to try had brown rice (probably because she isn’t familiar with white rice). She put the soy sauce side on her tongue, removed it from her mouth, shrugged her shoulders, handed it to me and made kind of a little unhappy grunt. I tried to remain neutral by not saying anything and put it back on her plate. She moved on to her edamame and put the brown rice sushi on her tongue and took it out a few more times over the course of the meal. It never got further than her tongue, but that’s OK. These were very new flavors, spices and textures for her. I could tell that she wanted to like it. It was probably too spicy for her and let’s face it, brown rice sushi is better for you, but not all that yummy. Maybe she would have liked the white rice better and maybe she would have preferred it without the spicy sauce. She will have plenty more opportunities to try sushi and develop a taste for the unusual flavors. For an interesting story and good information about supporting your child through trying new foods, check out the Family Feeding Dynamics Blog post “That looks kinda good…” how to respond to the picky eater.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I’ve recently spoken to a couple of moms whose toddler daughters are “off the charts” in weight percentiles. My daughter is “off the charts” for her height and honestly that makes me a little nervous (her weight is somewhere in the middle of the growth charts). I know that there is nothing I can do about her unusual height, but I can only imagine how parents with heavier than average children must feel—is there something they did or something they can still do to keep their child from being so much heavier than her peers? It can be hard to accept that your child is not turning out exactly how you hoped or expected her to. Even if a child is meant to be a large person, that doesn’t mean she has to be obese. There are things you can do to help your child be at the right weight for their bodies—and putting them on a diet is NOT one of them! First, have family meals at least once a day. Second, adhere fiercely to Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility in feeding. Finally, read her handout Your Child's Weight: Helping Without Harming (PDF).

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Avocado was my daughter’s first food. She was into it the first three times she had it, but after being introduced to other textures and flavors, she decided that she didn’t want to eat it anymore. We have continued to offer her avocado occasionally and we happily eat it ourselves, but our little toddler has not accepted it. We had a breakthrough the other day, though. I was eating a green salad that contained guacamole, among other vegetables. My daughter wanted to share my salad, so I offered her tomato and beans smeared with the guacamole and she actually ate it. I told her that it was avocado (I’m always honest about what I’m offering her—no tricks allowed) and she was cool with it. Although I know that it takes ten to 20 exposures to a food before a child truly accepts it, in the back of my mind I had always thought of avocado as something my daughter didn’t like. This was a great reminder that offering new foods many times and in different forms is important for supporting children in trying and accepting new foods.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter really loves beans and legumes. She usually eats them as her protein at one meal each day. When other parents see her eating them they exclaim something to the effect of “my kids wouldn’t touch that stuff with a 10-foot pole!” I try to remind everyone that kids need at least 10—and sometimes 20—exposures to a food before they truly accept it AND that parents need to model eating and enjoying beans themselves if they expect their children to even try them. I cook a lot of beans and legumes from scratch, but I also put canned kidney and garbanzo beans in salads and soups (don’t forget to rinse them first to remove excess sodium). Dried lentils and split peas are my favorites to make because I don’t have to think about soaking them ahead of time. Here is my daughter’s favorite recipe for lentils:

Basic Lentils
Makes about 5 cups

2 1/2 tablespoons Napa Valley organic olive oil
1 cup organic onion, diced (about 1 cup; try the diced refrigerated onions in the produce department!)
1 medium organic shallot, diced
1 cup organic baby carrots, sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds
1 1/2 stalks organic celery, diced small
1 large clove organic garlic, minced
1 1-pound bag Natural Directions organic dried lentils, picked over and rinsed
6 cups hot water or Imagine Organic low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (optional)

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion, shallot, carrot and celery and cook until onion is clear and soft, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add lentils and hot water or broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Tilt cover and simmer about 35-45 minutes until carrots and lentils are tender. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

The lentils are soupy, but not exactly lentil soup. I serve them over brown rice or quinoa. For extra flavor, you can stir in a little balsamic vinegar at the end. I use all organic ingredients, but you don’t have to. This recipe freezes and reheats very nicely; I freeze it in individual portions.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter recently caught one of the nasty stomach bugs that has been going around. Hydrating and feeding a child that has been vomiting and has diarrhea is not easy and I found very little information about what exactly they should be drinking and eating to help prevent dehydration and soothe an upset tummy. Here are some of my suggestions for toddlers and children based on what we tried and what I know from my dietetics training:

• When they are still vomiting and having diarrhea you need to be very careful about preventing dehydration.

• Give them plenty of clear fluids: water, Pedialite (which has horrible ingredients like artificial colors and artificial sweeteners, but the pediatricians recommend it), coconut water, flat Reed’s ginger beer (ginger ale made with real ginger for soothing the stomach), clear broths, chamomile tea, clear fruit juice (light color if you don’t want everything stained red), Gatorade G Series All Stars ice punch flavor (no artificial colors), popsicles and fruit ices without chunks of fruit, and Jell-O.

• NO milk or other dairy products.

• When they can keep the fluids down, try some dry, mild, low-fat carbs for the first feeding. We did a lot of Kashi Heart to Heart, Cheerio’s and Oliver’s organic French country bread toasted and thinly spread with Fior di Frutta apricot preserves for the first day or two. You can also try Sunshine Krispy soup & oyster crackers, Sesmark brown rice crackers and white rice.

• After a couple of meals that successfully stay down, you can add bananas and applesauce.

• When it seems like your child is ready to progress to other foods, try chicken or turkey breast, lean broiled steak, white fish, egg whites, almond butter or peanut butter, baked or boiled potatoes or sweet potatoes without skin, steamed or boiled butternut squash or carrots, low-fat cheese like string cheese, plain or vanilla nonfat yogurt, cream of wheat hot cereal, plain pasta, pretzels, chicken noodle soup, cooked peaches, pears or apples.

• Sometimes fiber can be helpful for stopping diarrhea, so consider adding some whole grains or stirring a tiny bit of psyllium into a large amount of liquid (talk to your pediatrician).

• After a couple of days without vomiting or diarrhea, go back to a regular diet if your child seems ready. Remain cautious with fatty, rich, and acidic foods for a day or two.

• Always talk to your pediatrician if you have questions or concerns.

I hope you and your little ones stay healthy this winter and won’t need to follow this advice!

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I have a confession to make. I don’t drink milk with my meals and neither does my husband or any of my daughter’s caregivers. Yet, we all REALLY want her to drink her milk with her meals. So, of course, she doesn’t. I always advise parents to set a good example by having family meals and eating their vegetables, but it only recently dawned on me that I wasn’t fully practicing what I was preaching! This week I bought some Organic Valley fat-free milk for myself and my husband. Since my 19-month old is obsessed with holding her own drinking glass, I used three of her little glass Duralex Picardie tumblers (mini versions of our drinking glasses from Williams-Sonoma or Amazon.com) and filled each one with milk (whole for her). We all sat down to dinner together and my husband and I casually sipped our milk. My daughter didn’t touch hers (she was too busy plowing through her Swiss chard and sweet potatoes)—until the end when she picked up her little glass and started drinking her milk. Success! My husband and I mentally high-fived each other while trying to keep our facial expressions as neutral as possible. Adding a little milk to our family dinner certainly wasn’t hard to do and I think my whole family will be a lot better off for it now.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I’m excited to write this post because I know I’m not alone in needing to freshen up my daughter’s snack options--especially since she is transitioning from two naps to one and will need to start eating two snacks a day instead of the single afternoon snack she is currently eating. Snacks need to be a planned part of your child’s regular eating schedule, occurring 2-3 hours between meals. Snacking is especially important for kids because it supplements calories and nutrients that they may not eat at other meals. Children often can’t eat enough to meet their nutritional needs at meals because their tummies don’t hold a lot of food. Therefore, snacks must be nutrient-dense, wholesome and free of excess sugar, sodium and unhealthy ingredients. They can be mini versions of things you might serve as part of a meal, such as lentil soup or half a sandwich, or they can be a small amount of one or two foods that contain protein, carbohydrate and fat. Some foods contain all three (see chart below). Usually you need to combine foods to achieve this satisfying combination, though (see second chart). Note that some foods, such as whole nuts and raw carrots may not be appropriate for younger children. Here are a few of my snack suggestions.

