If you’re looking for creative ways to talk about food and eating with your young children, you’ll love reading Listening to Our Tummies!

Meals Matter Mom (and Dairy Council of California Marketing Director), LeAnne Ruzzamenti, has developed a great way to talk to her twins about feeling full and writes about it on the Weekly Bite blog.

The fundamental idea that we eat to satisfy hunger is an important message for children that sometimes gets lost when we’re too preoccupied with WHAT our kids are eating.

The Listening to Our Tummies approach is a great idea for kids…and probably a good one for parents too!

How do you teach your kids to eat in moderation and respond to what their bodies need?

Snacks amount to a large percentage of our daily calories. For adults, snacks contribute as much as 48% of our daily caloric intake.

Kids may consume as many as three snacks a day, which could potentially add up to nearly a quarter of their daily nutrient needs. Unfortunately, research shows that for many kids, snacks are desserts or sweetened beverages, such as soda, fruit drinks and sports drinks, that don’t provide many nutrients.

Take advantage of the summer vacation by preparing delicious (and nutritious) treats with your kids. They’ll enjoy spending time with you in the kitchen learning valuable cooking skills and they’ll be eating healthy foods that add nutrients to their diets.

1. Cheese and crackers –Cut up some pieces of cheese and serve with whole-grain crackers.
2. Veggies and dip –Cut up some broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, or cucumber and serve with a side of yogurt dip or hummus. Try our Tangy Yogurt Vegetable Dip Recipe.
3. Fruit and dip –Cut your fruit such as apples or pears into moon-shaped slices and serve with a small bowl of yogurt or cottage cheese. Try Fruit Kebobs with Yogurt Dip recipe.
4. Milk – Chocolate or regular, milk makes a great snack because it provides protein and nutrients that nourish children and provide sustained energy. Serve it by itself,  along with a snack or even with cereal at snack time.
5. Smoothies – Easy to make by placing fresh or frozen fruit in a blender with yogurt or milk and a little ice. Try one of our favorites - Strawberry Banana Blast.
6. Popcorn –You pour the oil and let the kids pour the kernels into the pan. Heat on medium high heat, cover and shake until all of the kernels pop.
7. Frozen Go-Gurts (yogurt in a tube) – Pop them into the freezer and they are ready to go!
8. Homemade Popsicles –Pour 100% juice into an ice cube tray, cover with plastic wrap, insert Popsicle sticks and freeze. Delicious!
9. Trail mix – Let your kids make their own by mixing nuts, cereal and dried fruit.
10. Ice cream – Whether you serve a scoop with fresh berries or enjoy it on a cone, nothing says summertime like good old fashioned ice cream!

Remember, serve snacks at the table and space them far enough from mealtimes so that kids’ appetites aren’t spoiled!

Read Summertime Snacking for more snack recipes and find more about ways to make every sip count.

Andrea Garen, Registered Dietitian

Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters is a blog series by parents and dietitians whose stories and advice reminds us that we can overcome the challenges of feeding children. Subscribe to find ways to build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.  

Ripping into the business envelope my friend was expecting to read a mundane update from their local school district. It was a notice that based on her five year old daughter’s height and weight, her body mass index (BMI) indicated she could be overweight.

She was directed to a few website for more information and the offer to call the school with any questions but the letter left her surprised as she never thought there was a weight issue.

School districts and pediatricians are providing more information as the number of overweight and obese children is increasing at an alarming rate. Parents, such as my friend, are rightly concerned as overweight children are at greater risk to be obese adults and may be wondering if their children should be on diets.

While it is true, a diet that restricts calories will result in weight loss, there are some important things to remember. 

First, children are not little adults; they are growing and should not be put on an adult weight loss program. Certain diets, especially calorie- or fat-restricting diets may not provide all of the nutrients kids need to physically develop. 

Second, the term “diet” usually instills ideas of restriction or elimination.  Cutting out and restricting foods or food groups may lead to unhealthful eating habits, or worse, disordered eating. 

