Food for My Family » Kids in the Kitchen http://foodformyfamily.com ...one plate at a time. Wed, 16 May 2012 19:55:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Holiday Baking 101: Freezing, Including the Kids and More! http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/holiday-baking-101-freezing-including-the-kids-and-more http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/holiday-baking-101-freezing-including-the-kids-and-more#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:06:01 +0000 Shaina http://foodformyfamily.com/?p=10437 Get started now on your holiday baking. A few tips for freezing cookies, baking with your kids, figuring out what to make first and having fun while you do it. Get the Christmas music ready, it’s time to bake!

Tomorrow it will be December. (If you just recoiled at that thought, I’m with you.) That means just 25 days until Christmas. To me, that’s 25 days to get a whole load of baking done and accomplished and crossed off my list.

It also means the start of the busy holiday season, where holiday parties, impromptu get-togethers, light festivals, frozen holiday parades and more are happening, taking up your time and making you feel a bit like a crazy person. (No? Just me?)

To keep my head clear and my stress level more at a functioning level, it helps to tackle things like holiday baking in a slow and steady manner, constantly chipping away at the overall. Plus, it means more variety when Christmas finally comes, and I like variety. Here are a few things to help, as well as how to involve those kids of yours.

A Holiday Baking Checklist

The first thing you’ll need to tackle in the holiday baking scene is coming up with a plan. It will help you see how much you have to do, what you have left as you’re getting it done and manage your time more effectively so that you aren’t left with too much to do at the last minute. Grab a few free printables over on Life as Mom.

  1. Determine quantity. How many trays of cookies are you bringing to holiday celebrations? How many boxes do you plan to fill? Try to come up with a rough estimate of exactly how many cookies or baked goods you’ll need at the end of the day (or the end of the season, rather).
  2. Choose your recipes. Are you going with old favorites? Which new recipes will you be incorporating into the mix? Decide what it is you are making.
  3. Separate the recipes into categories. Determine which things will keep better frozen (covered below) and which need to be made closer to the date they’ll be consumed.
  4. Make a list or calendar. Plot out which recipes are going to be made first, second and so on. A calendar can help designate days for baking, but it can also give you a visual deadline to keep you on track.
  5. Get started. There’s no time like the present to tackle that list. Even if you cross off just one item, you’re one item closer to the end.

What to Freeze Ahead

Freezing baked goods ahead is what makes it possible to do all this stuff ahead, but then the question becomes which ones freeze best? I recently wrote about this over at Food Your Way, so head there for the long version.

  • For dough: the firmer, the better. If you have a dough that you can shape with your hands or roll and cut, these are the best kinds of dough to freeze. It will keep well, and it will stand up to the freeze-and-thaw process just fine.
  • For baked cookies: Undecorated and single layer works best. If you want to freeze sugar or gingerbread cookies, do it before you decorate. Just bake them all off and pick a day in the future to spend decorating them. Avoid freezing filled cookies or sandwich cookies. Instead, consider freezing them as dough and baking later, or freezing the two baked cookies and filling later.
  • Freeze and then package. I like to freeze my cookies and then put them together in the package to freeze. This helps reduce moisture build up inside the airtight container, and it helps ensure they don’t all freeze together. Read about the exact process on Food Your Way.

Getting the Kids Involved

It probably won’t surprise you that my kids are involved in the holiday baking. While there are plenty of cookies I prefer to do myself because they’re more involved, if I tried to shoo them out of the room every time I needed to make a batch of cookies, roll peanut butter balls or stir a pot to make caramels, life simply would not work. Plus, they’re be pretty angry at me. So, instead, I try to get their hands dirty whenever it’s appropriate to do so, and we make a tradition out of it.