Stand-Alone Snacks (perfectly balanced)

Muesli Snack Bars (see my recipe)

Unsalted dry roasted or raw nuts, such as Blue Diamond 100 calorie packs

Jo San soy nuts or Seapoint Farms dry roasted edamame

Edamame

Fage Total 2% plain Greek yogurt

Flanigan Farms trail mix

Health Valley or Amy’s organic Low Sodium Lentil or Minestrone soups

Amy’s organic low sodium vegetarian refried beans

Food to Combine for Balanced Snacks (choose one from each column):
Carbohydrates	Proteins
Any veggies, especially cherry tomatoes, carrots, avocado, sugar snap peas, radishes, red and yellow bell pepper slices	Flanigan Farms raw nuts, Blue Diamond almonds, Jo San soy nuts or Seapoint Farms dry roasted edamame
Any fruit	Fage Total, Horizon Organic or Stonyfield organic plain low-fat or fat-free yogurt
Guiltless Gourmet baked corn tortilla chips	Tribe organic hummus or homemade bean dip or low-sodium canned beans
Whole-wheat pasta	West Soy organic unsweetened vanilla or plain soy milk
Kashi TLC 7 whole grain and sesame, Wasa or Ak-Mak crackers	Applegate Farms sliced turkey or roast beef
Newman’s Own organic spelt pretzels	Organic omega-3 hardboiled eggs
Manischewitz or Streit’s whole-wheat matzos	Maisie Jane’s almond butter or Laura Scudder’s peanut butter
Sprouted grain or corn tortillas	Friendship low-sodium cottage cheese
Kashi Autumn Wheat or Heart to Heart cereal or La Brea Bakery granola	Low-fat cheese, like string cheese, part skim mozzarella, Boar’s Head Lacey Swiss cheese, or Farmer’s cheese
Oatmeal	Edamame (1 cup in pods)

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I always like to remind parents that feeding children is not just about getting food and nutrients into their bodies. Eating goes hand in hand with holidays, celebrations, socializing and spending time with family and friends. We want to teach our kids just how pleasurable and culturally relevant eating can be. I’m sure I’m not alone, however, in feeling like there have been almost too many holiday meals and celebrations that have disrupted our routine and included lots of treats in the past few weeks. I usually like to offer my 18-month-old daughter treats once or twice a week, either as a portion-controlled dessert at a family meal, as an unlimited sweet snack, or as an unlimited fatty, savory food as part of a family meal. I honestly don’t think that her treats have gotten out of control, but it is a little difficult to watch my little one eat five potato latkes and then wash them down with a dish of ice cream (though I love seeing how joyfully she eats these foods). I have talked about handling treats in this blog before, but I haven’t really talked about how tricky feeding children can be during the holidays. The psychologist Kathleen Cuneo addresses some of the issues in her December “Dinner Together” newsletter with 7 Tips for Successful Holiday Feeding Strategies.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Although it seems like just last week that I was excitedly stirring breastmilk into mashed avocado for my baby’s first food, it has actually been a year since I started feeding my daughter solids. Many of my readers with babies have recently started solids and are asking for information about the order in which solids should be introduced. Although many pediatricians now say that “anything goes” at six months, I still believe that slow and cautious is the best approach. Why rush solids when your kids have the rest of their lives to eat? I followed my allergist’s timeline for introducing solids because I was concerned about food allergies. Remember that even if you are not concerned about allergies, it is still important to introduce new foods one at a time, in the first half of the day for three days in a row. Keep in mind that in the first three or four months, solids are just for fun. Breastmilk and/or formula are your baby’s primary source of nutrition. The solids are for helping establish trust and a good feeding relationship with your child (start practicing Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility now). This is the time when babies learn about taste, textures, colors, temperatures and eating from spoons, hands and cups. Relax and have fun. I made most of my own food and tried to use mostly organic foods that were in season, but you don’t have to. Here is the schedule and foods that I used:

6 months (vegetables, fruit and rice): avocado, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potato, green beans

7 months: rice cereal, asparagus, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, prunes, bananas, pears

8 months (quinoa): apples, blueberries, kale, beets, peas, quinoa, artichokes, kiwi

9 months (beans, protein—I didn’t do chicken or beef, but now is a good time): mango, apricots, red cabbage, Swiss chard, raisins, lentils, celery, red beans, spaghetti squash

10 months (olive oil, soy, egg yolk, wheat, other grains): olive oil, oatmeal, tofu, cucumber, split peas, cherries, egg yolks, multi-grain cereal (wheat/spelt and barley), turkey, more mixed foods

11 months: chicken thighs, steak, bread

12 months (dairy, tomatoes, berries, citrus, egg whites): yogurt, cow’s milk, cheese, tomatoes, strawberries, tangerines, quiche, egg salad

15 months (nuts, seeds, fish): nuts (almond and hazelnut crackers, pistachio gelato), seeds (hummus, seeded bread), salmon, tuna, granola (with sunflower and pumpkin seeds), scallops

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I have been leading shopping tours at Gelson’s for parents of toddlers and young children for the last several months. The tours are based on my Super 4 Kids program, which entails a four-page handout that discusses both the how and what of feeding children, a Super 4 Kids Shopping List with over 500 items that I recommend for kids, and about 50 shelf tags around Gelson’s identifying some of my favorite items from the shopping list. The first part of the tour addresses the parenting part of feeding (division of responsibility in feeding, family meals, establishing trust and raising competent eaters). The second part of the tour addresses nutritional needs and how to shop for the most nutritious foods. Parents will get to taste several of the foods I recommend along the way and there are many opportunities to ask questions. Response to the tours has been very positive and it has been wonderful to hear parents describe the relief and empowerment they experience after making some of the changes I suggest. Mealtimes with kids can be relaxed and pleasurable! If you would like to arrange a tour at your local Gelson’s for a group of 8-20 parents, please contact me at 1-800-GELSONS or email me at nutrition@gelsons.com.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

When are children ready to learn about the health benefits of food? You may be surprised to learn that it isn’t until they are adolescents that abstract ideas about calories, fat and nutrients are truly understood. That doesn’t mean that we can’t teach nutrition to children in more concrete ways. Every meal is a chance for kids to learn about the taste, smell, color and aromas of food and to become familiar with new foods. However, we do have to be careful to remain neutral about all foods and not talk about them too much, since a discussion can easily cross over into putting positive pressure on kids (saying how “yummy” a food is constitutes pressure). Around age seven, children are ready to learn to sort foods into the basic food groups (vegetables, fruit, dairy, etc.). Cooking and gardening activities help them learn about different foods and they can hold, look, prepare and talk about them without having to taste them if they don’t want to. What children need to know about food is how to accept eating a variety; they don’t need to know about the nutritional aspects or the health benefits. Our job as parents and caregivers is to know about nutrition so that we can plan balanced, nutritious meals and snacks for children. It is not fair to expect our kids to plan meals or tell us what they want to eat—they don’t have the cognitive abilities to make those choices (we can start teaching those skills around age 12 or 13). What children can and should do is decide what and how much they will eat from what we serve them. The family physician and feeding expert Dr. Katja Rowell, MD, discusses the ramifications of using nutrition to get kids to eat in her blog post “it’s good for you” won’t help your picky eater on her Family Feeding Dynamics site.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

