I have a friend ready to quit cooking. She's getting fed up with the family not liking what she makes.  And her husband is suggesting she come up with a menu of things the kids, ages 4 and 2, like to eat and just eat that every week.  So she gets to eat hot dogs, sausage, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, pasta, chicken and breakfast stuff every night? Not happening.

My answer: I've been there so don't think I'm one of those people who have good eaters who think you just aren't doing it right. My oldest was VERY finicky and I made the rookie mom mistake of catering to it. I got so I'd feed the kids chicken nuggets or pizza at 6, start baths and put them to bed and then hubbie and I would eat what we liked. This is actually a nice thing once in awhile, like creating a mini date night. We like spicy food so this is especially nice. But my experience is that when you cater to this, the kids' palates never get any better. You have to gradually steer them out of a diet full of junk.

When these separate dinners turned from once in awhile into an every day thing  I got tired of making two meals and cleaning up the kitchen twice and I also know the importance of family dinners. I put my foot down and can report that a year later, both kids eat way better than they ever have and a much wider variety than I ever imagined.

Here's what we did: ... Read more

It was nice to see this story by our colleague Elisabeth Parker on Tampa mom Marisa Langford, who started a monthly event called "Playin' in the Park" in March with about $3,000 awarded from a national childhood obesity prevention program. Today (and the first Tuesday of every month) kids can eat healthy snacks, like apples and carrots, and engage in what Langford calls "free organic play" from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The event drew more than 200 children last month.

But the other part of Parker's story that caught my eye were Langford's tips on how to get your kids to eat more veggies. Here's here suggestions: ... Read more

No more Happy Meals in Frisco. Call them Healthy Meals. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week voted in favor of an ordinance to limit toy giveaways in children's meals that have excessive calories, sodium and fat, making San Francisco the first city in the nation to take such action. The restaurants can still offer a toy, but the meal has to be lower in calories and sodium and have at least one fruit or vegetable serving. It will take effect Dec. 1. ... Read more

My friend Astrid, who does the marvelously creative blog Lunches Fit For a Kid, has once again come up with a genius idea: do it yourself instant oatmeal. Her daughter loves oatmeal for breakfast.  But even though her mom is a fabulous cook, she says, "She doesn't like honest-to-goodness cooked on the stove, old fashioned oatmeal.  No matter how much maple and brown sugar I put in it.  Nope."  She only likes instant oatmeal, and that gets expensive.

So, Astrid decided to see how homemade instant oatmeal works out. She reports great success, and the possibilities are endless. She also sneaks in a serving of flax seed meal, which is a great source of antioxidants and Omega-3, an essential fatty acid. You can add nuts, maple syrup, peanut butter, diced apples, anything you feel like and none of the processed and expensive fake food in the bargain. Here's her recipe: ... Read more