Eating/feeding tips:

• Eat with them!  Make them the same dinner you make yourself.  Let them see what you eat.  Don’t just feed them what you think they’ll eat, but what they should.
• Start them when they can first eat solids besides cereal.  They might spit out the beans and peas a few times.
• Get them interested in foods by planting vegetables or herbs, shopping at a farm, farmer’s market or stand, and cook with them.
• Don’t treat vegetables like a punishment.  They’re delicious, but kids need to get accustomed to them.
• Don’t quit.  Really, your kids will eat them.
• Don’t beat yourself up on those times than you give them the unhealthier stuff.  Just try to limit those times.
• Have fun!  Make up games or dances.  Tell them their favorite super hero or cartoon character loves a particular food. 

Cooking tips:

• If you’ve noticed my pattern with cooking vegetables- I do this for almost all the vegetables I cook (just to varying lengths of time).  Bring pan of water to boil and submerge veggies or steam, when just done (still crisp but tender) remove from heat, strain and dunk into cold/ice water to stop them from cooking, keep on side until ready to serve meal.  Reheat in saute pan with pat of butter, pinch of sea salt and some fresh ground pepper until just hot enough to eat (you don’t want them to cook further).  You can substitue butter with olive oil or olive oil and garlic if you prefer.  Just careful not to put too much olive oil to overpower the veggies.

Shopping Tips:

• Trader Joe’s is the place!  Best organic butter— and not outrageously priced.  Tuscan Pane is a yummy, chewy sour dough Italian sliced bread.  Applegate Farms cold cuts are affordable there too.  Frozen Organic rice- Jasmine or Brown is so handy to have in the freezer, perfectly ready in 3 minutes.       I get so many appetizers for gatherings there.  One I like to make is from their frozen nan.  I put goat cheese or Boursin  with chopped spinach and tomatoes or sliced shiitakes.  Cut into pieces.
• Read labels.  Don’t serve anything with high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners (even Splend!), or artificial preservatives.
• Try to get local produce, dairy and meats.  If you can’t try to get those without pesticides and hormones. 

©2010 MyKidsReallyEatThis.com