These resources accompany my Udemy course on Feeding Your Little Ones. If you know of additional resources that may be helpful, please leave them in the comments here or under the discussion tab on Udemy. I hope you enjoyed the lectures; as usual, I welcome your feedback, comments and questions
Articles
- 10 Essentials for Raising Healthy, Happy Eaters
- Are “Child-Friendly” Foods Really Gateway Drugs?
- Commercialism in Children’s Lives –
- Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Pesticides on Fruits/Veggies – I have my qualms with this list, and it’s a useful place to start
- Preschoolers with Knives: How Young Can They Be and Still Learn to Cook?
- The Right to Sell Kids Junk – Mark Bittman
Websites:
- Raise Healthy Eaters – Excellent blog from an RD & mom, realistic and easy-to-f0llow suggestions.
- It’s Not About Nutrition – Another useful blog with tips on raising kids who love food.
- Ellyn Satter Institute – Information about the division of responsibility; fantastic FAQ page.
- Weekly Greens – Once/week publishes a “what’s for dinner” post with recipes for 3 dinners (seasonal, healthy) and a list of all the ingredients you need to make them. An easy & free way to help with healthy meal planning. Recipes are generally delicious!
- Stone Soup – blog/website that focuses on healthy meals with 5 ingredients or less. She does many video recipes, which I really like!
- 100 Days of Real Food – Blog about a family who eats “real food,” lots of useful information & recipes, a few sample meal plans available for free if you “like” their Facebook page.
- Six o’Clock Scramble – Subscription meal-planning service; they offer weekly dinner plans, including all relevant recipes & a shopping list. Most recipes take < 30 min to prepare. You can select meals from their archive as well if you don’t like one of the suggested meals. They do tend to use a lot of canned beans & tomatoes (BPA concern), and this is still a great way to plan for healthy meals if you are overwhelmed.
- The Fresh 20 – Another subscription meal-planning service; use all fresh foods, usually less than 20 ingredients to buy each week. You can select gluten-free, vegetarian or standard meal plans.
Books
- Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School
by Castle & Jacobsen
- How to Get Your Kid to Eat: But Not Too Much
& Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn Satter
- How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
– Although this book is not technically about food/eating, it is the best book I have read about how to raise kids respectfully. I highly recommend this one for behavior issues that inevitably arise at the table.
- One Bite at a Time
– This cookbook is designed for people with cancer and their caregivers, and it’s one of my favorites for anyone. Virtually all of the recipes are delicious. They aren’t all quick/easy; they are all worth the effort.
- Feeding the Whole Family: Recipes for Babies, Young Children, and Their Parents
– Great overview and resource for whole-foods cooking for all ages.
- See also the books recommended on the Infant Resources page.
Selected Academic Resources
- Alternative Thinking About Starting Points in Obesity: Development of Child Taste Preferences. 2011. Appetite 56: 428-39.
- Increasing children’s acceptance of vegetables; a randomized trial of parent-led exposure. Appetite. 2003 Apr;40(2):155-62. Link
- Eating vegetables first: the use of portion size to increase vegetable intake in preschool children. Am J Clin Nutr.2010 May;91(5):1237-43
- The importance of food exposure for healthy eating in children: review. J Hum Nutr Diet; 2007: 20;294–301
- Assessing ‘fun foods’: nutritional content and analysis of supermarket foods targeted at children. Obesity Reviews, 2008; 9 (4): 368
- Association Between 100% Juice Consumption and Nutrient Intake and Weight of Children Aged 2 to 11 Years. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162(6):557-565.
Recipes
These are some of my toddler’s favorites, or at least things that he does eat when the mood strikes. See also my top 20 recipes from 2012. Find more of my favorite recipes on Pinterest.
Veggies
- Bengali okra
- Baked butternut squash fries (easy on the salt there, skipper)
- Ginger-Roasted Carrots with Mellow-Miso Dressing
- Cumin-Seed Roasted Cauliflower with Yogurt & Pomegranate
- Jicama Salad w/Cucumber & Lime – great for summertime
- Kale Salad with Raisins Try this one. Seriously. My 2 year old once threw a full-on temper tantrum when we ran out of this at dinner.
Snacks
Meals
- Quinoa Porridge (chop nuts small or omit)
- Savory Oatmeal ideas
- Sweet potato hash
- Olive Oil & Maple Granola (we use about 1/4 of the sweetener called for in the recipe – usually just maple syrup – & it’s delicious!)
- “Too Good” Tuna Salad
- Warm Grain Salad with Kale, Portobello & Sweet Potato – takes forever to make but is ridiculously good; makes a ton.
- Five-Spice Glazed Salmon with Green Beans
- Stuffed Peppers
- Jerk Turkey (or Chicken) Chili
- Sweet Potato with Warm Black Bean Salad
Other
- Almond “Milk”
- Blog post of school lunch ideas from 100 Days of Real Food. Many can be modified for day care & younger children.
Do you have recipe suggestions? What does your toddler love? Please comment below (with a link to a recipe if possible!) or on Udemy.
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