Munchkin has partnered with pediatric dietitian Kate Samela, author of Give Peas a Chance, to help parents introduce their babies to fresh fruits and vegetables at a young age with Munchkin’s new Fresh Baby Food System – which makes homemade baby food as easy as 1-2-3!

· Step 1: Chop & Steam – Start with Munchkin’s Fresh Food Chopper & Steamer, which chops and steams food quickly with a stainless steel cutting blade and convertible lid for steaming in the microwave.

· Step 2: Mash – Next, use the Fresh Food Grinder to mash food into safe-to-swallow textures.

· Step 3: Store – Lastly, stock your freezer with homemade baby food in stackable Click Lock Fresh Food Freezer Trays or Click Lock Fresh Food Freezer Pops with easy-to-hold handles for little hands.

Six Tips to Make Healthy Eating Easy from Kate Samela:

1.) Be prepared: The one thing I always emphasize to parents is that they must be sure to have a variety of fresh foods in the house in order to make healthy meals in a flash. Even if you have the best intentions to make a healthful meal or snack, if the ingredients you need are not on hand, it’s not going to happen. Plan to dedicate a once per week (without your kids if possible!) healthy grocery outing, where your focus is on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and fiber.

2.) Think Fresh First: Having staples of canned, frozen, or dried items such as beans, tuna fish, vegetables, and fruits is easy to do and necessary for building a healthy pantry; taking healthy a step further, be sure to keep a variety of perishable foods on hand you know you are going to use within 3-5 days to expose your child to food in its most natural state. Your child, even at an early age, can learn how easy good nutrition is, just by watching you peel an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter, and grating it or dicing for home made applesauce.

3.) Stick to a regular schedule: This may not seem so important, but to me, it remains one of the most overlooked “rules” of feeding healthy from the start. When you stick to scheduled meals and snacks, you are supporting your child’s ability to regulate their hunger, which helps them learn what it means to feel full. If you allow your child to snack or “graze” all day, they eat just enough to get by, but never really learn to eat a full nutrient dense meal. This leaves parents feeling that their kids eat nothing when it comes to dinner time!

4.) Go with Color: Pick foods that are bright in color to maximize exposure to essential nutrients and antioxidants. Rotate your colors of grains, fresh fruits and vegetables over the course of the week using the colors of the rainbow as your guide.

5.) Learn to Cook – or at least learn to “prepare” food at home: Making food from scratch does not have to be complicated. Home cooked foods offer more nutrition than processed foods, as cooking allows you to add fresh herbs and spices and natural fats that make food taste terrific. If cooking in the kitchen seems like a daunting task, start small by learning to make a few key items your family eats often that might be prepared or come from a package (i.e Pizza!)

6.) Practice buying packaged foods with the shortest list of ingredients:

We all rely on packaged foods or prepared foods regularly. Make it a habit to purchase packaged foods with the least amount of ingredients – if you don’t understand what is on the label, put it back on the shelf.

Enter to Win:

Munchkin Fresh Food Kit

To Enter:

Leave a message telling me how you have your family eat healthy

Extra Entries:

Use the rafflecopter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway ends March 12th. Please see our giveaway rules.  Samples received.