Do you need to find a way to get your kids to “eat” their vegetables?  Maybe when you serve your child spinach he or she looks up at you with adorning eyes and says, “Oh thank you Mom.  May I have seconds?”  Not your kid?  Not mine either.

So, I’d like to introduce you to the sneaky smoothie.  That’s not an actual recipe, but what I call a smoothie that is disguising healthy greens.  I’m sure you’ve heard of green smoothies.  Same thing, different name.  When it comes to getting your children to consume their veggies, who cares if it’s done through a straw.

One trick you can try is to ask your kids if they like the smoothie you just made them.  When they say yes, and I’m sure they will, ask them if they noticed anything different than their usual smoothies.  Tell them how proud you are that they tried something healthy and liked it.  Now that’s sneaky!  Or, you cannot tell them and keep it your little secret.

Adding fruit to the sneaky smoothie is a great help as it sweetens and disguises the veggie taste.  You can turn any fruit smoothie into a green smoothie simply by adding veggies.  Spinach is a popular green to add to smoothies.  Carrots are wonderful as well.  Start teaching your young ones at an early age that “green is good.”

Click here for some of our favorite sneaky smoothies that my kids will actually “eat.”  They’re easy to make and don’t take many ingredients.  Always a good thing in my book.

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe or helpful hint for getting kids to eat their veggies?  If so then we’d love to hear from you!

Do you feel like you spend a “fortune” on groceries and yet you never have anything at home to fix for dinner?

With a little planning you can know ahead of time what your family will be having each night for dinner that week.  You’ll also find yourself spending less money on groceries each week.  Pretty good deal, huh?

There are so many advantageous to meal planning. Here’s a few of them:

1. Saves you time:When you take the time to meal plan, whether on your own or through a meal planning service, you’ll actually be saving time.  You don’t have to do the 5:00 stare into the pantry trying to figure out what you are going to fix or make extra trips to the grocery store during the week to pick up ingredients.  Sound familiar?
2. Save money: Outside of mortgage/rent payments, grocery bills are the number one expense families have.  When you have a menu plan you eliminate the “impulse” buying, you don’t buy things you already have in your pantry and you don’t waste money eating out as much.
3. Keeps Your Family Healthier: Less junk food, less eating out and planning healthy meals means your family will be healthier.  Who doesn’t want that?
4. Waste Not Want Not: How many times have you cleaned out your fridge and found that the things growing in there could qualify as your kid’s school science project?   When we go to the store without a shopping list we’re more likely to purchase things we already have in our pantry or fridge.  Menu planning lets you check off the items on your list that you already have before you hit the store.
5. Stress Buster: It’s amazing how much stress can be eliminated from our evenings just by menu planning.  No more rushing home from work and wondering what you’re fixing for dinner.  Or, no more long days at home with the kids and remembering at the end of the day that you don’t have a clue what you’re fixing. Evenings become calmer, dinner time is more pleasant and Mom is a happier camper.  What’s not to love about that?

What about you?  Do you like to plan your families meals for the week (or longer) or do you like to just “wing it”?  We’d love to hear your ideas.

Got picky kids when it comes to food, at least nutritious food? Do your kids try to crawl under the table when they see broccoli on the table?  Do they try to slip the dog their squash only to find the dog won’t eat it either? You’re not alone. It seems to be a fairly common phenomenon among households with kids. And, not just young children either. Older kids can be picky eaters as well.

I have been blessed with having both teenagers and younger kids at the same time. Both sets with different dietary needs and different likes and dislikes when it comes to food. My teenage boys are athletic, physical, growing boys. Even though they both look full grown (at 6 feet tall) they are still growing and their bodies, inside and outside, need the right foods to help them with this.

My two younger children have different needs both physically and emotionally when it comes to food. They are both adopted and we’ve had to learn the challenge of dealing with children who have had to go hungry in their past. Hunger can do many things to you emotionally.  We’ve had to learn to help our children understand they won’t ever go hungry again.

All of my kids are different eaters with different taste. My 16-year-old son has a sweet tooth that never seems to end.  I think sweet teeth would be more like it. It’s a constant struggle to get him to lay off the sweets.  My 19 year old could really care less about the sweets. My 9 and 10-year-old are very food focused and just want to eat.

