Getting Real About Feeding Kids with Sally Kuzemchak [Podcast]

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Feeding advice is everywhere. Eat together. Check. Expose children to nutritious foods. Check. Live happily ever after.

No way!

Here’s what no one talks about. Feeding kids is not always fun or easy. And not all kids respond the same way to the same strategies. There is a need to get real about expectations and what it really feels like to feed a family. Not a make-believe family but a real one.

On episode 25 of the Healthy Family Podcast, we have on Sally Kuzemchak. She is a registered dietitian and creator of the popular blog Real Mom Nutrition, named Best Blog for Parents by Health magazine in 2015. Sally is the author of the new book The 101 Healthiest Food for Kids. She is also an award-winning reporter and writer specializing in nutrition who currently blogs for Parents magazine and WebMD. Sally shares with us her stories, advice, challenges, and triumphs in the feeding realm. She also outlines best practices for introducing nutritious foods kids which is what her new book is all about.

Highlights from the Show

The REAL reason Sally got into blogging? Feeding her kids was way harder than she thought it would be.
Misconceptions about dietitians and how they feed their kids and perceive others (they’re not judging you!)
Sally’s biggest challenge and triumph when it comes to feeding her own kids.
The two best strategies for introducing food to kids Sally swears by.
Why Sally stopped the one bite rule at her table and how it made mealtime more pleasant.
The difference in feeding kids at toddler age versus school age (hint: hunger!)
Sally’s history of being a picky eater and how she expanded her intake in her twenties.
Why short-order cooking holds kids back and the trick that makes one meal possible with picky eaters.
Why the current food climate and nutrition misinformation adds layers of pressure and guilt for parents and what they can do about it.
Nutrition trends that drive Sally crazy how it interferes with feeding kids.
How and why to become a skeptic when it comes to nutrition information.
The nutrition sacrifice Sally made when her son’s appetite and weight were low.
Why it’s never too late to learn to like new foods!

Quote

If you want to know whether my kids eat every one of these 101 foods, yeah right! I may be a dietitian, but I’ve still got pretty typical kids who can be stubborn about stepping outside their comfort zones (and who never met a bowl of mac and cheese they didn’t like). No matter what, I always maintain hope. After all, my thirteen-year-old swore he didn’t like chickpeas until he tried the Taco-Spiced Skillet Chickpeas. And my nine-year-old feel in love with pomegranate seeds after seeing friends at school gobble them up at lunchtime. — Sally Kuzemchak, 101 of the Healthiest Foods for Kids