This is approximately what my almost 18-month old daughter ate at our delicious, organic thanksgiving meal: 1 cup of pumpkin soup, 1 ½ slices of pumpkin bread, 4 ounces of turkey breast, 1 cup of broccoli, 2 tablespoons of carrot soufflé, 4 baby potatoes, 1 strawberry and ¼ cup of vanilla ice cream. She demanded to try everything that was within her view on the table and she enjoyed it all. We didn’t have to beg her to try anything and we didn’t tell her when to stop eating. Yes, she ate a lot, but she knows her body and she knows when she needs to stop. She didn’t finish all of her ice cream and strawberries, so I know for sure that she stopped eating when she had enough. The adults at out thanksgiving dinner marveled at what a “good eater” my daughter is and how lucky we are to have a child that “isn’t picky.” We hear this at restaurants all the time, too. I always respond by saying “thanks, but it’s not luck.” Competent eaters don’t usually happen by accident. Our feeding relationship emphasizes respecting if and how much my daughter chooses to eat from among the foods we offer her at her scheduled meal and snack times, and this helps to build trust. Respect, trust and family meals are three essential elements that help to make meals enjoyable and nourishing—not just on holidays, but every day.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I’m still thinking about school lunches and this week I have spoken with several parents whose children buy lunch at school. Some schools are making efforts to improve their food offerings, and it reminded me of a great op-ed piece that ran in the New York Times recently. Lunch Line Redesign - Interactive Feature was written by two Cornell researchers who are studying how schools can best to go about making improvements to their menus and cafeterias so that children will make better choices. They make some great points. Especially interesting is that presentation is so important—who knew that friendly cafeteria workers could encourage more vegetable purchases by just offering them two vegetables instead of one? As the researchers note, it’s not enough just to provide healthful options since food is only nutritious if it is eaten. For further information about what you can do at your child’s school see more suggestions at http://www.smarterlunchrooms.org/pdfs/Suggestions.pdf.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that when there is no set meal and snack schedule and children graze between meals and throughout the day, they tend not to eat a lot at meals (see Grazing is for Cows, 10/29/10). There is another even more common cause of not eating a lot at meals: milk. Milk is filling, and when kids drink more than they need it displaces other nutritious foods in their diets. Children don’t need that much milk; in fact, they need a lot less than you might think. Look up your child’s age and number of dairy servings needed in the Dairy Serving Guide chart below. Now calculate how much they need by adding up their usual dairy servings from the Serving Size Guide. Take, for example, a 3-year old who needs only 2 dairy servings a day. If she has 6 ounces of yogurt and a 1-ounce string cheese (equivalent to 5.3 ounces of dairy), she only needs about 5 ounces of milk (a little over 1/2 cup) for the day. You may be thinking that if a little is good, then a lot must be better, so no big deal if your child is having 1 or 2 extra servings of dairy a day. The truth is, a little is good, but a lot is bad. As I said earlier, too much milk will displace other nutritious foods in the diet, and therefore increase the risk of nutrient deficiencies, especially iron deficiency because calcium and iron compete for absorption in the body. Therefore, too much calcium from dairy could prevent your child from getting the iron she needs for optimal brain development, immunity and energy. Finally, too much milk can irritate the GI tract and cause loose or excessive stools or even intestinal bleeding, further increasing the risk for iron deficiency anemia. I urge you to sit down and calculate how much milk your child truly needs after taking into consideration their yogurt and cheese intake. Cutting back on milk may be a difficult transition, but it is important for improving your child’s current diet and long-term health. Replace milk with water, as that should be everyone’s primary beverage.

DAILY SERVING GUIDE
Age	2-8 Years	9-12 Years
Dairy Servings	2 servings	3 servings

SERVING SIZE GUIDE
Food Category	Serving Unit	Examples	Serving Size Eqluivalents
Dairy	1 cup	Milk, yogurt	1 cup, (8 ounces)
		Cheese	1 1/2 ounces
		Cottage cheese	2 cups

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Thinking of a healthful and delicious variety of foods to pack for your child’s lunch can be tough. That’s why I challenged myself this month to come up with ten different lunch menus that you can pack for school, serve at home, or even enjoy yourself. Seven of the “main event” (i.e. protein and whole-grain carbohydrate) recipes are in my November Nutrition Notes newsletter and the remaining two are on separate recipe cards. The recipes are easy to prepare and yummy (my 17-month-old daughter approved them all). A few of the recipes are even meant to be leftovers from the previous night’s dinner that are packed and eaten cold (Penne with Lentils and Spinach, Spinach and Cheese Mini Quiches and Mediterranean Orzo Salad). Who doesn’t love leftovers?! For optimal health benefits, I have emphasized vegetarian recipes, since both children and adults should adhere to a Mediterranean-style diet, which is vegetarian for two, and sometimes three, meals a day. Beans, nuts and eggs are excellent kid-friendly proteins. In reading my menus, you will notice that there are no chips, cookies, gummy fruit bites or juice boxes on the menu. That’s because they are non-nutritious treats—“sometimes” foods that should only be enjoyed occasionally. Click here to view the entire Lunch Box Menu with links to the recipes.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