In the process of raising 6 kids (2 of mine are already grown so they and their taste buds are on their wn) I’ve come up with some things that have helped my family over the years.

1. Respect their appetites – If they really aren’t hungry, don’t try to force them to eat. Don’t bribe them to clean their plates. And please don’t use the starving children speech. Likewise, if your child has a tendency toward overeating, help him or her to understand what it means to be full.  We quite often ask one of our younger boys, “is your tummy comfortable?” That’s when you need to stop.  Don’t make them feel guilty or bad for how little or much they eat.
2. Encourage but don’t force – Encourage kids to try new foods but don’t force it on them. They’ll just hate that zucchini even more.
3. Let them help with the meal planning – That’s easy for me since I own a menu planning service.  After the menus are out for that week I will let the whole family decide what we are eating for the week. It makes a huge difference when they have had a say so on what to eat.  They don’t always agree, but we manage.
4. Let them help with the cooking – I hear moms say that they would love to let their kids help in the kitchen but they don’t want to deal with the extra mess. It’s a great bonding time, a time to teach kids responsibility (you helped make the mess, you help clean) and if they cook it they are much more likely to eat it. Trust me, it works.
5. Have fun with meals – My family LOVES breakfast for dinner.  Pancakes, waffles, omelets, you name it.  Try having special dipping sauces (Ranch dressing works wonders) for veggies at meal times and snack times.  For some reason kids love to dip their food in things.
6. Give them their own cookbook – There are a lot of cookbooks out there that are geared to kids of all ages. My younger boys love to look at the pictures and plan on the things they are going to make. My youngest one now wants his own apron, chef hat and cooking show.  Hmmm….
7. Become friends with the smoothie – Do you know how much you can hide in a simple smoothie?  Lots. And, your little picky eaters will never know the difference.  You can pack a lot of nutrition in a smoothie. So what if it’s consumed through a straw?
8. Set the example – You can’t get your little mini me’s to eat nutritiously when they see you eating McDonalds and Dunking Donuts. Show them how to enjoy clean whole foods.
9. Pizza, Fries, Sodas, Oh My! – Teenagers are notorious for wanting to live off junk.  Mine are no exception. They want their bodies to look good but they want to eat junk. As a parent of teens, it can be a real challenge once they start going off on their own more and more. You aren’t always there to control what they are eating. Plan on having as many sit down meals as possible (sitting down at your own table and not McDonalds) during the week. Your family needs the bonding time as well as the proper nutrition they receive from the home cooked meals.
10. Just one bite rule – Let your kids know that if they will just take one bite, they don’t have to take another if they don’t like it. Chances are they will decide they do like it and if they don’t now, next week they might. My kids’ taste buds seem to change from week to week.

What are some creative ways you’ve gotten a picky eater to eat?  We’d love you to share your suggestions.

When you think of happy families sitting around the table eating dinner do you conjure up thoughts of “Leave it to Beaver” or some other old sitcom? The mother walking around in her apron, high heels and pearls with a perfectly set table, perfect dinner and perfect family all sitting at the table. Well, let’s get real please. I know that’s sure not me.

I’m usually doing good to get all four of my boys and my husband to the table in the evening.  Not that they don’t want to eat, just our busy schedules can get in the way. However, we do try to make it a priority to eat dinner together as a family as many nights during the week as possible.  Some nights are harder than others. Some nights we’re not all at home. Still, we make it a priority as much as we can.

It really is amazing what a difference a positive mealtime can make in children and families. Studies show that children who dine with the family:

• Eat more fruits and vegetables
• Are happier
• Are better adjusted
• Are more socially adept
• Get better grades
• Are less likely to smoke, abuse drugs or alcohol
• Are less likely to suffer from eating disorders, obesity or depression

Kids of all ages benefit from family mealtime together. Teens and tweens need the family table time. They need the positive atmosphere and conversation that should take place at the table.  They need to be reminded that they are valued and loved. Our two youngest children were adopted from the Texas foster care system and its amazing how much healing can be done around the kitchen table eating a meal together and bonding. Families who eat together share values together.

