Since I started working as a culinary instructor I’ve noticed that most of the people who get in touch with me fall into one of two baskets. Either they are new-ish moms who never learned how to cook but want to prepare fresh, delicious meals for their families, or they are moms who feel like they’ve hit a wall in terms of what their kids will eat. — Maybe their toddler won’t eat a single green vegetable or their older child isn’t interested in protein. These moms worry about their kids’ health and they hope that I can show them some dishes that will tempt their children into eating healthier meals.
For this second group of moms I always bring a copy of a 2008 article from the New York Times: 6 Food Mistakes Parents Make, from pressuring them to take a bite to serving boring vegetables to dieting in front of your kids. Click here to see the full article. While the article offers practical tips, and warns parents away from the all-chocolate-all-the-time diet, it also takes the pressure off. As parents it is our job to offer kids a variety of healthy, tasty foods. We can’t – and shouldn’t – force them to eat.
–Jenna Helwig, Rosaberry
