Getting started with food

Food is a frequent topic of discussion at our house, and it seems like we’re not the only ones. As our son is nearing six months of age, I am starting to give a lot of thought to how to introduce him to solid foods and then how to encourage him to become “a good eater.” It seems like our friends with young children are struggling with these same issues. My intention with this blog is to document our family’s experience of how we’ve chosen to feed our child and what we learn along the way.

Food goals for Henry

· A child who enjoys eating a wide variety of foods

· A child who grows up healthy and strong

· A child who appreciates where food comes from

· A family that loves cooking and eating together

It is my aim to foster in Henry a love of good food and an appreciation for cooking and eating as a family. By introducing him to a wide variety of delicious and healthy food, I am hopeful that we can prevent Henry from becoming a picky eater. Looking down the road, I want to find ways to avoid future food struggles with a toddler by encouraging Henry to participate in growing and preparing what we eat.

What to expect from this blog

· Regular updates on how and what our family eats, including Henry’s eating behavior

· Discussions about feeding babies and children

· Conversations about food, nutrition and agriculture

· Recipes for busy families

· Family- and kid-oriented cookbook reviews

Comments

The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook

UPDATE (10/2/12): Unfortunately, I did not hear back from our original winner. Congratulations to our alternate winner for "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook" -- Robin Pfefer. UPDATE (9/29/12): I am happy to announce that Kashia Clopper is the winner of "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook". When I was first thinking about using the Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) model for Henry, I was unsure about whether it would really work. I was excited about BLW’s claims of less stressful meals that the whole family could share together. Plus, I was all for encouraging Henry to gain new skills by learning about the shapes, textures, colors, smells and flavors of food. This sounded ideal in theory, but would it work in practice? After some fun but ineffective attempts at letting Henry feed himself, I went in search of resources to learn more about BLW. I needed to learn how to prepare meals for our family in which Henry could participate. That’s when I found “ The Baby-Led

Do Your Kids Eat Everything?

UPDATE (3/15/2013): Congratulations to Kia as the random drawing winner in this giveaway! Thank you to all those who entered this contest. Before we began our food adventure with Henry, Daddy and I had many conversations about how to encourage Henry to become “a good eater.” After watching other parents constantly struggle with their toddlers, we wanted to know if there was anything we could do from the start to prevent picky eating. That’s when we read “ French Kids Eat Everything ” by Karen Le Billon . The book is an easy and enjoyable read about the year that Karen’s family spent in France and how it changed the way her family eats. The heart of the book explores the 10 French Food Rules for raising happy, healthy eaters. “French Kids Eat Everything” sparked numerous discussions at our dinner table about how our family eats. We have become more conscious of our assumptions about food and how that will influence Henry’s understanding of mealtimes. In addition, the

Please Don't Feed My Toddler Cheetos

Our family has started a new chapter -- last week I rejoined the paid workforce! I am very excited about my new part-time job at a local history museum, coordinating field trips and special events. As part of this transition, Henry is now going to daycare three days per week. Henry meets new friends and plays with new toys on his first day at daycare. Searching for quality childcare was a somewhat stressful experience. We visited 8 childcare facilities who had immediate space available for Henry to begin part-time care. I wanted to be confident that Henry would be cared for by experienced, nurturing staff in an environment that would challenge him to learn new skills and form friendships with other children. Of course, the added cost of childcare also had to fit within our family budget. While interviewing daycares, one aspect that I cared about was food. All eight of the facilities participate in the USDA food program , receiving reimbursement at a set rate for the meals they

How to Feed a Henry

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