Help for Parents of Picky Eaters!

What do I do if my kid rejects vegetables?

1) Keep offering. It's biologically natural for kids to show a preference for salty and sweet foods. However, it can take many tries to get them to accept a new flavor if it's neither salty nor sweet. Ask children to try one new thing at meal times. Remind them that they don't have to like it, just try it. Ten or more tries is pretty standard. Don't give up.

2) Let them choose a new vegetable at the store or, better yet, the Farmer's Market. Let them use their senses to find something colorful, or beautifully textured. If you don't know how to cook it, ask the vendor for their recommendations. Kids often just want to feel in control. It's that simple.

3) Let them grow it. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, just letting kids have a hand in producing their food increases their chances of eating it! After all that love and care, planting the seeds, the excitement of watching it sprout up, watering it, and watching it sprout big and turn into something will make them want to at least taste it. Fresh food (right out of the ground) always tastes better and the nutrients will be more plentiful. That's right, the vitamin content of foods can decrease within the first hour after it has been harvested. Kids will associate this excitement with great flavor - and they wont even know they're tasting VITAMINS, which they can be trained to crave.

These are just a couple of ideas... More to come.

Springtime in the (Apartment) Garden

I live in an apartment and sometimes I feel limited because of it. Just to name a few:

1) The landscaping company uses herbicides and pesticides in their maintenance of lifeless dirt and leafless parking lots.

2) I can only have so many pots and hanging baskets.

3) I can't make any lasting changes like, let's say, raised beds or ponds...

It's safe to say I "think big" when it comes to gardening, which is why the garden is kind of exploding out of my home and onto the sidewalks.

I know the neighbors talk. About me. I never knew I was so "weird" until now. This week, their kids saw River devouring fresh-picked kale on the porch and begged for some, too. I already won over the kids and I'm hoping to win over the adults with berries and pumpkin pie as the seasons come.

In our fast-paced, American culture we've pretty much forgotten where our food actually comes from - the earth. (Good question: Where does food come from? Typical response: "the store.")

Children marvel at the possibility of what a tiny seed can become. River and I sprout almost every apple seed we come across and the wrigglers in our worm bin enjoy the rest. Somewhere along the way, adults forget how super-cool this is! (Or maybe I lost my marbles...)

I've found that sometimes you have to think ahead; you have to trust in the seasons. At it's most basic, this principle implies, "if you don't plant, you can't expect a harvest." At it's most complex, we begin to realize how intertwined with our lives our gardens truly are. Take the time to recognize and celebrate the remarkable processes of nature, the cycle of the seasons - plant SOMETHING today.