Third, diets don’t work.  How many of you have been on a diet yourself only to be caught in a viscous cycle of weight loss and gain?  Why would we set our children up for that same failure? Children have the advantage of growing taller to help them lower their BMI. For every inch of height gained, it’s like losing five pounds if a child’s weight is maintained.

So what can you do to keep your family healthy?

 ~ Parents: role model good choices. Eat with your children, offer the same foods that you are eating and prepare more meals at home.

 ~ Cook with your kids research has shown that kids who cook and prepare new foods are more likely to eat them.  

 ~ Provide balanced meals with an emphasis on under-consumed foods such as whole grains, low-fat and nonfat milk, vegetables and fruits.

 ~ Focus on healthier food choices including portion control and variety.

 ~ Combine changes in diet plus increase physical activity to 60 minutes each day and reduce screen time (TV, computer, hand held devices including phones) to less than 2 hours each day.

After my friend and I spoke, she decided to make sure that her daughter had plenty of opportunities for free play and made minor changes to her snack offerings.

Now, there’s an emphasis on low-fat dairy, fruits and vegetables now. Instead of snack chips it’s sliced apples with cheese. Rather than cookies it’s carrots with hummus. Instead of juice, it's milk or water with meals. These simple changes have helped her maintain her weight as she gains height bringing her BMI into a more desirable gain.

You can start with simple lifestyle changes with our Healthy Eating for Kids resources to help you in making healthy, realistic food choices for kids with recipes, activities and articles. If you are concerned with your child’s weight, speak with your pediatrician or dietitian to start making healthy lifestyle changes. 

Subscribe to our Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series to find ways to build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

For more tips and information on raising healthy eaters, follow @mealsmatter and the #eatplaylove hashtag on Twitter.

This is a guest blog post by Allison Colson for our Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series, which brings stories and advice from parents and dietitians to help you build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

As an aspiring dietitian, I have taken whole courses on pediatric nutrition and the importance of family involvement. However, children can  carry their experiences far beyond the family home and on into adulthood.

I truly believe that my parents’ commitment to family mealtimes is the driving force behind my sense of responsibility, my ability to effectively communicate and my passion for food and health.

When I was growing up my parents always made time for dinner as a family. Sometimes that meant squeezing it in 25 minutes before my brother’s football game. Other times it meant spending an hour in our seats while my sister dramatically recounted stories from her school day.

Regardless of the day’s events, our family gathered in the kitchen for “dinnertime” -- a daily experience which provided us much more than a  hot meal.

Lesson 1: Responsibility

With four children, full-time jobs, and hour-long commutes my mom and dad were busy, to say the least! But they made the most of it: four kids meant eight extra hands to help get organized before and after mealtimes. Getting children involved in the kitchen is a great way to establish the importance of mealtime as a family event.

Research has shown that cooking with kids, and assigning tasks surrounding mealtime, promotes independence and a sense of responsibility in the kitchen. Keep little hands away from chopping and stove-tops, but encourage help whenever it’s appropriate. Kids can help toss salads, layer casseroles, put toppings on pizzas, and set and clear the table. While it isn’t always easy to get the whole family on-board, if it is expected and reinforced each time, it will become a familiar routine.

Lesson 2: Food Choices

Like many families, there were certainly days when we didn’t get home from work, soccer practice, and guitar lessons until 8 o’clock. In my house, this meant an hour until bedtime and a good time for a “hodge-podge” dinner. We’d make sandwiches with whatever we could find, slice up fruit and veggies, and re-heat leftovers from earlier in the week.

Hodge-podge dinners may not have been as balanced as other meals, but this sort of creativity and resourcefulness is what made my mom the ultimate gatekeeper. Parents can set a great example in moments where they might otherwise feel like they’re slipping. Stay calm, get creative, and reinforce the simple fact that family mealtime is a priority. Find more kid-friendly recipes!

Lesson 3: Communication

When a family gathers around the dinner table, there’s a special opportunity to check out from the outside world and check in with each other. This can certainly go beyond the old, “How was school today?” from the head of the table. Ask about that math test, about tennis practice or music class. Learn the best part of your child’s day and probe more about what made the best part so great.