  • Make it fun. Rather than stress, try to make this experience as enjoyable as possible. Put on Christmas music, sing songs, have everyone don a set of reindeer ears and put Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on in the background.
  • Pick recipes or parts of recipes that you are familiar with. There are some cookies and holiday treats I make that just aren’t easy for the kids to help with, but perhaps some of them are. Let the kids help with the dough, but choose naptime or a day when they’re at basketball practice to roll them out and futz with the filling and the more delicate intricacies. Remember, too, that they may not have the attention span to last for a 4-hour baking session, so let them know up front which things you are going to have them help with, and have an activity set up off to the side to entertain them the rest of the time.
  • Mix it up. We love giving food gifts, and having the kids help layer ingredients in a jar to gift is always a fun idea. There are plenty of jar dessert mixes readily available, so find one you think looks fun. The kids can also help make labels and decorations for the jar as well.

I’ve posted this list before elsewhere, but never here. This is a general guideline for what kids can do at different ages. Be sure to consider your own child’s maturity level and experience in the kitchen – no one knows your kid better than you do – and don’t be afraid to get them involved.

Up to Age 4:

::pour pre-measured ingredients like flour or milk into mixing bowls
::sift and stir dry ingredients together in large bowls with spoons or whisks
::place cookie cutters in rolled dough and press down with assistance
::decorate cakes and cupcakes with sprinkles and nonpareils
::crunch and smash crackers and cookies into crumbs for crusts with the bottom of non-breakable cups

Ages 5 to 7:

all of the above, plus…

::cut soft fruits or peel oranges, clementines or potatoes
::measure dry ingredients with cups and spoons and add to mixing bowls
::wash fruits and vegetables and remove stems
::cut out cookies from rolled dough, slice rolled cookies, scoop drop cookies
::crack eggs into separate containers
::load utensils and measuring cups into the dishwasher

Ages 7 to 9:

all of the above, plus…

::measure all ingredients, both wet and dry
::frost cookies, cupcakes and cakes
::wipe down surfaces during the cooking process
::roll cookie, pie and pastry dough into different sizes
::load and unload the dishwasher
::separate egg whites and yolks into small dishes

Age 10 and Over:

all of the above, plus…

::use small kitchen appliances like mixers, a food processor or blender
::chop fruits, vegetables and nuts
::add/remove cookies sheets and pans from the oven
::use the stovetop: stir, add ingredients, watch
::everything!

What are some of your favorite things to bake and make for the holidays, and have you started yet? (I just did with the gingerbread this week!)

]]> http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/holiday-baking-101-freezing-including-the-kids-and-more/feed 10 Breaking Down School Lunch Box Ideas http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/kids-in-the-kitchen/breaking-down-school-lunch-box-ideas http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/kids-in-the-kitchen/breaking-down-school-lunch-box-ideas#comments Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:01:16 +0000 Shaina http://foodformyfamily.com/?p=9847 Rethinking ideas for the school lunch box from sandwiches to wraps to crackers and cheese and fruit on a stick.

Let’s talk for a minute about this business of school lunches. Just one more time, I promise.

We’re a week and a half in. I’ve sent hard boiled eggs with my kids three times. In my defense, my sweet kindergartener asked for them today while batting her long lashes and looking cute in her little red and blue dress, picked out specifically for “red” day.

The point is, I’m already in a rut. Each morning I stare at the empty containers and try to think of something fun and exciting to put into them, and when I think I do a good job – fresh, local strawberries today – those little eyelashes return home and poo-poo my efforts.


It’s an odd phenomenon how feeding a child at home can be so different than feeding the same child away from home with no parents or siblings to dictate. With Lene, for example, it’s not that she doesn’t like strawberries. She will happily eat strawberries any day of the week, but she did not appreciate strawberries in a container when opening her lunch today. Her reason: “They got slimy from bumping around in my lunchbox.” Lesson 1: Lene does not appreciate bruised fruit, not even a little bit.

So here I sit, negotiating feeding another child away from home. What are the things that she will like, and what sorts of things can I try, try again or make interesting simply by adding, well, toothpicks. (Do not doubt the power of a toothpick or a small appetizer fork in the lunch box. It’s a powerful tool.)

Here is my list of potential ways to twist the same food into as many different lunches as possible, keeping your kids interested and giving me plenty of options to try on that precocious little lass of mine.