One common concern that I hear from parents is that their children don’t eat much at meals. My first question is always about the child’s meal and snack schedule. It often turns out that the child does not have a set schedule for eating and they usually graze throughout the day or eat several times between and after meals. When children mindlessly take a few bites of food here and there, they can’t come to the table hungry for a meal and, as a result, they don’t have room in their stomachs to eat a full meal. Meals and snacks need to be planned in two-or three-hour intervals and snacks should be thought of as balanced mini-meals. Include one (edamame) or two (cheese and whole-grain crackers) healthful items at a sit-down snack that is not too close to a meal time and adjust the schedule accordingly as your child gets older. Practicing Ellyn Satter’s division of responsibility in feeding is an essential component of raising competent eaters. It holds that parents are responsible for deciding the what, when and where of feeding. That means that the parents must set the eating schedule, and believe it or not, this helps to establish trust in your feeding relationship since your child will learn that they can count on you to provide food at reliable intervals, even when they forget that they are hungry. As the recent New York Times article Snack Time Never Ends points out, we need to rethink our culture’s standard of offering food to children at all times and in all places. Ellyn Satter has some suggestions for correcting this practice in her handout on Sit-down Snacks.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Lately I feel like I’ve been talking a lot about the importance of allowing children to struggle with their eating. Many parents and children take the easy way out with food — parents only offer kids their favorite foods and, in turn, kids only eat the foods they really love, but in the long run this practice doesn’t do anyone any good. Part of our job as parents is to raise competent eaters who can enjoy a variety of foods and eat foods that are not necessarily their favorites. Expose children to a variety of new foods neutrally and regularly — they don’t have to eat them, but you do. Most kids need ten or even 20 exposures to a new food before they really accept it. Babies were born to struggle. If we didn’t allow our children to struggle with crawling and walking, they might never have achieved those milestones. The same practices should be applied towards eating. We need to support our children through trying new foods and new textures so that they advance their eating towards more adult foods. They may start out being spoon-fed purees, but eventually we want them to fork-feed themselves salad.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My toddler’s word of the week is “no.” It’s adorable, but it sets us up for some miscommunication. Feeding has been especially tricky, since we name each food that we offer her. In typical toddler fashion, she says “no” to each food. She doesn’t try to tell us what she does want, so we pretty much end up with tears of frustration and screaming when we accept her refusals. It took us a few meals before we figured out that she wasn’t really refusing her food, she was just practicing saying her new favorite word. Meals have been a little tense since we’ve been miscommunicating and all the “nos” make me want to keep offering different foods until she says “yes,” but I’m not going to be a short-order cook. Although it goes against our process of respecting her choices, we have to just assume that she doesn’t really mean “no” and offer her the food anyway. Thankfully, feeding is improving as “hi” is slowly surpassing “no” as her favorite word.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My 99% organic baby recently had her first taste of trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup. I’m not happy about it, but I also realize that I can’t control every aspect of her diet. In the long run, I feel that it would be more detrimental if I said that she couldn’t have something that everyone else was eating than if she ate a small serving of the offending food. She was offered graham crackers and Ritz crackers at a playdate. Both of these crackers are considered “kid-friendly” since they are pretty much universally liked by children, so I think that most parents assume that they don’t have dangerous ingredients. Many people are still unaware that trans fats are hidden in foods and that they need to read the ingredient list before the nutrition facts panel in order to find them. If the words “partially hydrogenated” or “corn syrup” are listed, then the item should promptly be put back on the shelf. It doesn’t mean anything if the package says “0 grams trans fat” on it because the manufacturer is allowed to state that an item contains no trans fats as long as it contains less than 0.5 grams per serving. Trans fats should be avoided completely and high-fructose corn syrup should be consumed rarely by children and adults. There are some great alternatives that are appropriate for kids: Kashi TLC 7-grain crackers, Newman’s Own spelt pretzels, Manischewitz or Streits whole-wheat matzos, or even Guiltless Gourmet baked corn tortilla chips.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I have really been learning a lot about sodium over the last couple of months as I researched and compiled my Super 4 Kids program materials and my Slash Sodium for Better Health materials. Somehow, I still managed to be shocked this week when a customer asked me to go online and check out the nutrition information at a popular chain restaurant. The calories and sodium were much higher than I expected them to be. How could they pack so many calories into a recipe we wondered? How could most items contain over 2,000 milligrams of sodium—more than is needed for an entire day? Hungry for more nutrition information, I started searching other restaurant websites. Some chains post their info on their websites, but most don’t. I was not able to find a lot of listings, though I called a few places and they said they make their nutrition information available at their restaurant locations, but not online. I strongly encourage you to investigate the calories and sodium at the restaurants you frequent. Since New York City has had menu labeling laws in place for a couple of years already, you will be most successful if you search chains that also have restaurants in New York City. Federal legislation requiring nutrition labeling on menus for all restaurants that have more than 20 locations has already passed and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the process of finalizing the details of the requirements. Hopefully, they will require both calorie and sodium counts on menus. I can’t wait for the new law to go into effect in California (it seems like this might happen as early as January 2011) because we need to be able to make informed choices about the foods we eat and feed our children.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Now that my daughter is 15 months old we can start to introduce the last few allergenic foods that she has not yet tried: nuts, seeds and fish. So far she has tried almond butter and peanut butter. I used the Maisie Jane’s almond butter and Laura Scudder’s natural unsalted peanut butter with the wonderful Fior di Frutta organic fruit spread (it has about half as much sugar as most jams). She passed both of those tests and soon we are going to move on to seeds. Since nuts and seeds can be choking hazards, I’m trying to figure out the best ways for her to eat them. I’m considering trying Blue Diamond pecan nut thins (thin, crumbly crackers), Talenti pistachio or coconut gelato (coconuts are in the nut family), Tribe organic hummus (made with sesame seed paste), Food for Life Genesis bread (which has several different seeds baked in), and about making a salad dressing with poppy seeds. After seeds, we will try fish. I’m thinking about giving her black cod or mahi mahi to start, then maybe salmon (the one I’m allergic to) and shellfish, like scallops or shrimp. She loves to try new foods and it will be fun to hopefully have all of the food restrictions lifted and not have to worry about stopping her from trying any new foods that we encounter.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter had her first day of pre-preschool this week. They have a wonderful rule at snack time, which is that food is only to be eaten at the table. I think it is never too early to teach children how to behave at the table (it is important to allow toddlers to explore their food and learn to feed themselves and get dirty, but they should not throw food or take it away from the table and they should not play with toys at the table). Children, like adults, should come to the table to eat and share in conversation, not to play, and when children play, they should not also be eating. Often when children get up from the table in the middle of a meal, someone starts to follow them around and continue to offer them food while they toddle. Chasing children around the house, restaurant or classroom with food will not accomplish much except for poor eating habits and power struggles because you are pressuring them to eat. You must provide structure and limits around meals and snacks—you are responsible for deciding the what, when and where of feeding and your child is responsible for the whether and how much of eating. The moment you start chasing your child around with food or asking her to take one more bite, you have crossed over into their territory and you will begin to struggle. Finding the right balance between helping and pressuring is tricky but you must work to find it if mealtimes are going to be pleasurable. Follow this link for more information on how to Avoid Pressure in feeding. The only exception to this rule by the way is with water; you should make water available everywhere, at all times of the day and on demand.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My new Super 4 Kids program launched at all 18 Gelson’s stores just a few days ago. I am excited about it because I feel that it will help parents and caregivers of two- to 12-year-olds have a better understanding of how and what to feed kids. There are four parts to the program. First, my Super 4 Kids! Nutrition Notes newsletter explains in detail what types of foods and how much food kids need according to their age, sex and activity level. I also explain how to go about choosing healthful foods and share ideas for building balanced meals. The second part of the program features a separate Super 4 Kids Shopping list (available at all Gelson’s stores) with approximately 500 foods that are appropriate for children to eat on a daily basis. These foods meet the criteria that I use for selecting the most healthful packaged and processed foods. The third part of the program features three recipes that are healthy, easy and family-friendly, including one that kids can make with a little adult supervision (Simple Sautéed Cauliflower, Chicken Tortilla Soup and Almond Butter and Fruit Sandwich,a Kid-Friendly Recipe). Finally, I have chosen to identify a few of my favorite foods on the Shopping List with Super 4 Kids shelf tags throughout the stores. Please keep an eye out for them as you shop. If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 1-800-GELSONS or email me at nutrition@gelsons.com.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter loves restaurants because she likes to eat meals with other people (she’s very social). I’ve noticed that she eats more when we eat out (though, don’t we all?). The reason why she eats “better” at restaurants is that we have what are called family meals, and because in addition to her food, she likes to eat off of everyone else’s plate, too. About two thirds of her meals are shared with other people, and that bodes well for her. Research on family meals shows that children benefit nutritionally, physically, emotionally, socially and academically when they eat with their families regularly—and the food doesn’t even need to be home-cooked! Children who partake in family meals also seem to have a healthier relationship with food and are more competent eaters. For more information about the benefits of eating together, please read Family dinners have many benefits for kids from the Miami Herald. Although the article mainly references adolescents, the benefits still apply to younger children.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I’ve been thinking a lot about the distinction between “everyday” foods and “sometimes” foods for kids. Foods that kids should eat daily are minimally processed vegetables, fruit, grains, beans, milk, yogurt and cheese. Ideally, fish is eaten twice a week, poultry is eaten three times a week and red meat is eaten once a week. I don’t think many children or adults come very close to spreading their animal protein out that thinly over the course of a week. Even if you’re not willing to serve less chicken or beef, there are some better choices you can make for your kids. Hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, chicken nuggets and fish sticks are “sometimes” foods because they are processed. Think of them as being pre-digested by the factory so that once they hit your child’s lips they are less nutritious, fattier, saltier and more readily stored as fat than they are in their original animal of origin state (i.e. a chicken breast or steak). I did include the “best” choices among the processed meats for my Super 4 Kids Shopping List (available in Gelson’s stores in September), but please try to only serve these foods occasionally, even if they are organic or contain fewer ingredients than their lower quality counterparts. The healthiest option is always to cook chicken, fish, beef and vegetarian proteins yourself. For vegetarian, chicken and fish recipe ideas, check out our various folders on the Gelson’s COOKBOOK page.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

All week I’ve been reading food labels and searching for foods that I recommend for my “Super 4 Kids!” program (rolling out at all Gelson’s stores in September). I’m realizing that we are inadvertently feeding our children way too much sodium. The processed foods that we are choosing have so much added salt—in fact, processed foods are the #1 source of sodium on our diets, followed by fast food and restaurant food. The salt we add at home is not nearly as big of an issue, since the foods we cook from scratch don’t have as much sodium as the ready-made stuff we can buy. A high sodium diet is dangerous because it can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney disease. Kids can acquire these conditions, which means they can be dealing with the consequences of organ damage for the rest of their lives if we are not careful. Please start reading food labels and doing some math when planning meals. Let me show you how: First, look up your child’s age and sodium limit for the day in the chart below. Subtract 250 milligrams to allot for two snacks (125 mg/snack). Divided the remaining number by 3 to find the sodium limit per meal (assuming your child eats 3 meals a day). A 4-8 year old child can have up to 550 milligrams of sodium for each of 3 meals and 125 milligrams of sodium for each of 2 snacks. That sounds like a lot, but it isn’t. Take a simple sandwich, for example: 2 slices of bread have at least 240 milligrams of sodium (most bread has more), 2 ounces of the best turkey breast I could find has 360 milligrams, 1 slice of cheese has about 130 milligrams and 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise has 30 milligrams. This innocent little sandwich has 760 milligrams of sodium—210 milligrams above the allotted maximum per meal. To lower the sodium you could use just 1 slice of bread or choose a lower sodium bread, like Food for Life Ezekiel breads; or leave off the cheese and mayo; or make chicken salad, egg salad or tuna salad yourself and control the amount of salt you add; or even look for a no-salt added turkey breast like we have in most of our Service Delis. There are many ways to approach this problem, but the first step is becoming more aware of the amount of sodium in the foods we are choosing.