Don’t feel discouraged, though, if you can’t extract more than a word or two about your child’s day. Even a simple “please pass the peas” can be a monumental sentence when it’s coming from your five-year-old daughter who, yesterday, wouldn’t have touched a pea with a ten-foot pole. Plus, she used the magic word.

Shared family mealtimes have been associated with reduced risk for substance abuse, promotion of language development, academic achievement, and reduced risk for pediatric obesity. Surely, these reasons are enough to encourage many parents to make family meals a priority. But I can honestly say that many of my life tenets can be traced back to the importance of family mealtimes in my childhood home.

Subscribe to our Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series to find ways to build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

For more tips and information on raising healthy eaters, follow @mealsmatter and the #eatplaylove hashtag on Twitter.

Allison Colson, Dietetic Intern

Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters is a blog series by parents and dietitians whose stories and advice reminds us that we can overcome the challenges of feeding children. Subscribe to find ways to build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

I used to love to cook when I was a young girl, and made good use of my Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Kids.  I even prepared dishes that I didn’t particularly like (carrot and raisin salad in a mayonnaise dressing springs  to mind) just so I could claim credit for the final product.  So, I vowed early  on that my two daughters would have the chance to explore the challenges and delights of our kitchen.

Certain principles guided the way I approached cooking with my kids:

Don’t take the “basics” for granted. Take the time to show them simple  yet essential skills like stirring, chopping, grating, sautéing.  I still remember preparing dinner with about ten girls on a Girl Scout camping weekend.  We were preparing tacos, and one girl was fascinated by the cheese grater.  She could scarcely believe that a block of cheese could be transformed into grated cheese by such a simple tool; she had only seen grated cheese in a package!  That taught me to make no assumptions about cooking skills or knowledge the children might have. Find out what kids can do in the kitchen at different ages!

Deconstruct simple dishes to show them how easy many of their favorite foods are. It was great to see my daughters’ delight with making spaghetti from scratch (that’s right…not sauce from a jar!).  And French toast or waffles that didn’t come from the freezer section. Many of these recipes can still be made in short order, so busy family schedules can be maintained. Find kid-friendly recipes at Meals Matter.org!

One entertaining way to introduce children to simple cooking skills is through Hey Kids, Let’s Cook!  This is a 30 minute cooking show specifically targeting children.  Simple, nutritious recipes that will appeal to children and parents alike are highlighted.  Information about the show can be found at the Hey Kids, Let’s Cook!

Share the mentoring duties with family and friends.  I’m not a baker, but my mother-in-law is.  From her, my girls learned the proper techniques for all manner of rolls, biscuits, pie crust.  A favorite aunt was able to teach them how to make jellies and preserves. And sharing time with extended family in this way is a treat for all parties involved.

When each of my girls turned 10, they were given the “privilege” of planning and preparing the family dinner one night each week.  If the menus skewed towards burritos, quesadillas and personal pizzas with more frequency than I might have preferred, that was okay.  Beyond the basic skills fostered, the cooking experience helped them connect to family traditions through favored recipes.  It’s doubtful they would have grown to enjoy Southern dishes like cornbread, mustard greens or deviled eggs without that link!

So, I encourage you to welcome your children into the kitchen as junior chefs.  It’s an experience you’ll all enjoy.

Subscribe to our Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series to find ways to build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

For more tips and information on raising healthy eaters, follow @mealsmatter and the #eatplaylove hashtag on Twitter.

Mary Anne Burkman, Registered Dietitian

This is a guest blog post by Jessica Northrup for our Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series, which brings stories and advice from parents and dietitians to help you build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

My daughter was three years old when I was told by her doctor she was allergic to dairy.    A simple blood test confirmed what I knew was true.  She was experiencing severe and constant itching on her neck, arms and behind her legs.  She also had eczema, general grogginess and a runny nose. 

The news was devastating for our family.  Not only are milk and milk products a staple in our home, but working as a consultant to Dairy Council of California I knew about the  value of the unique package of nutrients milk provides.

Naturally I removed all dairy products from her diet, but this was not a decision I took lightly.  How would she get the nutrients milk products provide?  This was a tough question, particularly because her quality of life improved once she was no longer consuming dairy.