Apples

  • Homemade Applesauce
  • Apple Fries with Nut/Sunflower Seed Butter to Dip
  • Slices with Cheese
  • Homemade Fruit Rolls

Crackers

  • Chicken Salad and Cherry Tomato Slices
  • Cheese and Lunchmeat
  • Cream Cheese and Olives
  • Hummus and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Fruit

Eggs

Wraps/Tortillas

  • Cream Cheese and Thin-Sliced Cucumbers
  • Peanut or Nut Butter and Jam
  • Cheese and Lunchmeat
  • Avocado Slices and Smoked Salmon

Sandwiches

  • Waffle with Cream Cheese and Fresh Strawberry Slices
  • Naan, Hummus and Roasted Red Peppers
  • Banana Bread or Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Fruit Filling
  • The Classics: PB&J, Cheese, Lunchmeat

Yogurt

Leftovers

Dessert

What do you do to keep lunch interesting for your kids?


In other news, I’m still working on fixing the feed. It’s hard because I have to wait for it to update without posting to see if the changes are helping with the delivery. Thank you SO SO MUCH for being patient as I work out the bugs.

I have been busy writing at my usual places, so do check them out if you haven’t had enough of me:
::Tour de Farm and the Celebrity Chef Tour Join Forces
::10 Ways to Eat Your Squash and Like it Too
::Healthy Alternatives to Childhood Favorites
::Kitchen Organization = More Me Time
::Packing School Lunches in No Time at All

]]> http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/kids-in-the-kitchen/breaking-down-school-lunch-box-ideas/feed 33 Easy School Lunch Macaroni and Cheese for Sliding into a New Routine http://foodformyfamily.com/recipes/easy-school-lunch-macaroni-and-cheese-for-sliding-into-a-new-routine http://foodformyfamily.com/recipes/easy-school-lunch-macaroni-and-cheese-for-sliding-into-a-new-routine#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:54:46 +0000 Shaina http://foodformyfamily.com/?p=9773 This 15-minute macaroni and cheese is one of the school lunches I fall back on easily. I only make it once in a while, but it’s a kid favorite, the creamy cheese sauce keeping the pasta hot until lunchtime.

Our day starts as the sun rises. Alarms blare. (To my neighbors, I apologize for Ole’s alarm. He leaves the windows open and then takes a good 20 minutes for the blaring to awaken him from his comatose state. It’s obnoxious, I know.)

The smallest member of our household usually wakes with the alarms, victorious over the nighttime potty training demons. Cheers of encouragement and pride are heard, and then a small amount of work is attempted.

In no time, bleary-eyed children start to emerge from the warm covers, slowly dragging their pajama-clad bodies to the living room, a final stretch and then collapsing onto the couch, ready(?) to start a new day.

By 7:30 a.m. we have reached crunch time. Pajamas are replaced with t-shirts and jeans – skirts for the kindergartener, though you’d think with all the scrapes and scabs she has on her legs, she’d start to see the practicality of pants. The next 30 minutes is a whirl of breakfast, brushing teeth and hair, repacking backpacks and then moving to the business of lunches. Then the door is opened, and out they run to wait for the school bus at the end of the driveway, which leaves the youngest in tears, heartbroken he can’t join his older siblings and go off to school.

Four days in, I can tell you that while the adjustment for the kids has been rather easy, happily running off to school and coming home with stories to tell, the shift has me feeling a bit scattered and tattered.

Trying to get back into the swing of things yesterday, we made one of our favorite school lunches. It takes only 15 minutes, and while the pasta is cooking, I stuffed garden fresh tomatoes, cherries and dried mangoes into lunchboxes, filled the water bottles and made sure teeth were brushed and children were presentable. Plus, the kids came home, all with empty lunch boxes, and that is what I define success as these days.

Early morning cooking with the kids. Melt butter and whisk in flour to make a roux.

Cook it a bit and then slowly add milk and then cream cheese.

Cheddar cheese hits next and is stirred until melty. All that’s left is adding our cooked pasta and filling the Thermos containers.

Little Lene’s lunch. She makes me smile with every kindergarten story she tells, and I’m still a bit sad to have lost my daytime cooking partner.

