Got a Picky Eater? Find Relief Here!

Toddlers refusing to eat can get pretty ugly. With my son Jake, my pleading often turns to yelling and, ugh, even banging the table. He usually gives in by stuffing food down just to get rid of it. Not exactly creating a pleasant eating environment! So, I breathed easier when seeing this on Dr. Sears’ website: “Since erratic eating habits are as normal as toddler mood swings, expect your child to eat well one day and eat practically nothing the next.” It’s Jake exactly.

For you exasperated parents who are also perplexed by your toddler’s eating, here are some tips from Sears and my experiences with Jake:

• Try not to focus too much on daily eating but weekly. Reassure yourself that a normal, healthy toddler is fickle. One entire day Jake fussed and would only drink milk; the next day he ate three very full and even balanced meals. Take advantage of the good days by offering as many nutritious foods as possible.
• Try to eat with your child, or at least taste the food together. I sure wouldn’t want someone staring at me during meals holding a spoon to my face. If the focus isn’t on “Jake finishing his plate” but on enjoying good food together, he’s more likely to eat, and especially try new foods.
• It’s ok if your child only wants hot dogs or pasta for lunch every day. Toddlers do well with routines, including having familiar foods. They’ll outgrow the one-track eating; just patiently but consistently offer new foods.
• Ignore conventional beliefs about meals. Meatloaf for breakfast? Cheerios for dinner? Why not?
• Allow food play time, an important ritual for toddlers. I was about to throw away a plate of chicken Jake had been playing with for about 10 minutes but then he picked up a piece, nibbled it, and then ate another...
• If your child still eats poorly at meals, try to cut down on snacks. My downfall with Jake is milk. It's nutritious and he begs for it so that I can hardly say no. But he does lose his appetite the more he drinks.

Child nutritionist, Ellyn Satter, counsels “Don’t pressure; they’ll eat when they’re hungry.” Children have an unspoiled, innate sense of hunger and satiety: they eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re full. It’s something that we adults forget as we eat more for pleasure or to fill cravings, and we keep eating long after we’re full. According to Satter, our job to foster good eating habits includes:

• Offering nutritious foods
• Giving the food at regular times
• Creating a pleasant eating atmosphere

The child decides whether he or she wants to eat the food and how much to eat.

For more tips, see these excellent resources:

www.ellynsatter.com

Feeding Toddlers: 17 Tips for Pleasing the Picky Eater

Copyright 2009 Nancy Oliveira, FitMamaEats. All Rights Reserved.

Ooh-La-La: Ula Café

A sweet display!What makes a great coffeehouse/café? Casual but clean atmosphere, satisfying brews, fresh healthful sandwiches, and scrumptious desserts to end it all. The extras: free wi-fi, cheap prices, and the best recycling program I’ve seen yet. Ula Café, located in the same Brewery complex as Bella Luna, has a diverse following from JP artists to students buried in laptops to families with kids in tow. Open every day from 7-7 weekdays and 8-7 weekends, Ula serves fresh popovers, muffins, stratas, and homemade granola for the early birds and oh-so-delicious sandwiches, daily special soups, and salads for the sleep-ins. It’s the kind of food I could eat everyday, and would if I lived closer.

PopoverI love that someplace is reviving popovers, but I’ve been spoiled by midtown Manhattan’s Popover Café, which sets an impossible standard. Their monster popovers are the size of cantaloupes and served steaming hot made to order with homemade jam. Ula’s doughy more normal-sized air puffs are perfectly fine served with butter, jam, or Nutella. My only suggestion would be please don’t serve cold popovers (completely ruins the flavor), which is what you get if you come past breakfast time and don’t request them reheated.

Sweet Potato SandwichThe Roasted Sweet Potato Sandwich with avocado, veggies, and tahini-poppy seed spread on soft fresh semolina bread is an absolute must-try. The tahini tastes like a sweet light mayo and perfectly complements the chunks of potato and sprouts. The ingredients just ooze out as you chomp into the sandwich. Also enjoyable is the Curried Tofu Sandwich (made with locally made tofu) combined with apples, raisins, cucumbers, and sprouts. There are several nonvegetarian choices too. All of the hearty sandwiches are less than 8 bucks and you can order half sandwiches (as seen in the pics). The dessert case is abundant and colorful with Curried Tofu Sandwichmuffins, scones, cupcakes, brownies, fruit bars, and about a dozen different cookies. Their basic but super-gratifying chocolate chip cookie oozed melty chocolate chunks that successfully smeared my son’s entire face and hands. There’s plenty of hot and cold coffee and tea drinks to wash down all the sweetness.

After you’re done, you clear your own table and sort your trash into the recycle bins. Plastic straws and cups and “anything that rips” like straw wrappers and napkins are all recycled, so that I was impressed to see the regular trash bin pretty empty. A great café with a conscience¾how can I not make every excuse to come back again?

Make Your Own Gourmet Burritos

Who doesn't love a burrito? Burritos are easy to make and freeze well, not to mention filling and nutritious. Visit the Recipes page to try Melanie's Thai Chicken Burritos, a nice change from the standard bean and cheese. These are so tasty you won't mind eating them for dinner, then again for lunch, and the next day...