AGE	Sodium Limit/day
2-3 years	1,500 milligrams
4-8 years	1,900 milligrams
9-13 years	2,200 milligrams

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Life with a toddler is never dull. Just a few weeks ago my daughter was eating two bananas with her breakfast and this week she is barely eating half of a banana. In fact, the last few days her appetite has just not been as big as usual. Last night for dinner she literally had one bite of lentils, one piece of broccoli, two cubes of butternut squash, one slice of bread with butter and four grapes. She usually eats way more than that. I’m not worried, but I did wonder if she would wake up hungry in the middle of the night (she didn’t). Variations in appetite are normal, and things change quickly at this age. I find it challenging to accept that she doesn’t want to eat when I see that she has eaten so much less than usual, but I work hard to respect her appetite. Soon it will return with a vengeance and she will be gobbling up bananas again.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

A customer recently called me with the concern that she was feeding her 3 ½ year old daughter too much saturated fat. The girl was drinking about 20 ounces of whole milk a day along with eating about 3 ounces of string cheese and 4 ounces of low-fat yogurt, and was also having vegetables prepared with butter and/or parmesan cheese. Although her daughter was active and not at all overweight, her mom was concerned that she was setting her up to develop heart disease. My initial inclination was to reassure the mom, since I recalled that saturated fats were essential for brain development. However, upon further research, I had to correct myself. My daughter’s pediatrician explained that by age 2, brain development is about 90% complete—you’ve basically got what you’re going to have after that. Also, most kids up to age 2 need the calories that full-fat foods provide. After 2, however, things change dramatically and the focus shifts from brain development to heart health, growth slows, and calorie needs are not as high. After age 2, saturated fats should comprise no more than 10% of the calories in a child’s diet (this is the same as recommendations for healthy adults). For most kids under 4, that means a limit of 10 or 12 grams of saturated fat per day. Since each 8-ounce cup of whole milk contains 5 grams of saturated fat, you can see how kids can easily exceed their saturated fat limit while trying to meet their calcium needs. Therefore, between ages 1 and 2, choose whole milk dairy for kids; between ages 2 and 3, move to 2% or 1% milk and choose low-fat dairy products; and after age 3, give 1% or nonfat milk and low-fat or nonfat dairy products. Although I won’t discuss other fats in this post, please note that omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA and EPA, are extremely important fats for healthy brain development and maintenance throughout the lifespan.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Each weekday morning I plan out my daughter’s meals for the day. It feels like mental gymnastics (especially since I do it before I’ve had my coffee!). I try to give her a pretty good variety of food for lunch and dinner, but breakfast is usually the same thing: a little bit of breast milk, then 6 ounces of Strauss Family Creamery whole organic yogurt with diced strawberries mixed in and a banana on the side. She doesn’t like a heavy breakfast, so we save the grains for lunch and dinner. I think I have a pretty good system worked out. I batch cook large amounts of different starches (quinoa, brown rice, polenta, oatmeal, sweet potato, butternut squash, potatoes and peas) and then I freeze them in ¼-cup portions. I also do the same with vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, kale, swiss chard, beets and sautéed tomatoes) and proteins (poached chicken thighs, turkey breast, lentils, pinto beans, black beans and split peas). I dedicate one freezer drawer to each category of food and then pick one protein, one starch and one or two vegetables for each meal. I add some fresh fruit and we are good to go--as long as I keep the freezer stocked. Some fresh foods such as diced tomato, plain instant oatmeal, string cheese and Food for Life cinnamon raisin bread with butter also make some great easy additions to meals and snacks (string cheese is our go-to snack). I hope I have given you some ideas for ways to make planning meals for your kids easier. Stay tuned for September when I dedicate my newsletter to feeding kids healthfully.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

When feeding my daughter, we offer her an array of healthful foods at specified meal and snack times and she is allowed to decide what and how much of those foods she will eat. She pretty much eats all of her food at most meals, but lately she’s been going bananas for bananas. She loves to feed herself bananas and control the size of her bites (she likes to take big bites). Most days this week she has eaten two bananas for breakfast. After she finishes the first one she signs that she wants more and we comply with her request. I’m not worried that she’s overeating, since bananas are healthful (remember she’s choosing from among the healthful food I’m offering). It’s important for her to know that she will always have enough to eat at mealtimes and that she is in control of this aspect of her eating. I know that this is just a phase and eventually she will go back to eating just one banana at breakfast when she realizes that she will have one again the next day.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I’m often asked by parents of toddlers how they can get their kids to eat vegetables. Toddlers are tricky because they are naturally skeptical of everything, especially new foods. As parents, our primary goal with vegetables is to make sure that kids will eat their veggies for the rest of their lives, not just at dinner tonight. Building trust in the feeding relationship and modeling good eating habits are two important factors that can improve your odds of success, as is building good self-esteem into children. Children should come to the table feeling confident and good about their ability to eat. If they don’t trust themselves, how can they trust the person that is feeding them or trust that they will like the food being offered to them? Offer a variety of different veggies at meals (at least one produce item per meal) and present it like you do all the other foods. Be matter of fact about them and make sure that you eat them, too. Don’t make a big deal if they don’t eat them, but you can try to offer them a bite if you are spoon-feeding other foods. In my experience, my daughter loves to feed herself, but sometimes she wants to be spoon-fed some of the food on her plate. I don’t know if her arm gets tired or if she likes having bigger bites than she can give herself, but offering a spoonful here and there definitely helps her eat more than if she were left all alone. I try to find the right balance of involvement: being helpful without being pushy.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My mom and I disagree about how to handle “forbidden foods” with my daughter. The disagreement arose a few nights ago when we were out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. I had cooked my daughter’s dinner at home and brought it with us because I prefer that she eat mostly organic food and very few restaurants offer any organic foods. She has a very good appetite and was happily feeding herself the last of her steak, pinto beans, broccoli, tomato, brown rice and blueberries when the sweet potato fries we had ordered arrived at the table. We were all eating them off of the serving plate and my daughter wanted to join in. I pushed the plate closer to her so that she could reach it and she began doing what we were doing. We allowed her to eat as much as she wanted and she enjoyed them in a very civilized manner. That night, she slept restlessly and I assumed that she probably had a tummy ache from the fatty fries and the huge dinner that she ate. My mom thinks we should have just allowed her a few fries and not let her eat them as freely as we did. I think we did it the right way, though. She didn’t gorge herself, the fries didn’t replace any of the other foods she was eating (she finished everything except for what fell on the floor), the fries were still nutritious (even if they were fried) and she stopped eating them when she had enough. Best of all, we didn’t have to say “no” or maintain a double standard and she really enjoyed participating in the family meal. For a refresher on using “forbidden” foods, scroll down to my June 9 entry, “Happy Birthday, Baby!”