Her allergy did not make any sense to me.  I allowed her to have dairy on special occasions and she suffered no consequences.  I took her to another doctor and I still did not find any real guidance.  Even though I was very confused, her diet remained a dairy-free. 

Seeking another professional opinion, I finally got the answers I was looking for.  After her new doctor discovered that before my daughter was diagnosed with a dairy allergy she was drinking multiple glasses of milk a day and enjoying yogurt and cheese, he suggested we limit her dairy intake and see how it goes.  Maybe just one glass of milk a day and go from there.  I know what you are thinking: “Duh!”  This makes perfect sense – why didn’t I think of that!
 
This entire time I was responding to her symptoms emotionally rather than logically and completely eliminated an important food source from my daughter’s diet.  When we started practicing moderate dairy intake she remained comfortable and symptom free.  It was like taking a breath of fresh air.  I was so relieved to finally have clarity on this issue.  If others are facing food allergy issues, this is my advice to you (with the exception of life threatening allergies, obviously use extreme caution there):

      ~Seek multiple opinions.  Do not rest on just one doctor’s point of view.  His or her values may not match yours or they simply may not have the expertise. He or she might even take what seems like the easiest path without considering the immediate and long-term health consequences.

      ~Try moderate exposure to the suspected food. Work toward at least two servings provided in smaller amounts throughout the day.  It has been my experience with just about everything that moderation is always best – instead of having five tacos, stick with two.  You see what I mean.

      ~Throw aside the emotion and try to look at it logically.  As parents we are so emotionally invested in our kids that it becomes difficult to really see the situation.

My daughter is now seven years old and tests show she has officially grown out of her dairy allergy (as the doctors suspected would happen).  She is a happy little girl, enjoying her milk products and I could not be more pleased.

Jessica Northrup

Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters is a blog series by parents and dietitians whose stories and advice reminds us that we can overcome the challenges of feeding children. Subscribe to find ways to build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

A traditional American dinner usually calls for separate dishes, like a meat entrée, vegetable and/or grain sides and often a fruit dessert. Preparing multiple dishes that represent individual food groups can be overwhelming for some family cooks. Dinnertime can be less stressful when you combine ingredients from multiple food groups in one dish.

This week we’re featuring “One-Pot Wonders,” main entrées that contain two or more food groups to keep dinner streamlined and simple. Families can add a side salad or slice of whole-grain bread and a glass of milk to make the meal complete without a lot of fuss or muss.

Start with a family meal of Updated Mac and Cheese, Fresh Vegetable Salad and Raspberry Frozen Yogurt. Other one-pot wonder recipes to try this week include Ham and Potato Soup, Polenta Primavera, Lasagna with Meat and Vegetable Pilaf.

Register free at MealsMatter.org to follow the Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series and add these and other recipes to your meal plan and shopping list. Be sure to follow @MealsMatter and #EatPlayLove on Twitter for more tips and recipes for raising healthy eaters.

“Family Meals Matter” features recipes selected by registered dietitians from the thousands of user-contributed recipes available at our free online nutrition and meal-planning website, Meals Matter, sponsored by Dairy Council of California. Healthy Eating Made Easier™

Photo Caption:  Updated Macaroni and Cheese, EatingWell.

The Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series you’ve been enjoying included a live webinar yesterday on childhood feeding strategies. The following tips were compiled during the webinar featuring registered dietitians Janet Helm, Maryann Jacobsen, Jill Castle and Andrea Garen.

1. Focus more on HOW to feed kids versus WHAT to feed kids.

2. Adopt a feeding strategy, and use Ellyn Satter’s “Division of Responsibility in Feeding Model,” in which parents decide the “what, when and where” of feeding and children decide “whether” and “how much” they’ll eat.

3. Trust children to respond to their own hunger and fullness cues.

4. Make time for family meals—breakfast, lunch or dinner—and serve the same meal for adults and children. No short-order cooks!

5. Take a positive approach to food; don’t talk about foods as good or bad.

6. Be a healthy role model. Try new foods, make healthy choices, drink milk and eat a variety of foods from all food groups.