Need some conversation starters for dinnertime? Here are a few fun ones:

• If you couldn’t watch TV or go online for a month, how would you spend that time?
• If you could have any superpower, which would you choose? (This one is a regular topic at our table.)
• How can you tell someone you love them without using words?
• If you could be a famous person for a week, who would you be and why?
• If you could trade places with your parents for a day, how would you do things differently?

Does your family have any favorite topics or dinner time games they like to play?  We’d love to hear about them.

Ok, I will admit that cooking with my kids can be a lot harder at times (most of the time) than cooking by myself. I like to cook.  I find cooking therapeutic. Cooking with kids is not always therapeutic. Really! Sometimes the thought of managing my kids and their inevitable mess is almost enough for me to ban them from the kitchen. But, I remind myself of all the reasons these little chefs should be allowed to help. What are some of the reasons we should encourage our kids to discover the world of cooking?

• Kids are more likely to eat what they make. This is true. It doesn’t mean that they will devour the spinach or asparagus that they have helped to make. However, they are much more likely to at least try it. And who knows, maybe they will devour the spinach.
• Learning to cook helps kids learn about nutrition. As I’m preparing food with my kids, we talk about the foods we are cooking and how they will benefit our bodies.
• Kids need to be able to contribute to the family and feel like they play an important part. Cooking and creating in the kitchen can give them that sense of contributing to the family.
• Bonding.  Very important.Cooking together is a wonderful bonding experience.  Especially with my two youngest boys who we adopted at the age of 4 and 5, this has proved to be a great way to bond. Just remember, it’s going to take longer to prepare something and don’t worry about every little spill.
• Boosting self-esteem. Talk about a great way to boost a child’s self-esteem and confidence. Let them get creative in the kitchen and then praise them for it
• Remember, cooking with kids doesn’t mean you have to cook a four course meal or a fancy dessert with them. Keep it simple. The more they can do by themselves the better.

What tips and idea do you have for cooking with your kids? We’d love to hear your experiences.

The following is #3 in a 5 part series on helping children become more adventurous eaters.

Parents tell me that lunch is typically the best meal of the day for picky eaters – meaning they’ll eat “something”. Often that’s because 1) They skipped breakfast and are starving; 2) They get the same foods every day for lunch and/or 3) They eat best when in front of the TV or in the car between activities.

“But, at least they’re eating,” parents tell me. I understand, I do! However, if the goal is to help a child become a more adventurous eater, then the tactics above will backfire. Over time, try the following 3 strategies instead:

1. Create a Hunger Schedule, not a Hunger Strike. We talked about the importance of hunger in yesterday’s post. It’s worth repeating because it’s crucial to success. This does not mean that if you let a kid get hungry, he’ll eat anything. But, if a child is not hungry, he is very unlikely to try a new food. Too hungry and kids gobble up just their favorite comfort foods, because they are too cranky to consider any other options. Starving is a bad time to try anything new.
2. Present one New Food on His Plate (with the familiar favorites). If he fusses about it, be calm and concise and say very matter-of-factly: “Yep, we’ve all got carrots on our plates today.” Then, move on to a new topic. Say it once and don’t revisit it, no matter how much he tries to protest. Just learning to accept the presence of the food is the first step for many kids. If the topic turns to learning about carrots and he informs you, “Hey, these are what Bugs Bunny eats!” then join in and come up with every fun fact you can think of:
   • Did you know that the greens on carrot tops were once used to decorate the hats of royalty?
   • Spiderman eats carrots so he can see better in the dark. He told me so.
   • I can crunch this carrot louder than your father – listen…CRUNCH!!!
3. Sit with Your Child, facing him, whenever possible. Eating in front of the TV or staring out a car window with food from the drive-thru is at times, just a part of our lives. But, the goal is to learn about new foods, rather than be distracted from what we are eating. Ever been to a movie theater, huge tub of popcorn in your lap, and then been astonished that you ate it all? I doubt that if you had that tub in front of you while sitting at the table that you would have eaten the whole thing. Yes, a child will eat more volume when distracted, but there is no learning taking place for the long term goal: creating an adventurous palate and a child who loves to try new foods.

