picky eaters Archives

Boost Kid Essentials: Helping Picky Eaters Eat More Variety

June 6, 2012 by Momstart 15 Comments

A few weeks ago I brought a story to you about the Brunelle Family as I am a Boost Kid Essentials Brand Ambassador, this month on the Boost Kid Essentials Facebook Page there is a story about a family dealing with Autism. The Hawkins Family. They have had a very hard timing knowing what he wants and what he doesn’t want. Children with Autism have trouble expressing emotion, in speech and as a mom it can be difficult feeding your child even when there is no communication barrier. Check out the Hawkins Family:

Yesterday I took my daughter to a Food Therapist, we discussed different kinds of foods and how to get her to try other foods that she always turns down. She’s not really a picky eater but there are a few things, a few different textures that she doesn’t prefer. I think mostly she doesn’t like her food all mixed up like in a casserole or soup, but the therapist still gave us some tips on how to her to try them. Here is a mixture of her new tips and old and true tips that work for our family

Give them a variety of food

Let them pick out food at the grocery store.

Let them explore the food on their terms (very hard for me because I don’t like a mess)

Encourage them to touch the food

Encourage them to smell the food.

Set a good example eat foods you want them to eat

Minimize the distractions, no TV and eat as a family

Get silly with the food

Don’t cater to their special requests – not everyone agrees with this tip, but I believe that children will not starve. They will eventually eat what you serve them. This doesn’t include special cases like the one above, or if your doctor advises you otherwise. There are professionals out there to help you.

On Wednesday, June 20, 2012. I’ll be participating in a live chat on the Boost Kid Essentials Facebook Page talking about my struggles with a picky eater and I would love for you to join me! And go ahead and share with us ways you get your children to eat.

I am a Boost Kid Essentials Brand Ambassador and this is a compensated post

Family Facebook Videos Of Picky Eaters Boost Kid Essentials

May 21, 2012 by Momstart 56 Comments

I’m a Boost Kid Essentials Brand Ambassador and we’re going to be spending the next two months talking about kids and nutrition and three different families struggling to get their kids to eat right. Meet the Brunelle Family. Van is underweight and his mother worries about him as all the other kids look twice his age so she works really hard to get him to eat more and makes sure he’s getting the right amount of nutrition.

How can you get nutrition into your active kids?

I often wonder if my kids are getting enough veggies in them. So far, I’ve been pretty lucky with how picky they are, but as a mom that worries I still wonder about the veggie intake. Lately though as Zoe is getting older she’s starting to get picker and it’s harder to get her to even try something she thinks she’s not going to like and protein is what she avoids the most. So in our house we’ve really pushed the fact that you have to try it. We still can’t make her eat it after she’s tried it. I’ve seen so many parents have even more trouble with their children than I do. I can only offer the advice of giving them lots of options and to not give up. Also it’s good to use things like Boost Kid Essentials to make sure they are getting all the vitamins and nutrients that they need. And you can always get creative with it. Try the Boost Kid Essentials Chocolate Caramel Banana Cooler Recipe.

My other advice is to not let yourself feel helpless, doctors almost always have really good advice too. I’ve recently visited my doctor and talked to her about Zoe. The peace of mind and ideas she gave me really helped me relax a lot.

Do you have any ideas or need help with your children? Feel free to leave a comment in the comments section asking or giving advice. Also visit Boost on Facebook and watch the video about the Brunelle Family.

On Wednesday, June 20, 2012. I’ll be participating in a live chat on the Boost Kid Essentials Facebook Page talking about my struggles with a picky eater and I would love for you to join me!

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Keely H.

Please see the giveaway rules.

Interview with Christine Coppa Nutrition Picky Eaters and Yoplait Kids

March 6, 2011 by Momstart 1 Comment

Nutrition and my kids are two things that are constantly on my mind. Feeding my kids nutritiously takes creativity and constant diligence to make sure that what they eat is healthy for them and healthy for me, my biggest influence over them is my example. Thanks to Yoplait Kids, I had the opportunity to interview Christine Coppa, Editor at Parenting.com, and we talked about challenges with feeding kids from picky eaters to big time snackers.

In the first question, I wanted to know why Christine Coppa was working with Yoplait kids. Christine is a very well known blogger, and expert at Parenting.com. She often talks about nutrition and taking care of her own 3 year old son. Having a lot in common with Christine, I felt connect to her responses and feel that feeding kids healthy options is easier than it sounds. Yoplait makes low fat yogurt the common choice with kids with fun Cars, Disney Princesses and Dora packaging. Christine is a good fit because she already feeds her kids Yoplait and eats it herself as well.

Christine’s number 1 snack tip is to let the kids be in the driver seat. By keeping healthy snacks at eye level kids can go in and grab their own snacks. Have little containers of baby carrots, cheese sticks, and cherry tomatoes. Leave them on the bottom shelf for kids to find and get themselves, also have an area in the pantry of healthy non perishable snacks for them to choose from.

Be creative with picky eaters. My kids are addicted to dipping. Try using yogurt as the veggie or fruit dip, making a healthy wholesome fun snack. Also, try creating a kabob, use a wooden skewer and put veggies and fruit on it. Let them help in the preparation and encourage them to dip those kabobs right into yogurt. If you have trouble like me, with kids that want to eat all the time. Christine suggests using a schedule and distraction to make them think about food less often. We all eat when we are bored and if they are constantly doing something they won’t think about food as often. Also, remember that your example is the biggest influence on your children. My kids eat salads, raw carrots, and lots of fruit because they see Andrew and I doing it too!

When you’re on the go, snacking can still be healthy, you just need to remember to think ahead. Keep non-perishable food in the car so you always have it. Remember to restock it and pack some yogurt in freezer bag. Or freeze the yogurt and grab it on your way out then it will be soft for you to eat later.

Thank you Yoplait and Christine for all of this wonderful advice. Remember, you can win some Yoplait Yogurt. I’m working with MyBLogSpark on behalf of Yoplait. Visit Yoplait on Facebook to "Like" the brand. Also, be sure to "Follow" Yoplait on Twitter to keep up with the latest news from Yoplait!