7. Don’t bargain, bribe or reward kids with food.

8. Expose children to new foods 10 – 15 times or more. Pair a new food with a favorite for a more positive experience.

9. Give kids choice—let them choose between two healthy options, like carrot or celery sticks with yogurt-based dip as a first course or applesauce or pears for dessert.

10. From an early age, get children involved in planning and preparing healthy meals.

Access a free recording of the entire webinar at http://learningtimesevents.org/dairycouncilofca/. 

You can also access a full news release about the webinar at http://www.prweb.com//releases/RaiseHealthyEaters/051911/prweb8441252.htm

This is a guest blog post by Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN for our Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series, which brings stories and advice from parents and dietitians to help you build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

I’ve always enjoyed taking to kids about nutrition. Whether working with them one-on-one, spending time with them at birthday parties or hanging out at home with my own two boys, I keep the dialog positive and try to speak in their language. I’ve always tried to encourage healthy eating without preaching, without judgment, and without focusing too much on ‘health.’

Since both of my sons (now almost 13 and 9) were in kindergarten, I’ve enjoyed going to their classrooms as part of the American Dietetic Association’s National Nutrition Month (NNM) in March. This year, instead of going in with my own agenda, I asked the teacher to ask the children to write up their nutrition questions. Some were extremely thoughtful, and some made me chuckle. Here are a few that I particularly enjoyed:

What food group are Energy Drinks in?

Should you have unlimited fruits?

Is an avocado a fruit or vegetable?

How many times a day or week should you have sweets?

What’s better for you—tuna or sardines?

What food group is chocolate in?

Is it good to have eggs for breakfast?

During the 45 minute session, we discussed several of the questions. I also gave out plenty of swag (including flying discs, water bottles and jump ropes) as well as a handout of all their questions and all my responses. Click here if you’d like to read the questions and answers at ElisaZied.com.

Since the visit, several parents have approached me or sent emails to say how much their children learned and how they’re eating better at home. I say this not to brag, but to illustrate what I feel are the 3 keys to getting health-promoting and empowering messages about food, nutrition, and health across to children:

~Treat them with respect;

~Speak with (and not at) them using age-appropriate language, and

~Relate food/nutrition/health information to what they care about most (e.g. being a better student or athlete, or simply having more energy)

Whether you’re a health educator, parent, or work with children in any capacity, taking a positive approach like this can turn kids on and empower them to make better, more mindful food choices. I can tell you from having an almost teenager that this becomes increasingly important as kids get older and make more and more food-related decisions on their own. Now if only I could encourage my older son to NOT buy that jumbo chocolate chip cookie when he goes to the deli after school…..

Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN

Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters is a blog series by parents and dietitians whose stories and advice reminds us that we can overcome the challenges of feeding children. Subscribe to find ways to build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

During a recent blog carnival, roughly half of the registered dietitians and parents who participated mentioned involving kids in meal preparation as an important part of raising healthy eaters.

Cooking with kids from a young age helps them develop a positive relationship with food, teaches life skills and provides a great opportunity to spend time together.

Kids as young as 2 or 3 can start to spend time in the kitchen with parents. Get more actionable tips on raising healthy eaters during a free live webinar with registered dietitians on May 18. In the meantime, get the ball rolling in your home with a week’s worth of recipes that kids can help parents make.

Put small fingers to work assembling Quick Kebabs and dredging Zucchini Chips while older children can mix and stuff Turkey Stuffed Pasta Italiano for a featured family meal. Other recipes that kids can help make and will love to eat include Cheeseburger Meatloaf, Apple Sandwiches with Granola and Peanut Butter, Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas Verdes and Pineapple Berry Smoothies.

Register free at MealsMatter.org to follow the Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series and add these and other recipes to your meal plan and shopping list. Be sure to follow @MealsMatter and #EatPlayLove on Twitter for more tips and recipes for raising healthy eaters.

“Family Meals Matter” features recipes selected by registered dietitians from the thousands of user-contributed recipes available at our free online nutrition and meal-planning website, Meals Matter, sponsored by Dairy Council of California. Healthy Eating Made Easier™