How do you feel if your child eats the same food for most lunches? Would you like to expand to other options, or are the same few choices okay for you and your family? I would love to know your thoughts – it helps me to hear from parents, thank you!

Tomorrow’s post: Do you open your child’s lunchbox after school, only to find he barely ate anything?  Visit tomorrow to learn strategies for filling your kids belly FAST before the recess bell rings.

One of my biggest “before and after” shifts as a new parent has been in my perception of what family mealtime should look like. Before I actually had  children, I held a Rockwell-esque fantasy in mind: our smiling, well-dressed clan, gathered sweetly around a wooden table; our children filling their growing bodies with freshly cooked gourmet foods, and then thanking their gracious chef/mother with all their hearts… Fast forward to reality, as I wipe sweet potatoes off my shirt, beg my 3 year-old to return to the table, yell for my husband to get off the computer, and dump out the contents of my salad spinner with one hand while the other holds a baby on my hip. PARENTHOOD!

Somewhere in between Rockwell and the mile-long drive-thru line for In-N-Out, there’s my family meal goal: eat together at home, as often as possible, as healthy as possible. And just keep trying! It’s that simple. If I don’t stop trying, I cant fail! Fortunately for you, I’ve had a lot of near fails we can both learn from. And here are some kernels of wisdom I’ve gleaned along the way:

1. Your “good” food is always competing with “bad” food. Obesity researchers talk a lot about the home food environment, because children don’t usually buy much of their own food, so the health of their diet is closely tied to the foods they have access to. A home filled with produce and made-from-scratch foods will likely turn out healthy eaters, so shopping well is a huge step toward family health. But it’s also important to keep in mind that it’s impossible to live in a bubble, or keep your children in one. They will know about cupcakes, fast food, and soda someday, if they don’t already. So try to make it a more fair fight. Focus on taste! So many people throw the baby out with the bath water when trying to shift to a healthier diet and only offer low-fat, low-salt recipes that just can’t compete taste-wise with the highly sweetened, high-fat salty processed foods of the industry. You don’t have to be an uber-healthy cook to improve your family’s health, you just have to be a real cook. Meaning you don’t just open packages and heat things. You use basic ingredients and create dishes. Buy quality, fresh (ideally organic) ingredients, and cook like a real chef would. Use butter and salt (if you don’t have a health condition that recommends abstention). Make it look nice (if you have time). Just remember that you want everyone to WANT to eat your cooking, not just accept it grumpily and count the days until you break down and hit the drive-thru.
2. Someone in your family will eventually adopt a special diet (if they haven’t already), so learn to accommodate with minimal effort. If no one in your family is vegan, paleo, low-carb, or gluten-free, you might be in the minority. Trying new ways of eating is often a positive step toward optimal health, so I don’t discourage new diets, but I do think there’s something important about a family sharing the same meal. The “short order cook” phenomenon, where parents prepare a separate meal for different family members, has had negative impacts on many, enabling “picky eaters” and disrupting the usual communion of meal time. (For a great article on this by Bettina Siegel, see blogforfamilydinner.org) So the goal is to easily accommodate different eating habits and tastes while still encouraging children to try new things. I recommend going for meals with many different dishes (just make them simple ones so you’re not in the kitchen all night) and let people pick and combine as they wish. Encourage tasting of new things by modeling it yourself, and letting kids know they don’t have to have a whole serving, they can just take a bite (or a lick, as my son likes to do). People are often more flexible than you’d think. When prepared with taste in mind, many meat-eaters will go crazy over tofu, many wheat-eaters will devour spaghetti squash in place of pasta, and everyone will enjoy a good sweet potato. Despite my earlier advice to cook like a real chef, don’t be afraid to make mismatched meals, which leads me into my next kernel…
3. Be open minded, dinner is dinner. This is a fairly recent epiphany of mine. As someone raised without a lot of family meals at home, my early days as a home cook were marked by a lot of rigidity. A Mexican-spiced entree could only be accompanied by chips, beans, or rice. Spaghetti was served with salad and garlic bread every.single.time. I’ve finally begun to realize that dinner doesn’t have to be quite that well planned all the time; sometimes it’s really fun to have a mixed up meal! So serve that leftover lasagna with some fajita veggies and a piece of cornbread. You might be surprised at how much everyone enjoys the variety.
4. Don’t overreact when things don’t go as planned. You will get to try again VERY soon! Much like a haircut, the need for another meal will arise before you know it. So don’t let an imperfect dinner make you throw in the towel. Your kids might complain. Your meal might not turn out right. The scene at your table may look nothing like you imagined it. But you are fighting the good fight. And every healthy meal you serve will leave your family stronger to fight some more.

