I’m starting a new series on picky eaters here on Food for My Family. I’ll look at different reasons kids might be picky eaters and how one approach doesn’t work for all children, and we’ll hear from other parents who may be going through similar trials to find out what worked for them and what didn’t to give you ideas on how to approach the subject with your kids. My youngest is a picky eater; however, I don’t like to call him that. So many children are pigeonholed... more

It seems as though everyone has jumped on the mini burger bandwagon as of late. Sit down and fast food establishments alike have been serving up these pint-sized patties for their guests of all sizes. It’s time for you too to embrace the three-bite burger. When Kiwi was five years old she hated burgers. Burger night was met with tears and cries about the evils of grilled meat patties squished between two toasted buns. While I don’t care that she prefers steak to hot dogs and sushi... more

It’s summer in Minnesota, and that can mean many things to many people.  For me, it’s not really summer until the road side stands pop up offering cucumbers, melons, potatoes and, of course, sweet corn.  Now, it can’t be just any kind of sweet corn.  You see, I grew up spoiled.  My Uncle Duane had a farm in Southern Minnesota where he raised beef cattle, soybeans and sweet corn, and when the corn was ripe, he’d call my dad and we’d grab a stack of paper bags, head... more

The past couple of weeks I’ve been having some…issues with a certain Kola Nut. He’s not a bad kid. In fact, he’s anything but. Still, he has moments of seeming malicious intent. Like the time he dumped all the soap out of the dispenser in the bathroom and filled it up with water. Last week. Or yesterday, when he decided to help Kumquat remove every item of clothing from her dresser so she could find the perfect outfit. What about the day he played “Master of... more

It’s a kitchen. There are kids. It’s bound to be stressful, right? They spill things, get their hands dirty and rub them on the counters; they crack extra eggs into your bowl while your back is turned. They do, when your back. is. turned. Believe me. I definitely feel the stress when my kids enter the kitchen, but I am determined to have them in that space as much as possible. I have this theory that being involved in the cooking process leads to a well-rounded individual. From... more