Warm and fuzzy lunch feelings are sent off with the kids, and one is tucked away at home for a very lonely little Magnus, who saw me editing the photo of the kids’ first day of school up above and started telling me how they were gone and how he wants to play with them in a very sad little boy voice.

What have you been packing for school lunches so far? Check out some of our methods to curb the madness in The Art of Packing School Lunches.

1/2 pound small pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat until bubbly. Slowly whisk in the flour and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, whisking continuously, until the roux turns golden. Slowly whisk in the milk until all is incorporated. Cook until thick, 1-2 minutes.

Stir in cream cheese until melted. Remove from heat and stir in grated cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to melt. Season to taste. Serve immediately or pack into preheated insulated containers to enjoy at lunch.


Makes 4 servings.
Copyright © Food for My Family.

NOTE: If you’re getting my RSS feed via email, I know it’s been a bit wonky the last few days. Hopefully it will be fixed (crossing my fingers) today! I’m so sorry for the inconvenience and multiple emails, and thank you so much for being patient as I get it fixed.

]]> http://foodformyfamily.com/recipes/easy-school-lunch-macaroni-and-cheese-for-sliding-into-a-new-routine/feed 18 Baked Apple Puff Pancake and The Whole Family Cookbook http://foodformyfamily.com/recipes/baked-apple-puff-pancake-and-the-whole-family-cookbook http://foodformyfamily.com/recipes/baked-apple-puff-pancake-and-the-whole-family-cookbook#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:43:26 +0000 Shaina http://foodformyfamily.com/?p=9031 An easy-to-make baked apple puff pancake is perfect for breakfast for dinner or a late Saturday brunch, and it’s just the thing to get the whole family involved and cooking in the kitchen.

My very first memory took place in a kitchen. A tornado was also involved. When I got older (as in past the age of one), I started making my way up on top of the kitchen desk to where the cookbooks were lined up, taking them down and turning their pages. Up there on that shelf was Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Boys and Girls, a cookbook that taught me how to chop, dice and bake because, well, my mom wasn’t so interested in those things.

Breaking it down into easy-to-follow steps, I made my first ever meal for my family when I was just six or seven. Roasted chicken, green bean almondine and a from-scratch yeast bread (shaped like a turtle, thank you) were all on the menu. I instantly wanted to dig further into the depths of the cookbook, trying new recipes, looking for new foods and forcing my family to come along with me. That cookbook had such a great impact on me, imagine my excitement when a dear friend of mine wrote her own.

In The Whole Family Cookbook, Michelle Stern of What’s Cooking with Kids has taken easy-to-folow steps and 75 recipes and paired them with tips to get your kids involved, information on eating locally and sustainable environmental practices and put it all in one book that is meant to engage all ages. For a new generation of responsible cooks, I am thrilled to be able to let my kids thumb through the pages of this book and choose what they want to make for dinner.

My copy of Michelle’s book arrived, and we were instantly drawn to the baked apple puff on account of its breakfast-like nature, but also because it involved cracking eggs, which my kids love to do. Some children are more experienced in this house, but practice makes perfect.

Little hands measured and mixed the milk, vanilla, sugar, flour and spices into the eggs.

Because we were leaving several apples exposed on top and not stirred into the pancake, we tossed the whole lot in a bit of lemon juice.

Melt butter in an ovenproof skillet and add 3/4 of the apples. By the time you get all the apples in a single layer, you’ll be ready to pour the batter over.

And once you’ve covered up the first layer of apples, add another before popping the whole thing into the oven.

As you clean up the counters and set the table with the kids, all that mixing will be puffing up in the oven into a golden pancake, perfect for dinner or breakfast or an easy brunch served alongside bowls of fruit and egg dishes.

Plus, you can win one! I’m giving away a copy of The Whole Family Cookbook to one lucky reader who tells me a story about one of your first food experiences or cooking memories as a kid. Just comment to enter. This giveaway will run until Monday, June 6th at 11:59 p.m. EDT and is open to all U.S. residents. A winner will be chosen at random using Random.org from all eligible entries.


This recipe has been adapted from The Whole Family Cookbook by Michelle Stern.

