Guest Blogger
Beth Bader
Beth Bader, co-author of the book The Cleaner Plate Club
In their book, The Cleaner Plate Club, Ali Benjamin and Beth help parents understand picky eating behaviors; where they originate, and how to deal with them creatively to get kids to eat better — without any sneaking, lying or fights. And without the judging or holier-than-thou advice that parents don’t want and don’t need.
The Cleaner Plate Club also includes information to help parents understand all the overwhelming headlines about industrial food, its safety hazards, and the harm it has done to our environment and most of all, our kids.
As much activist as cook, Beth is most of all a mom determined to make the world a better place for her child, one meal at a time. She is a food blogger at Expatriate's Kitchen.and contributes to EatLocalChallenge.com and The Cleaner Plate Club Blog.
Laughter is the Best Dessert
I don’t believe in using “sneaky” tactics to get my child to eat better. The closest I have ever come to this, however, was a bit of fun I would play with my daughter when she was a toddler.
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Take a Food Adventure
I’ve taken my daughter to the farmers market nearly every weekend since she was three months old. She graduated from her perch in the front carrier, smiling out at all she saw, to her favorite “ride” in a backpack while I shopped for our produce, hands-free. These days, she has her own market basket and [...]
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A Feast for All Senses: Engaging All the Senses in Food Play
Good food is a complete sensory experience. If your child is having trouble with getting past the barrier to taste at the table, maybe its time to engage all of his other senses long before the dinner bell.
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The Role of Play in a Child’s Healthy Food Attitude
These days toy kitchens range from pink 1940s retro to a state-of-the art outdoor play grill. While most of us parents are choosing play food settings with things in mind like durability and “just what do they mean by ‘some assembly required’?” We might be surprised to find out that this kind of food play [...]
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Fun is the Secret Ingredient to Healthy Food Attitudes
Sometimes as parents we get so focused on what our children are eating (or not eating) that we miss out on a very important part of the experience: the how. Of course, table manners are important, and sometimes I wonder if those will ever come, but this “how” is more than proper use of a [...]
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Six top reasons to eat healthy while you are pregnant: Part 2
Sticking to a healthy diet can be a struggle for a lot of us. In my own experience, there are times when my diet gets off track — especially holidays. When I was pregnant, as an older mom, I had some issues with borderline gestational diabetes.
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Six top reasons to eat healthy while you are pregnant: Part 1
If you are pregnant, you’re probably thinking a lot more about baby names and how to store up a few months of extra sleep rather than that eventual battle over broccoli when your baby becomes a toddler. Yet now may be one of your best opportunities to help him to love his vegetables!
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Enjoy Your Dinner
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War The hardest battle to avoid is one brought on by your own expectations. It’s pretty normal for us to want our efforts to be appreciated. We moms (and dads who cook) often prepare meals out of a [...]
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Strategies for Countering Texture Issues
Texture was an unexpected learning for me. When I look back on the whole of Battle Orange, the number of recipes and the lengths I went to, I have to shake my head and sigh. One recipe solved the whole thing. One.
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Strategies for Countering Taste Issues
I’ll admit it. I used to think I hated spinach. My stepmom would fix frozen spinach, boiled, and served with cider vinegar. It was dark, greenish black, mushy and bore no resemblance to the original vegetable at all. I was never a picky eater, but I would not touch the stuff.
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