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

In the past week I’ve encountered a couple of different feeding scenarios that I feel are worth discussing here because I think they are pretty common—and troubling. In the first, a customer told me that the only way to get her son to clean his room is to “bribe him with candy.” In the second, I overheard a parent in a restaurant say to his toddler “finish your chicken and then you can go play.” In other words, these parents are implying “be good and I’ll reward you for doing what I want you to do.” Ugh! These families are going to struggle with feeding and eating if they aren’t already. Kids know when they are being even subtly manipulated and they almost always are less likely to do what you wanted them to do in the first place…and that’s when the battles begin. I don’t even have to tell you that the child in the restaurant refused to take another bite of her chicken after her dad tried to force her to eat more than she wanted to or that candy will become a very important food for the boy who may or may not clean his room because he only gets it when he is “good.” Research shows that when parents and caregivers are overly involved in managing how much and what children eat, children become unable to manage their own eating and may end up being overeaters. Similarly, when “forbidden foods,” like candy, are used as rewards, they become a much bigger deal in everyday life than they should be and children become emotional eaters. They abuse or overeat forbidden foods, especially in response to strong feelings—positive or negative. In both of these situations, the parents are not doing their jobs in the feeding relationship because they are being overly controlling with food. Children know how much they need to eat to satisfy their appetites but parents need to help them preserve what children know instinctively instead of teaching them bad habits.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter likes yogurt, loves cheese and dislikes cow’s milk—I think. I just introduced it to her a few days ago in a regular cup. She took a sip and then rejected it. I’m being patient, though, and I keep in mind that she needs to try it at least 10 or 11 times before I know whether she will truly accept it. I’ve been offering it to her in both a regular cup and a straw cup (she doesn’t use a sippy cup), either on its own or mixed with some breast milk, as well as both cold and warm. She will take a sip but then refuse it. Today we filled her afternoon bottle with half breast milk and half cow’s milk and warmed it up. She knew what was in it and still drank the whole bottle. I thought she didn’t like the cow’s milk, but now I’m wondering if she really only wants milk from a bottle. I was worried about this happening. I had read that it is best to wean from the bottle completely around 12-15 months and now I’m seeing just how much of a challenge that might be. I think we will stick with the bottle for a while longer and gradually increase the ratio of cow’s milk : breast milk in the bottle until she is only drinking cow’s milk. Since she only drinks one bottle a day, once she accepts cow’s milk completely I will try offering it to her at other times in a different vessel. We just bought some great new Thermos-brand Vacuum-Insulated Leak-Proof Straw Bottle stainless steel straw cups (no plastic or BPA to worry about) that I plan to designate as milk cups.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I know I’m not alone when it comes to rushing around to get errands accomplished in between my daughter’s meals and naps because I see kids all around town snacking in their strollers, car seats and shopping carts. Snacking on the go in this fashion is the equivalent of mindless eating that many adults struggle with (mindless munching is eating while doing other things and not giving food the respect it deserves). I’m concerned that this type of grazing can lead to some bad habits and overeating when it is practiced regularly. Snacks are just as important as meals; they should be given at regular times (not when kids beg for them), in appropriate places (snacking in the car is dangerous) and they should be nutritious. They should not be distractions, entertainment, handouts or rewards and they should not be rushed. It is important to teach our children early on how to be in touch with their feelings of hunger and satiety so that they can listen to their bodies and regulate the amount they need to eat intuitively. This in turn will help them feel good about their eating and arrive at the weight and sized that they are truly meant to be. However, intuitive eating can really only be learned or maintained (children are born knowing how much they need to eat) when parents and caregivers do their jobs in the feeding relationship by offering kids a variety of healthful foods at regular times and in a supportive manner. Therefore, most snacks, like meals, should be eaten at a table with no other distractions (like TV or toys). Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, MS, RD, a fellow dietitian and blogger, has some good advice about feeding kids snacks in one of her blog posts: Is Your Kid a “Good” or “Bad” Snacker?

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter just turned one and a whole new world of food is opening up now that she can have dairy products. I have been offering her the wonderful whole milk yogurt from Strauss Family Creamery, a Northern California organic dairy where the cows eat grass so their milk contains the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA naturally. Omega-3’s are vitally important for optimal brain development and it is best when they occur naturally in food sources such as fish, as well as meat, eggs and dairy from grass-fed animals. Saturated fats are also important for brain development, so please continue to offer your 12-24-month old child full-fat dairy products.

Speaking of new foods, she also had her first “treat.” We gave her an organic vanilla cupcake as her birthday cake and she happily dug into the frosting, but didn’t care much for the cake underneath. It was the first time she had a sweetened food. She liked it, but only ate a few fistfuls and when she had enough, she moved on to play with some toys that she found more interesting. I was proud of both of us for managing sweets so casually. Here are some tips for thoughtfully including sweets and treats in your child’s diet on occasion: Using "Forbidden" Food.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I feel that I do a good job of fulfilling my responsibilities in the feeding relationship with my daughter. I offer her a variety of healthful foods at scheduled meal and snack times and I follow the formula of including a serving each of a protein, a vegetable, a starch and a fruit at mealtimes. However, the other day at lunch she did not want what I was offering and started throwing her food on the floor. My first inclination was to start offering her other foods that she might prefer to eat. I had to stop myself and remember that we were each doing our jobs (she decides if and how much to eat), and she was just deciding that she did not want to eat what I was offering. Although her lunch consisted of foods that she normally likes, she simply did not want to eat them. It was my job to respect her feelings, not to keep offering her foods until we found one that she felt like eating. She would not go hungry, since snacktime was in just a couple of hours. I was shocked, though, to discover just how easily the feeding relationship can break down if I’m not careful to protect it. My little girl is a toddler now -- she is asserting her will at mealtimes, playtimes and naptimes -- and that means that her caregivers and I have to be extra vigilant in reading her cues and showing regard for her feelings as to if and how much she eats. Respecting my daughter’s feelings is an important way to build self-esteem and trust and to foster independence.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

There are two articles in this week’s New York Times that I want to share with you. They are about foods that pose choking hazards for children. I already knew about some of the foods that are mentioned here, such as grapes and hot dogs, but I was not aware of just how dangerous popcorn could be (it can make its way into the vocal cords and lungs). As my daughter approaches her first birthday, these articles have reminded me that it is time to renew my infant and child CPR certification. I was also reminded how important it is to keep a very watchful eye on my daughter while she eats. She has never actually choked, but on one occasion she got so excited about what she was eating that she put too much food in her mouth at once and got very scared when she couldn’t manage it all. It was a frightening experience for both of us! I never want to repeat that again, so as she expands her repertoire of foods, I will bear in mind the information in these two articles:

The 10 Biggest Choking Hazards and Labels Urged for Food That Can Choke.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Last week I saw a six-month old baby in her infant car seat with a bottle of milk propped up so it was hanging off her lip and milk was dribbling into her mouth. I asked her dad why he wasn’t holding her bottle for her and he said she preferred to “hold” her own bottle. I see babies holding their own bottles all the time, but just because they can do it doesn’t mean that they should do it. (I will not even go into how dangerous it is and the negative impact that propping a bottle can have on a child’s oral and ear health.) The practice of propping the bottle signifies a breakdown in the parent-child feeding relationship because the caregiver is not doing their job, which is offering milk and helping the child consume it in a sensitive, observant manner. Babies eat best when they feel secure and supported. Therefore, when it comes to milk feeding (whether breastmilk or formula from a breast or bottle), babies need to be held close and cuddled while they drink. Leaving them alone in their car seat to feed themselves will make a baby feel lonely and insecure and he or she will not get the amount of food that they really need. If a baby’s emotional needs are not being met (i.e., they are not being cuddled and caregivers are not sharing control of the feeding), then they will most likely overeat or undereat. If a child’s early experiences with eating are consistently negative, it could be the beginning of life-long struggles with emotional eating and will impact their relationship with food for the rest of their lives. Bottle-feeding is a skill and it requires a lot of work on the caregiver’s part to learn to relinquish control and pay close attention to how a baby wants to be fed. Even if your baby is almost done with bottle feedings, like mine is, it is still a good idea to brush-up on your bottle-feeding skills.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Now that my daughter is 11 months old, she is eating three solid meals and sometimes a snack in addition to three milk feedings each day. Planning her menus is challenging since I want to give her balanced meals that include a variety of foods in different, colors, textures, flavors and temperatures. I have to include at least one or two finger foods, at least one fruit and one or two vegetables, and something starchy and substantial, like beans or grains. Next month, when she cuts out more milk feedings, we will have to add more protein sources to her meals, such as yogurt, cheese and cow’s milk. Thankfully, I have a large variety of homemade foods stored in the freezer, so I can just heat up her different meal components and add fresh fruits. She still doesn’t eat recipes, just plain individual foods. Next month we will begin to feed her more mixed foods, as the goal is to have her share our food and eat meals together as a family. Here is a typical days’ menu of her solid foods:

Breakfast: Oatmeal made with water and breast milk, blueberries (finger food)

Lunch: Black beans with olive oil, sweet potato, asparagus, banana (all finger foods)

Dinner: Turkey breast, kiwi (finger foods), braised red cabbage, quinoa

Snack: Grated apple (finger food)

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

It finally happened. There is actually a food that my daughter doesn’t like: egg yolks. She really, really does not like them. They were her new food this week and no matter how we prepared them, she spit them out, so we had to do something that I normally advise against: we hid them in her rice cereal and tricked her into eating a few bites because we needed to know if she was allergic to eggs. Eggs are in so many foods that her diet would be limited going forward if she had not passed the egg test.