What I changed from the original:
::I wanted this to be a bit sweeter in the batter rather than sprinkle the sugar on top to cook it in, so I added the sugar straight to the batter.
::I have a thing for cardamom. It’s nearly a disease how often I sprinkle it in. This recipe is no exception.
::I adjusted the apple cooking method, tossing them in lemon juice and barely cooking them at all before pouring the batter over and tossing them in the oven. This resulted in cooked apples that still held their shape, but rest assured they were cooked through.
::Because I left out the sugar from the top, I offer powdered sugar or maple syrup to go alongside the pancake, but it’s not really necessary.

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium-sized apples
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 lemon
powdered sugar or maple syrup to serve

Preheat oven to 450° F. In a medium bowl, crack eggs. Beat lightly and then mix in milk and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking in. Continue to mix until everything is well blended.

Cut apples into thin slices and toss with juice from half a lemon. In a 10″ ovenproof skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add 3/4 of the apple slices in a single layer to the pan. Allow to cook for 60 seconds. Pour the batter over the apple slices, covering them completely. Take the remaining 1/4 of the slices and arrange on the top layer. Place the entire skillet in the oven and bake at 450° F for 15-20 minutes until brown and puffed.

Remove from the oven, cut into wedges and serve. Serve with maple syrup or powdered sugar, if desired.


Makes 4 servings.
Copyright © Food for My Family.


Never miss a recipe! Have them delivered right to your RSS feed or to your inbox as an email!
]]> http://foodformyfamily.com/recipes/baked-apple-puff-pancake-and-the-whole-family-cookbook/feed 53 National Nutrition Month: Very Hungry Caterpillar Giveaway! http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/news-the-kitchen-sink/national-nutrition-month-very-hungry-caterpillar-giveaway http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/news-the-kitchen-sink/national-nutrition-month-very-hungry-caterpillar-giveaway#comments Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:08:05 +0000 Shaina http://foodformyfamily.com/?p=8198 I remember reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar to my sister when she was growing up, and it was one of the first books I purchased for my first child as well. There hasn’t been a moment in my kids’ lives where this book wasn’t front and center and at the top of the bedtime reading list. It is Magnus who is currently fascinated by its bright illustrations and the pictures of food.

For the very hungry caterpillars in my own home, it’s important for me to teach them how to eat healthy by presenting them with healthy meals and snack options. We’ve been covering some ways of how to get your children to experience and accept a wide variety of foods in the picky eater series, and reading is a fantastic way to drive home those points as well. Books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Green Eggs and Ham make this easy. Green Eggs and Ham shows us how trying new foods can lead to fun discoveries and open does for food. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, along with its counting and biology lessons, also illustrates how terrible you can feel when overindulging on junk food, the importance of eating healthy and how great green leafy vegetables are for you.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Academy of Pediatrics are joining together with We Give Books and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle to send the message to families about teaching healthy eating habits in the home. They will be donating copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to over 17,500 pediatrician offices across the United States.

As part of Very Hungry Caterpillar Day on March 20th, they’d like to offer books to Food for My Family readers as well!


Enter the Giveaway:

Prizes:

  • (1) winner will receive a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and a Very Hungry Caterpillar Zoobie
  • (2) additional winners will receive a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar

1. Leave me a comment below.

2. Follow @FoodforMyFamily on Twitter and tweet the following. Then come back and let me know you’ve tweeted!
Enter to win a Very Hungry Caterpillar prize pack from @FoodforMyFamily: http://bit.ly/hUJgUP #HealthyCaterpillar

3. Join the Food for My Family community on Facebook and then come back and let me know that you did.


Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, 3/23. Winner will be chosen using Random.org and notified by email. In the event that the winner doesn’t respond to the email within 48 hours, I’ll choose a new winner.

******UPDATE: Congratulations to Kelly K., who won the Very Hungry Caterpillar Prize Pack, and a huge thank you to everyone who entered!

