How to Feed a Henry

This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Helping with the Harvest. Henry loves berries, with one big caveat -- he loves fresh picked berries. He will devour handfuls of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries if they are directly off the vine. Henry is much more fickle about eating berries when we have a meal at the table and sometimes won't even consider berries when they are cold from the refrigerator . But when we harvest berries from our yard, then he just keeps signing for more, more , more ! Eating fresh-picked raspberries from our backyard. Helping with the harvest can be a big motivator for kids to eat fresh produce. It certainly makes a difference for Henry. Whether you have room for a big backyard garden or just a few containers on your porch, try including your kids in growing and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. If you don't have any space to grow your own, find out if there is a community garden in your neighborhood, or take a trip to a local...

This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: The Power of Positive Peer Pressure. Over the past few weeks, I  have tried offering melon to Henry a few times but he has been uninterested. At lunch on Friday, we had quiche and a fruit plate. Henry happily ate the pineapple, grapes and orange slices. He cautiously tasted the cantaloupe and honeydew melon, but I could not convince him to try a second bite. On Sunday, we went to a barbecue at a friend's house. The delicious spread included slices of honeydew melon. I figured that Henry would be uninterested, so I picked out a variety of other foods for his plate. Then, one of Henry's peers started munching on honeydew. Henry was convinced that he had to have some too. I was thoroughly surprised when Henry ate four slices! Henry enjoying a slice of honeydew melon. It was a good reminder to keep offering, even when your child refuses to eat something the first few times. Seeing a friend eat a new food may encourage your littl...

This week's Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: NO SNACKING!! All this week, I am featuring “ French Kids Eat Everything ” by Karen Le Billon . On Friday, one lucky reader will win a copy of this inspiring book . As I mentioned yesterday , the book explores the 10 French Food Rules for raising happy, healthy eaters. I think the most critical piece of advice for picky eaters is:   French Food Rule #7 - NO SNACKING!!   American children are notorious for grazing on snack foods at all hours of the day. Recent studies have found that our kids average three snacks per day accounting for almost one-third of their daily calories. Parents who attempt to discourage constant snacking are seen as depriving their children. We’ve been led to believe that kids must have frequent snacks to help maintain their blood sugar levels and prevent temper tantrums. But is this really necessary or healthy ? One of Henry's favorite snacks is nori (dried seaweed). By contrast, French child...

This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Encourage samples. Who doesn't love grocery store samples? The tiny bite-sized portions are so enticing you just have to try them out. The y are a fun, no-pressure way for kids to taste a new food without committing to a big serving. There are two ways to embrace samples with your kids.  Henry tries out an apple slice at the grocery store. Your first option is to take them grocery shopping with you and encourage them to try out new foods at the store. We visit during Henry's usual snack time so that sampling does not interfere with a meal.  Luckily, we have two grocery stores nearby that offer samples of nutritious whole foods. The first reliably sets out samples of fresh seasonal produce, including slices of apples and oranges. The second always has a wide selection of cheese samples on offer, from aged Parmesan to soft goat cheese. If you don't see good options at your local supermarket, talk with the produce man...

This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Preferences Change Quickly. If you had asked me for a list of Henry's favorite foods a month ago, I would have said that fresh fruit was generally at the bottom of the list. When given a choice, Henry has generally picked items from the other food groups first and left the fruit on his tray or tossed it over the side. With the exception of pears and citrus, he has not seemed overly impressed with the flavor or texture of most fruits. While I have consistently offered fresh fruit to him with meals, I also have frequently mixed fruit into other forms, like oatmeal or pancakes , to be sure to expose his palette to the taste of fruit. That all changed two weeks ago when Henry suddenly started gobbling up fresh fruit. Daddy and I noticed the switch at a friend's birthday party, where Henry packed away six or seven chunks of pineapple and several handfuls of blueberries. Since then, he has happily eaten strawberries, blood orange, apple...

