The Picky Eater. It happens to the best of us. The biggest mealtime power struggle, is often about what our children will or will not eat. This can be the toughest area to make changes to, because it can require a completely new mindset for some parents. A new perspective for everyone, in fact. There […]

It can be difficult to consistently have your entire family sit down together to eat, but for some families, it’s even tougher to get the children to actually eat. If that’s your family, help is here!   I recently wrote about a few simple ways avoid warfare and food battles with your children, at the […]

It’s supper time, and it’s a drag. This is a reality that almost all families deal with at some point. Even the most varied and daring of eaters, can suddenly refuse everything. The opposite can happen too though, so here are some great tips with regard to getting everyone back on track, and enjoying meals […]

If you have kids, chances are good that you’ll need a fail-proof sugar cookie recipe for the gazillions of times you’ll be destroying your kitchen, letting little hands decorate them. These are the easiest and tastiest ever! 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 3 C AP flour (more for rolling) 1 & 1/4 C […]

I love Spring and Fall but I REALLY love Winter because it means more soups and stews, and everyone in my family loves comfort food meals. It’s March 6th and snowing outside as if it were the dead of Winter. I’m actually glad because it gives me perfect inspiration to pull out the French Oven […]

I read this the other day: “Welcome to Parenthood, where everyone is always right. Except you.” I get a kick out of that statement, because it can often ring true! There is SO much information (and misinformation) floating around these days, that it can be hard to read between the lines, and weed through the […]

At around 8/9 months, babies should now be eating a few times a day and hopefully have been introduced to plenty of fruits, veggies, and grains. Between 10 and 12 months, it is time to start thinking about throwing in a couple of snack times too; even if you plan to breastfeed past 1 year, […]

Tired of Purees, but Not Quite Ready for Big Kid Meals? Once your baby is around 9 or 10 months old, she should be ready for what commercial manufacturers and retailers refer to as ‘Stage 3’ baby foods. These foods have more texture and small chunks to encourage chewing. At around 11 or 12 months, […]

What’s next after the introduction of Stage Two foods? It’s pretty easy to track down different recommendations for ‘first foods’ and even those foods that come next, but I do get a lot of questions about how to create complete meals once all those fantastic flavors have been introduced. Here are some suggestions for babies […]

Let’s face it, almost all children love chicken nuggets/tenders/bites. The problem is that most of the store-bought types contain things I cannot pronounce and therefore, prefer not to buy. However, they ARE a great way to get protein into their diets and kids seem to go crazy for them. After much trial and error, we […]

The other day a friend asked me how to get their 5-year-old to stop eating junk food all the time. I asked him where his daughter was getting and eating those foods. “At home.”, he said. “She just gets it herself before I know it.” I waited silently for a moment, to let that sink […]

What comes next? It’s really quite simple to find lots of accurate information on what foods to introduce to babies between 6 and 7 months, as first foods. Less readily available, is information about what comes next, but before “toddler food”. The next stage:  Here are a few suggestions of things to try next (8 […]