I am strongly against tricking kids into eating their food because it can lead to distrust in the feeding relationship. In general, if you start manipulating children with food then they will rebel and behave badly at the table. Their eating skills will suffer as they become more demanding and less capable of eating a variety of foods. If you feel that your feeding relationship with your child is suffering, see Ellyn Satter’s advice about The Picky Eater. In the meantime, I will not trick my baby again, but I won’t give up on eggs, either. I will offer her eggs again in the future, perhaps prepared another way, but I won’t be upset if she chooses not to eat them. It is, after all, her job to decide if and how much she will eat.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I was so proud of my daughter the other night when we had another family over to our house for an early dinner. I grated half of a peeled apple and quartered some blueberries and put them in our Un-believe-a-bowl (an awesome bowl that suctions to a tray or table). We all sat down at the table together and started to eat. My baby happily dug into her own food and kept herself busy for over 30 minutes, while still managing to be engaged in the conversation and giggling and jabbering with the other child at the table. Now that she is feeding herself, we are one step closer to having true family meals where we all sit together and eat the same foods. That day is right around the corner and I’m getting ready for it. My April newsletter is all about planning and executing family meals since cooking on weeknights is a major challenge for me. I want to have a plan in place when the time comes so that I can continue to support my daughter’s healthful eating habits. For help with planning your dinners read Menu Planning Strategies.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I can’t believe that my little baby will be ten months old this weekend! I’m excited about this age because there are so many new foods that she will be able to eat this month. Following my allergist’s advice, we will try oatmeal first and if that goes well, we will add wheat (your child’s pediatrician may have different advice). After that, she’ll get some egg yolk (egg whites are OK after one year of age). This week, in preparation for her expanding diet, we are trying some organic extra virgin first cold press olive oil so that she can have more mixed foods instead of just single foods. The ultimate goal is to have her eating what we eat (minus the salt) by 12 months. It blows my mind that in the next two months she will drop two milk feedings and transition to table food. Right now, she is getting into hand feeding herself grated apple, spaghetti squash and raisins, but she still likes to be fed and use the spoon herself. Here are some guidelines for feeding babies between ten and 12 months: 10-12 months old Solid Food Chart.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I just realized yesterday that I haven’t given my daughter her daily dosage of vitamin D in a couple of weeks. The bottle must have rolled into the Black Hole that lives under our glider and I probably forgot about it—out of sight, out of mind is this exhausted mommy’s new reality! Today I read a new study that has found that most infants, regardless of if they are breast- or formula-fed, are not getting enough vitamin D. Vitamin D supplements had previously only been thought necessary for breast-fed infants, since breast milk is low in vitamin D and formula is fortified with it. About 70% of all children and adolescents could also benefit from a vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D is important for the formation of strong bones, a strong immune system and the prevention of heart disease and possibly type 1 diabetes. Here is an article about the study: Even on formula, babies not getting enough vitamin D. I will order a new bottle of vitamin D (I like the Carlson Baby D Drops) today and I recommend that you check with your pediatrician about adding in a supplement for your child if you don’t already.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Parenting skills require practice, especially if you intend to use a particular parenting method. At my house we practice the RIE Approach (Resources for Infant Educarers). According to www.RIE.org, the method is “based on respect” and “helps raise authentic infants who are competent, confident, curious, attentive, exploring, cooperative, secure, peaceful, focused, self-initiating, resourceful, involved, inner-directed, aware and interested.” We emphasize respecting my daughter and communicating with her before we touch her or do something with her (for instance, when we feed her, we tell her what the food is, offer it to her and then allow her to decide whether she will put it in her mouth; we don’t yet worry if she doesn’t eat anything since solids are still just for fun). Last week I had the opportunity to observe one of my daughter’s caregivers feeding her lunch. Many of the principles we had originally explained to her had fallen by the wayside, and it was a good reminder to me that feeding and caregiving are practices. Since much of how we interact with my daughter is counterintuitive to us first-time parents, it takes a lot of practice before the communication and interactions become second nature. I realized that it is a good idea for my husband and me to periodically check in with ourselves and our baby’s caregivers and make sure that we are all using Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility in Feeding and RIE in our daily caregiving. Whatever parenting method you use, I urge you to do the same.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

One of my daughter’s playmates has recently been diagnosed with iron levels at the low end of the normal range. Her mom was wondering what to do to keep the iron levels of her 10-month old from falling any further. I had several suggestions. First, breast milk is the best source of iron for a baby. There is not a lot of iron in breast milk, but the little that is there is readily absorbed by the baby. Fortified formulas and cereals contain more iron than breast milk, but they have to since that iron is poorly absorbed by the baby. All formula and some infant cereals also contain calcium, which further inhibits iron absorption. I advised the mommy to continue breastfeeding, to make sure that the supplementary formula she was using contained iron in the form of ferrous sulfate (the most absorbable form of supplementary iron) as well as ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and to switch to an infant cereal that was not calcium-fortified. In addition to breast milk, the best way to get more iron in your baby’s diet is to feed them foods that naturally contain iron. Adding organic dark meat chicken, lamb or beef (check with your pediatrician first) to your baby’s diet will add iron and enhance iron absorption from other sources. For a listing of foods that contain iron, see my June 2006 newsletter article (scroll down to page 3). Iron-rich foods must be eaten with foods that contain vitamin C in order to facilitate absorption. Here is a list of fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C: Dole Vitamin C foods Although many of the foods on these lists (shellfish, nuts, seeds, citrus, seedy berries, tomatoes and peppers, to name a few) are not appropriate for children under 12 or even 18 months, there are plenty that a younger baby can eat.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

This week I’ve been reading how important it is to let children develop at their own pace. I thought my baby would be eating finger foods by now, since she is almost 9 months old and most books say that babies should be starting with finger foods at that age, but she doesn’t seem to be ready yet. She’s still enjoying being fed her exotic purees and smashed-up versions of Tuscan kale, asparagus, artichoke, kiwi and quinoa. Once in a while she’ll bend over in her high chair to put her mouth over some food that spills on her tray, but she’s not yet transferring it from her food-encrusted hands to her mouth. However, I’m not going to rush her into the next stage of eating. I’ll check in every few days by placing a small, soft chunk of food on her tray and will casually model feeding it to myself, but I don’t force her to follow my lead. I try to strike a delicate balance between being interested in her eating and giving her the space to explore the food she is eating by, for example, playing with her spoon or schmearing food around her tray. I try to be patient with and accepting of all of her behaviors, whether it is learning to feed herself, crawl or express herself verbally or otherwise. The Gesell Institute of Human Development has some valuable information about allowing children to develop at their own pace:Parent Questions

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My daughter doesn’t have any teeth yet—and I’m in no rush for them to come in, either. A local pediatric dentist recently told me that the later baby teeth come in, the stronger they tend to be. He also explained that bacteria get introduced to the mouth when teeth come through the gums, which can affect oral health as well as long-term health. We know that certain bacteria in the mouth that cause gingivitis can also affect heart health, so good oral hygiene early on is important. Furthermore, mothers often pass the bacteria in their mouths along to their children, so it is also important for moms to take care of their own teeth. For more information about the connection between gums and heart health, see Dr. Andrew Weil’s answer to the question “Do Clean Teeth Promote Heart Health?”. Caring for your baby’s teeth should start when the first tooth appears, or sooner if you want to establish a dental hygiene routine (just wipe baby’s gums with a piece of gauze before bedtime). For information on caring for your baby’s teeth, see the American Dental Association’s sheet “Baby's First Teeth” (February 2002)