This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Just Add Sauce. Last Wednesday, Henry and I had dinner while Daddy went to get a haircut. Henry was really into the main dish, but he was not very interested in the accompanying zucchini cakes. When Daddy got home, it was not yet time for Henry's to go to bed so they sat down together for a second dinner while I cleaned up the kitchen. This time, Daddy topped the zucchini cakes with tzatziki sauce and Henry couldn't get enough of them. Henry likes zucchini cakes if they include a bit of sauce. Experts frequently suggest adding sauce to vegetables to get your kids to eat them. I've been resistant to this recommendation, envisioning frozen broccoli smothered in processed cheese sauce or carrots drowned in ranch dip. But now, I am coming to terms with the idea that sauce can be a good thing. It doesn't have to be a disguise for vegetables; it can actually add value to a dish.  There are lots of healthy, flavorful sauce ...

This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Same Food, Different Color. Last week, Henry was really into carrots. He was gobbling them up so I wanted to keep it interesting for him. I headed to the store for a bunch of rainbow carrots. Henry enjoyed the purple and yellow versions just as much as the standard orange carrots. Henry samples a medley of rainbow carrots. If your kids like bright colors, you can find purple potatoes, yellow and orange bell peppers, and even purple and orange cauliflower . In the summer, red tomatoes are traditional, but our family loves the yellow, green and orange varieties even more. Another fun variety that we recently tried is Romanesco , a lime green broccoli cultivar with an out-of-this world shape. If you have a picky eater, introduce a familiar food in a fashionable new shade. Present different colors of the same food in one dish. Or set out small samples of each color and let your kids taste test them side-by-side.

This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Commit to One Small Change in 2013. It's the new year and that means it's time for reflections and resolutions.  Happy New Year! First, the reflection. I started this blog nearly six months ago when Henry was nearing six months of age. In that short time, his food adventure has progressed from soup in a bottle to full participation in our family's Christmas Eve dinner . He eats nearly any food from hummus to hum bao. Meats and breads are his favorite, but he also loves mushrooms , squash , pears and citrus fruits. This past week, he enjoyed slurping tortellini soup and clam chowder. Henry and Daddy eating sushi. Henry munches on a wedge of grapefruit. Thank you to all of this blog's readers for your interest in following our family. I find it incredible that this blog has had over 7,000 page views from readers around the world. I am having fun documenting Henry's journey and I have some great ideas for up...

This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: The Importance of Texture. Children frequently go through food phases. They like something one day but not the next. As a parent it can be difficult not to get stressed out about what foods your child will eat. You may be tempted to assume that your child does not like a food after offering it a few times, but the issue may not be about taste. Henry squishes a banana with his hands. In observing Henry’s eating patterns, I have noticed that texture is critical. Some kids develop aversions to mushy foods , while others go through phases of not wanting to eat crunchy foods. Currently, Henry is boycotting squishy foods like bananas or steamed apples that stick to his fingers. He seems interested in exploring the texture but he does not want to put them in his mouth. Since he eats almost exclusively with his hands, he first experiences each food using his sense of touch. My approach is to continue offering Henry the opp...

I am feeling a little under the weather today, so I am taking a shortcut on this edition of Tuesday Tips for Picky Eaters.  One of the blogs that inspires me is "French Foodie Baby". Over the weekend, she posted a set of seven strategies she uses to avoid food power struggles with her toddler. So far, these have worked to entice her little guy to eat a diverse menu of foods, including vegetables. I particularly like her take on dealing with food rejection: 2. No assumptions, keep the faith When he seems to reject a food (spitting it out), I remain nonchalant about it, and reoffer it several times over the following weeks, confident that he will most likely enjoy it eventually. There's nothing so far he has consistently rejected. I have noticed many times it's not that he doesn't like the food, but rather that he feels like eating something else on his plate. And sometimes he will chew a food, and then spit it out, which tells me he probably likes th...

Like a lot of kids, Henry is easily distracted. During mealtimes, we try to limit distractions so that he can focus on eating and enjoying the company of the other people at the table. We put away Henry’s toys before our meal starts. We also keep the television off and we don’t answer the phone during meals. Henry gazes out the window during lunch. A 2011 study from the University of Birmingham in Alabama found that when focusing on the flavor, texture and smell of food, diners felt less hungry after lunch than those were distracted with reading or watching television. They were also less likely to eat snack food later in the day. Another recent study found that playing a computer game while eating resulted in feeling less full and eating more cookies after lunch. If your child is easily distracted during meals, some sources even suggest simplifying your dining area. Try removing clutter and visual distractions from the dining room to help your child focus on what’s...