Dealing With Family When Feeding Your Child
Dealing with family... This is one of the most common struggles I hear from parents.
How I Learned to Trust My Kids with Food
Six years ago I gave avocado to my first baby when he was 6 months old. He opened his mouth wide with excitement to eat off the spoon, spit part of it out, ate some of it, and mashed the rest in his hair. He loved eating! It was fun to watch, and yes, a mess to clean up! He started with avocado, sweet potato, squash, banana and any fruit or vegetable we could mash. Then he tried hard-boiled egg yolks, and eventually cooked meats and grains. I loved watching his face when he tried new foods and seeing the excitement or horror from a different taste or texture. We stuck with basic foods, and he was generally content with his options. I thought, "There's no reason to feed him anything else. He's eating wholesome foods and nourishing his body."
What Food Is Healthy to Eat? (We’re Missing the Point)
What food is healthy to eat? As a dietitian, I get asked this a lot. There are so many different ideas and opinions and the research is constantly changing. You've probably heard you shouldn't eat eggs, they have too much cholesterol. Maybe you've also heard they're a great source of protein. Have you been told a low-fat diet is best for heart health, but then you read that Keto (high-fat) is the best for weight loss and health? This is the confusion I'm referring to, and not only is it confusing, but it also misses the point. Asking, "What food is healthy to eat?" especially without context, isn't helpful nor accurate, and it's potentially harmful. The information discussed here is only the tip of the iceberg. It's certainly not all-encompassing, but I hope it provides another perspective and provokes greater thought. So here are some reasons why labeling food as "healthy," especially as a blanket statement, misses the point.
Why My Kid Ate 3 Bowls of Ice Cream for Dinner
Have you ever allowed your child to eat ice cream for dinner? At my son's 7th birthday party a few weeks ago, he skipped dinner, saying he wasn't hungry (read: too busy to stop and play), and instead ate 3 bowls of ice cream with toppings for dessert. So that night, by the time dessert came around, he was super hungry. He needed something to fill up on. He needed more than one bowl of ice cream. You might think this sounds extreme, or like horrible parenting to allow him to eat 3 bowls of ice cream for dinner.
5 Tips If Your Child’s Obsessed With Food
"The only food Joey wants to eat all day is macaroni and cheese. He asks for it all the time. He refuses to eat other foods. He might try one bite of something else if I bribe him with mac 'n cheese after. I'm so tired of making different foods and having him refuse to eat them. I'm exhausted from fighting at every meal, and I'm yelling. I don't yell at my kids, and I'm yelling."
5 Reasons Your Toddler Won’t Eat Dinner
If your toddler won't eat dinner, you're in the right place! This is one of the most frustrating issues for parents, so if this is you, you're not alone. Here are five key reasons your child might be refusing dinner and solutions for what you can do about it. While having kids is one of the most fun and rewarding life adventures, it can also be one of the most challenging. And who knew that food would fair near the top of the list for parenting struggles?
Is Emotional Eating Really That Bad?
Is emotional eating really that bad for you? Do you find yourself spoon deep in
Help Your Child Develop a Positive Body Image
My mom struggled with her own body image and I watched her diet and try to shrink herself from a young age, along with making a seemingly innocent comment toward my body. These things aren't the only reason I struggled to develop a positive body image. I have a predisposition toward perfectionist thinking and was also looking for a sense of control (i.e. tried to focus on controlling my body) when my life felt uncertain and out of control. In simple terms, it was the perfect storm. Now, I know that's not your intention, and you want to do the best for your child, so read through the following
Negative Body Image and Your Child
Your negative body image: Do you spend time looking in the mirror and scrutinizing your body? Or when you get together with a friend, are you comparing your body to theirs? Do you regularly criticize your appearance? If you do, you're not alone! We live in a dieting society, so this is absolutely normal. I grew up in diet culture too. Raise your hand if you remember the thigh master. Maybe you even had one. I had one in my home, along with other tools like tape measures, powdered drink packets, and Jane Fonda workout VHS tapes. These all belonged to my mom.
How to Create Food Neutrality for Your Child
The other day I walked in from the store and my son came running in to make sure I got more peppers. He then wanted me to cut them for him to eat right then and there. Then my daughter started helping me unload the groceries and I heard, “*GASP* Mommy, you got me strawberries!!” in the sweetest and most endearing voice. Once everything was put away, I made hard-boiled eggs, and my boys were begging for them out of the instant-pot warm and sprinkled with a touch of salt. They do the exact same thing when I buy pop-tarts or make fresh-baked cookies.