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

The mother of a ten-month old recently asked me what she should be feeding her baby for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Is it OK to order macaroni and cheese off a kid’s menu at a restaurant, she wondered< I thought this was a great question, as there are amazingly few resources that give us good information about the appropriate progression of food introductions. Unfortunately, there really is no easy answer because all babies are different and they all start solids at different times. Furthermore, babies develop at different rates, especially when it comes to teeth and their ability to chew and swallow. However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that breast milk and> or formula is the most important source of nutrition for babies in the first year. That means that solid foods are really more about familiarizing your baby with different flavors, textures and temperatures and learning how to eat and drink. At ten months, progressing slowly and introducing new foods early in the day (for potential allergic reaction reasons) over three or four days is still the protocol. With that in mind, I think plain, single foods are better than recipes that contain several foods or ingredients. I generally recommend wholesome, minimally-processed foods for children and adults because foods are most nutritious, satisfying and health-promoting in their natural states. Experts differ in their opinion of when to introduce wheat, egg yolks and dairy into a baby’s diet, but I recommend waiting until at least ten months for wheat and egg yolks and 12 months for dairy foods if there is no family history of food allergies (and possibly longer if there is a family history—talk to your pediatrician). Here is a sample menu for a ten – 12 month-old: Baby Menu. If you ever have a doubt about a food, the safest route is to keep the meal plain and simple.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

I just met with the mother of a 3-year old and a 5-year old (with another baby on the way). She was seeking advice about how to get her kids to eat something besides carbs like bread, pasta, rice and crackers. Vegetables, fruit and protein were in short supply in her family’s diet, mainly because every member (including her husband) likes and dislikes different foods and she was tired of being a short-order cook. I know this mom’s story is not unique by a long shot and I also know that this could be my own reality one day if I’m not careful. Once a pattern is established of making different foods to please everyone and making a big deal about what is not getting eaten, it is really difficult to make changes. Establishing a new feeding relationship takes commitment, patience and time. I reminded the mommy that a child needs to be exposed to a new food at least 11 times before he or she starts to accept it; so, for example, before deciding that your child doesn’t like carrots, you should offer them raw, steamed, roasted and even cut up in different ways. However, it’s important to respect your child’s likes and dislikes once they are established and don’t try to trick them into eating something by hiding it in the food without telling them. I suggested the following: At each family meal, offer at least one food that each family member likes; make trying a new fruit or vegetable a family project where the kids get to pick the food, find a recipe for it and help prepare it for a meal; bring the kids into the kitchen and get them involved in meal preparation; don’t make a big deal about trying stuff or not liking something; and practice Ellyn Satter’s division of responsibility (it is up to the parent or caregiver to decide when where and what healthful foods to offer and it is up to the child to decide if and how much they will eat). For more tips on how to raise successful eaters, check out this link from the website Dinner Together.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

Hunger is instinctual, but eating well is a learned behavior. As a parent, it is my job to teach my daughter how to eat and have a healthy relationship with food, and these lessons start very early on. People are always surprised to see my seven and a half month old drinking water out of a glass instead of a sippy cup. This activity is one of her favorite things to do and she is learning to do it well. I can tell that she feels very proud of herself as she takes sips from her little glass that is a mini version of mine. I am teaching her how to drink, eat and sit at the table by making eating enjoyable for her and by modeling these behaviors. We have started having family meals, both at home and at restaurants, at which we all sit down and eat together. Although she can’t feed herself yet, we feed her at the table in between courses or bites and she is both watching us eat and participating in the “conversation” and rituals associated with having an enjoyable meal. Soon we’ll be advancing my daughter’s eating skills from spoon-feeding purees to finger-feeding small chunks. If you’re interested in reading more about this topic, Ellyn Satter, a registered dietitian and psychotherapist, shares some of her infinite wisdom about teaching kids how to eat in her handout Helping Children Be Good Eaters.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

My husband thinks that this blog should be called “Super Psycho Organic Mommy” instead of “Healthy Families.” It’s true that I am very cautious about what I put into my baby’s body and my own, but I don’t think I’m too over the top. After all, you can never be too careful with such a tiny living, growing being, can you? I have some specific concerns about preventing food allergies, other allergies and asthma in my daughter because I suffer from these things personally and I don’t ever want to see my baby struggling to breathe. We avoid products that contain vinyl, foam and pesticides as much as possible and try to keep plastic to a minimum (it’s impossible to avoid plastic) since these materials are linked to asthma, allergies, reproductive problems, hormonal disruptions and even cancer. A recent study at UC Berkeley found that babies and young children are much more susceptible to the effects of pesticide residues on foods than adults (65-130 times more sensitive) and many kids only develop the enzymes needed to protect themselves from those chemicals after age 7. In addition to only feeding my baby organic foods, I also use feeding bowls and bibs made from cornstarch instead of plastic and glass baby bottles. Even her highchair is made of wood and contains very little plastic. If we do use plastic, we never put it in the microwave or the dishwasher and I recommend that you take similar precautions. If you are interested in learning more about and purchasing safer baby products, check out these websites: www.safemama.com and www.thesoftlanding.com.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

y daughter is a “gourmet” eater. I don’t mean that she’s a little foodie (it’s too early to tell if she’s taking after me yet); I mean that she is a slow and deliberate eater who savors each sip and bite of food. When I complained to her pediatrician that it took 90 minutes to nurse her, he explained that children have different eating styles and they can’t be changed. He’s right: rushing my babe never works. As she’s gotten older, she has gotten a little bit faster at eating, but her general eating style has not changed. I’m glad I understood her approach to eating before we started solids so I knew what to expect from her at the table and, more importantly, so I could explain it to her caregivers. Whether your child eats quickly or slowly, takes breaks or goes steadily, eats a lot or a little, or loves food or can live without it, it’s vital to your feeding relationship that you respect their style and let them set the pace. Think about how you would feel if anyone ever forced you to eat faster than was comfortable for you, or took your food away before you were done eating, or even shoved food in your mouth and made you eat it when you weren’t hungry. Doing that to our children will only make them feel bad about themselves and their eating and it will put a strain on your feeding relationship. Accepting and respecting your child’s eating style and working with it will help prevent food fights later on. Take some time now to pay attention to your little eater’s patterns and preferences; it will serve you both well in future feedings.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

he primary goal when you introduce your baby to his or her first “solid foods” should not be to provide him or her with calories or nutrients; these early feedings should be all about your baby learning how to eat and becoming familiar with different foods. My daughter’s first solid food was avocado. She liked it and really enjoyed playing with the spoon and practicing putting it in her mouth. Over the weekend, I steamed some organic locally grown butternut squash that I got at Gelson’s and mashed it up with some breast milk. She loved it! The color, texture, temperature and flavor were intriguing to her and she had a great time smearing it all over herself and generally becoming acquainted with eating. I think she is getting the hang of spoon feeding after a week of practice. I can’t emphasize enough that starting your baby on solids is not meant to provide calories or nutrition in the first couple of months; it is about helping your baby establish a healthy relationship with food and practicing sharing the responsibility of eating and feeding between babies and their caregivers. The registered dietitian Ellyn Satter is the expert on establishing good feeding habits. Here is a link to a page on her website that explains the division of responsibility succinctly: http://www.ellynsatter.com/ellyn-satters-division-of-responsibility-in-feeding-i-80.html. I will be talking a lot about this incredibly important parenting topic in future posts.

Be Healthy,

- Jessica

irst foods are on my mind this week as my 6 month old daughter will be starting solids this weekend. I have been puzzling over what to give her as her first solid food, interviewing doctors, dietitians and friends for their suggestions. Most people give their baby rice cereal for their first food, but I don’t want her very first food to come out of a box. I want to start her on something natural and wholesome, not something processed. I have settled on organic avocado. It is high in healthful fats, which babies need, as well as iron, B vitamins, vitamin E and vitamin K and carotenoids. Avocados also have a creamy texture that is perfect for babies and they do not require cooking. She will get organic rice cereal eventually, since it is fortified with iron, which is essential to brain development. In the meantime, I will start by feeding her some avocado mixed with a little breast milk to make it the right consistency and we will go from there. I will keep you posted about our progress and which food we choose next. For more information about first feedings, check out Dr. Sears’s page, Starting Solid Foods

Be Healthy,

- Jessica