Never miss a recipe! Have them delivered right to your RSS feed or to your inbox as an email!
]]> http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/news-the-kitchen-sink/national-nutrition-month-very-hungry-caterpillar-giveaway/feed 118 Picky Eaters Guest Post: Picky Teens and Tweens – What’s a Mom to Do? http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/picky-eaters-guest-post-picky-teens-and-tweens-whats-a-mom-to-do http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/picky-eaters-guest-post-picky-teens-and-tweens-whats-a-mom-to-do#comments Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:54:51 +0000 Shaina http://foodformyfamily.com/?p=8097 The following post is from Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD from Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen and is the fourth guest post in the Breaking Picky Eaters series. Thanks so much to both of you for sharing!

Picky toddlers and preschoolers are nothing out of the ordinary. But what do you do if your finicky eaters never outgrew their pickiness? How many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bowls of plain pasta with butter can a mom possibly make, and is it even possible to get teens and tweens to grab for nutrient-rich fruits and veggies instead of the all-too-common pizza and chips?

We recently recorded a podcast show on The Science of Picky Eating and wrote a blog post to go with it. After the show went live, a listener asked the following question:

“My children are still picky at the ages of 16 and 13. I read this blog and listened to the podcast and probably made all the mistakes listed. I was a very picky eater as a child and it looks like my children inherited the same behavior. I’m ready to make changes but it seems the ones mentioned are for younger children. I am interested in anyone’s experience with teenage picky eaters.” – Terry

Janice and her tween, Leah, plan the weekly menu together. They look through cookbooks (including our newest book, No Whine with Dinner), food magazines, and online recipe sites. Feel free to use our free 7-Day Meal Planner to keep track of your favorites.

We posted Terry’s question on our Facebook page, and the tips for getting picky teens to be more adventurous came flooding in. Here are just a few of the clever ideas that have worked wonders for families:

  • Menu Plan: Assign your teens one night each week when they’re responsible for planning and preparing the family meal.  When teens “own” the meal, they’re more likely to try it. Give your teens a budget, and let them keep any spare change. For inspiration, try theme nights such as Mexican, Italian, Thai, or Locally-Grown and provide some healthy guidelines.
  • Recipe Makeovers: Take baby steps to better nutrition by giving pizza, tacos, chicken fingers, mac ‘n cheese, French fries, and other teen faves a healthy makeover. Hooked on French fries? Make a batch of sweet potato fries instead. Making mac ‘n cheese seven nights a week? Cook up your own using whole wheat blend pasta and a low-fat cheese sauce.


Liz’s 15-year-old son, Josh, doesn’t like avocados but he loves guacamole. Last summer, he made guacamole from scratch and even learned how to remove the pit with a chef’s knife. Close supervision recommended!

  • Ninja Teens: When preschool and grade school kids help out in the kitchen, they’re often given simple tasks like mixing up batters or whisking together dry ingredients. Invite your teens into the kitchen for some more challenging culinary lessons to really whet their appetite. Teach them how to hold and handle a chef’s knife, offer some lessons on cooking in a pressure cooker, or roll up your sleeves and make a mess making meatballs. Get them comfy in the kitchen so they get comfy trying new foods.


Twelve-year-old brother, Simon (right), gobbles up Josh’s guacamole creation, and his friend tries it too!

  • Positive Peer Pressure: Rely on external motivators (AKA peer pressure) to encourage your teens to go outside their culinary comfort zone. Invite friends over for dinner once a week, or sign your teen up for a cooking class with a few friends. When they see other kids eating a new food they may be more inclined to give it a try.


Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD are The Meal Makeover Moms, and together, they’re on a mission to help busy families eat a healthy and delicious diet. Their latest cookbook, No Whine with Dinner (M3 Press, 2011) features 150 healthy, kid-tested, mom-approved recipes and 50 amazing secrets for getting picky eaters to try new foods … especially vegetables. For credible nutrition advice and easy, affordable family recipes, visit their award-winning blog, Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen or listen to their weekly radio podcast, Cooking with the Moms.