Okay, breast feeding mamas: how many of you have heard about lactogenic foods? As someone who struggled to maintain a steady supply of breast milk, many lactogenic foods—foods said to possibly help boost milk production—became my go-to ingredients in those early months following each of my sons’ births. While there isn’t much research on the impact that specific foods have on breast supply, there’s strong anecdotal evidence that they work, and good old fashioned passed down wisdom, too. So much so that many professional lactation consultants and doctors believe that lactogenic foods can be helpful.

If nothing else, lactogenic foods happen to be plain good for you (and baby!). They include barley, almonds, oats, buckwheat, fennel, ginger, legumes and nutritional yeast, all of which can be used to make nutritious snacks for the whole family, even when mom isn’t breastfeeding.

I recently whipped up these super natural Cowboy Cookies for a breastfeeding mama friend who’s just had a baby. Most cowboy cookies are super sweet treats hefty enough to fuel the Wild West on sugar alone. They are usually packed with coconut, nuts, chocolate chips and loads of butter and sugar.

My delicious and totally satisfying version swaps coconut oil for part of the butter, is lower in sugar and has fewer chocolate chips than most traditional cowboy cookie recipes. I also pack mine with super healthy fixin’s including high-protein hemp seeds, lactogenic oats and nutrient dense walnuts.

There’s certainly no guarantee that these delicious sweets will improve milk supply but, if you’re going to make cookies for a new mom in your life or, really, anyone, you might as well make it these healthier treats. And, bonus: kids love them, too!

Keep in mind that the most important thing for breastfeeding mamas to do is maintain a balanced diet that’s high in protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals and drink lots of water. I’d say that they should get lots of rest too (because they should), but we mamas know how that goes! Also remember that most women only need 500 extra calories to support breastfeeding.

I love having people over to eat. Dinner parties were my specialty until I had two children! Now, brunch is the ticket at my place. I start the day with a bang and can still get to bed at a decent time.

Given how early my children wake up, I have plenty of time to put together a brunch for friends the day of, but I’d much rather sit and sip coffee before my guests arrive. So make-ahead brunch recipes have become a bit of a specialty. This easy brunch menubuilt around a spinach and cheese strata was my go-to until I recently came up with these Baked Egg and Kale Cups.

Making these is simple business: steam a bunch of kale, use it to line the wells of a muffin tin, crack an egg inside each well (right on top of the kale), bake and eat. If you feel fancy, sprinkle grated Parmesan on top. Otherwise, salt and pepper will do. Think your kiddo won’t eat kale? Think again: these are like those surprisingly popularkale chips you’ve surely heard all about, with an egg. Even better! If your little one isn’t into kale chips, you can always use a piece of lean, organic ham or all-natural organic bacon in it’s place. Either way, you end up with a scrumptious little egg “muffin” that’s easy to make on the fly or can be made ahead of time—whatever works for you.

If you’re looking for something to go with these Baked Egg and Kale Cups, look no further than this effortless Maple Yogurt Mousse. It is unique, easy to make, made with healthy plain Greek-style yogurt and, most important of all, out of this world delicious. It makes a perfect brunch sprinkled with granola and served alongside these eggs. Also keep these in mind for an afternoon snack or packed lunch! Simply replace a hard boiled egg with one of these “cups” whenever you have them on hand.

• Makes: 6-8 Servings
• Ready In: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 5-10 mins
• Cook Time: 20-30 mins

Think your kiddo won’t eat kale? Think again. Like kale chips, these are surprisingly popular, even with the younger set.