How to Cook for a Family with a New Baby

A friend of mine gave birth recently, and a few families in the community made meals for her. While it’s possible to order out nowadays, home-cooked meals are often tastier and more nutritious. Providing meals shows the family that they are cared for, and it’s a wonderful way to welcome the baby to the neighborhood. I’ll never forget the friend that called me up every week. starting in my last month of a difficult pregnancy, asking what she could cook for Sabbath dinner.

Here are some tips for making meals for families who have just given birth.

9 More Tips for Getting Kids to Eat Healthy Foods

Do you have a picky eater in the house? Readers shared wonderful comments on 12 Tips for Getting Kids to Eat Healthy Foods. I’ve collected them here and added a few more. Reframe their pickiness. Say, “Today you don’t want the broccoli,” instead of “You don’t like broccoli.” Next time you serve it, don’t mention any […]

Andriano Cattaneo on Starting Solids for Babies

As part of the online Gold Conference on breastfeeding, I attended a webinar with Italian physician Adriano Cattaneo entitled “Principles for the Introduction of Starting Solids.” Dr. Cattaneo’s comments on prepared baby foods reminded me of my post about what makes processed foods bad. His reasons for avoiding jarred food for babies include: Contaminants like heavy […]

10 Tips to Help Teens to Eat Right

This is the second part in a series on healthy eating for teens. In Teenagers and Healthy Eating: The Challenge,  I laid out some of the difficulties teens face when it comes to eating right. Today I give 10 tips for painlessly guiding teenagers toward healthy food choices. Set an example. Even when it seems […]

Teenagers and Healthy Eating: The Challenge

This is the first in a series on teenage nutrition and eating habits. How can we guide adolescents toward healthy and practical food choices? One day my teenage son was visiting my sister-in-law, who has small children. My sister-in-law offered lunch to my son. She told me later that he “inhaled” the food! Larger quantities […]

12 Easy, Healthy Snacks for Toddlers

Toddlers have small stomachs, yet they never seem to get full. It’s normal for toddlers to eat 4 or 5 small meals a day. Keeping them supplied with healthy food is a challenge for parents. When planning snacks, it doesn’t usually matter whether you spoil a toddler’s appetite for the next meal as long as […]

Cooking with Preschoolers: Distraction or Interaction?

This is the fourth part of a series on cooking with children. Previous posts in the series: 9 Great Reasons to Cook with Your Kids How to Cook with a Baby in the House How to Cook with a Toddler in the House         Modeling aprons–you can win one Please welcome Yosefa […]

How To Cook with a Toddler in the House

This is the third part of a series about cooking and children. Part I: Nine Great Reasons to Cook with Your Kids and Part II: How to Cook with a Baby in the House and Cooking with Preschoolers: Distraction or Interaction? So now that your baby is a little bigger do you feel like a pro? Well, […]

Does Banning Snacks in Schools Prevent Obesity?

In this article, pediatrician and childhood feeding expert Dr. Katja Rowell protests a decision by the St. Paul’s city schools, explaining that banning candy and high-fat foods won’t prevent obesity. She argues that labeling foods as unhealthy can backfire, leading to inappropriate dieting and eating disorders. Rowells writes: First, the banning of “treat” foods and […]

How to Cook with a Baby in the House

I’m continuing my series about cooking with children. Part I: 9 Great Reasons to Cook with Your Kids

I once took a counseling call from a mother having a hard time with her new baby. She complained that the baby starts to cry while she is doing important tasks. When I asked her for an example of a something she has trouble finding time for, she mentioned chopping onions for lunch.

I suggested that the onions could be prepared early and stored in the refrigerator until needed. If she has six hours until lunch, couldn’t she find five minutes when she is not caring for the baby? “Wait until the baby goes to sleep, then take care of the onions immediately,” I offered. She said, “You’re saying that I need to plan in advance. I don’t like to do that.”

So I told her that I have six children.