Never miss a recipe! Have them delivered right to your RSS feed or to your inbox as an email!
]]> http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/picky-eaters-guest-post-picky-teens-and-tweens-whats-a-mom-to-do/feed 9 Breaking Picky Eaters: Aimée Wimbush-Bourque of Simple Bites http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/breaking-picky-eaters-aimee-wimbush-bourque-of-simple-bites http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/breaking-picky-eaters-aimee-wimbush-bourque-of-simple-bites#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:33:33 +0000 Shaina http://foodformyfamily.com/?p=7785 The following post is from Aimée of Simple Bites and is the third guest post in the Breaking Picky Eaters series. We’ll start to look at different reasons why a child might be picky and solutions and methods to try with your “particular eaters” at home based on what has worked for all of us, what hasn’t worked and what might work for you later this week.

I am no stranger to the fussy eater. If I looked back and evaluated my journey as a mom so far, coping with my two picky children would probably top my list as the single most frustrating aspect of parenting.

My first, personal blog was born out of a desperate attempt to connect with other moms after seeing my lovingly prepared meals continually flipped off the side of the high chair. A foodie, or ‘gourmande’ as we say here in Quebec, myself, I always assumed my children would eat everything – as long as I introduced a wide variety of foods to their young palates early enough. Right? Right? Wrong.

It has now been five years since that first spoonful of solids was obstinately pushed out of my firstborn’s mouth. Things are better. Much better. My eldest now eats meat, green vegetables, and many fruits. Yes, cheese is still limited to one variety (marble cheddar, SVP), berries are disdained, and orange vegetables are pushed aside, but he eats a myriad of ingredients most kids his age won’t touch. Beans, lentils, and chickpeas are all popular, served up in burritos, soups and curries. Fish disappears faster than the side of home fries, and cooked cereals are gobbled up every morning.

As I look back on the headway we have made over the years, I’m happy to report that as slow as it was, progress was made. Perhaps that is the encouragement you need to hear today.


Here are a few things I learned along the way. They didn’t solve all my problems, that’s for sure, but made for smoother meal times and helped ensure my kids were getting the nutrients they needed.

  1. Go big for breakfast
    Serving up a well rounded, hearty breakfast will help replenish low energy reserves, especial if supper was minimal the night before. Try and include whole grains, fruit and dairy. If your child isn’t big on breakfast, be sure to serve up a solid mid-morning snack.


  2. Allow healthy grazing
    Keep healthy snacks around for quick handouts, but don’t allow them to snack close to meals. The only exception here is if I know that dinner is not one of their favorites, I’ll pass out carrot and celery sticks for snacking in the late afternoon.


  3. Get kids in the kitchen
    Get kids involved with meal planning, meal preparation, shopping, growing of vegetables, and preparing healthy snacks. Be sure to invite them to pull up a chair next to you when you’re cooking dinner and let them taste and nibble during the prep time and encourage them to try new things.

    As parents, we have a responsibility to make eating about more than just loading up our forks. Take the time to make the gathering and preparing of food, as well as sitting down together around the dinner table, fundamental to eating.


  4. Choose the best ingredients for the food your kids DO love.
    Is your preschooler on a P.B & J kick? Then provide him with organic whole grain bread, all-natural peanut butter and sugar-free jam. You may not be able to control his likes and dislikes, but you can ensure the food he does consume is whole, natural and the very best for him.


  5. Relax and have fun
    Over the course of a week most kids eat a fairly balanced diet (if you offer them one). Don’t sweat it if one day there is no progress on the meat or milk front. Tomorrow they’ll eat a bowl of yogurt, nibble down a few meatballs and carrot sticks and it will be fine. Don’t sweat every meal.


Bottom line: The fact that you are still reading this post is a good sign, because it shows you care. Hang in there. Things do get better.


Aimée Wimbush-Bourque is the editor of Simple Bites, part of the Simple Living Media Network, which dishes up real food for the family table. Cooking has always been her preferred recreational activity, creative outlet, and source of relaxation, and growing up with a “real food” upbringing shaped that passion. After nearly ten years in the professional cooking industry, she went from restaurant to RSS by trading her tongs and clogs for cookie cutters and a laptop. She is mother to two children and wife to Danny.


Never miss a recipe! Have them delivered right to your RSS feed or to your inbox as an email!
]]> http://foodformyfamily.com/the-kitchen-sink/breaking-picky-eaters-aimee-wimbush-bourque-of-simple-bites/feed 40