Sallie Warren

Article / Updated 06-03-2016

Grocery shopping for the ingredients for healthful meals for your baby or toddler isn’t the easiest task. The following list contains perishable and nonperishable foods you’ll want to have on hand, so you can take care of the essentials in one fell swoop. Don’t serve the foods with stars to kids under age 1. For two stars, wait until age 2. Nonperishable foods Nonperishable foods Perishable foods Perishable foods Broth, reduced sodium, chicken or beef Oil, olive and vegetable American cheese, slices Milk, whole (for children age 1 or older) Cheerios Pasta, assorted Bread, whole wheat Mozzarella cheese sticks (string cheese) Cinnamon Peanut butter** Butter, not margarine Mozzarella cheese, shredded Flour, all purpose and whole wheat Pepper Cheddar cheese, shredded Parmesan cheese, grated Fruit, dried (chewy fruits are best, such as dried apricots) Pizza sauce Eggs Soy sauce Honey* Raisins English muffins Tortillas, wheat or flour Jelly or jam, low sugar Rice cakes Fruits, assorted and fresh, including apples, avocados, bananas, pears, strawberries*, tomatoes Vegetables, assorted and fresh, including broccoli, carrots, lettuce, and squash (summer or winter varieties) Maple syrup Rice, brown Ketchup Yogurt, full fat and varied flavors Mustard, dry ground Rolled oats Mayonnaise, full fat Nonstick cooking spray Salt Nuts, assorted* (For peanuts, wait until age 2.) Sunflower seeds

Article / Updated 06-03-2016

When it comes to planning meals for your baby, all foods aren’t created equal. Be sure to steer clear of the common problem foods in the following list. They’re the ones that can cause serious allergic and intolerance reactions during the first year of your baby’s life! Citrus fruit Nuts Cow’s milk and milk products Shellfish Eggs Strawberries Honey Wheat

Article / Updated 06-03-2016

When your child is sick, follow the advice of your doctor (of course). In addition, you can plan to feed your baby or toddler nourishing meals to promote a speedy recovery. Along with any medicine the doctor may prescribe, consider serving the following foods when your child (over age 1) isn’t feeling well: For a cold: Chicken soup (the old standby) For a fever: Oatmeal and juices For a sore throat: Flavored gelatin and fruit smoothies For a stomachache: Bananas, rice, apples, and toast (dry), also known as the B.R.A.T. diet

Article / Updated 06-03-2016

Doctors have recommended the BRAT diet for years, which helps when a toddler has an upset stomach. With the BRAT diet, you increase your child’s fluid intake and offer foods that naturally help with the problem. Bananas: Bananas reduce stomach acidity and keep your child’s potassium level in check. Potassium helps regulate the body’s blood pressure. Rice: Rice is a quick source of carbs and protein, and it helps when a child has diarrhea. It’s easy to digest and provides energy. Apples or applesauce: Apples are easily digestible (important for already aggravated tummies) and provide a good source of sugar and vitamins, which provide energy for your ailing youngster. Toast: Serve dry toast. It helps provide carbs and often settles the stomach. When your child is sick, always check with a healthcare professional for advice.

Article / Updated 06-03-2016

You can make baby food from just about any fresh vegetable or fruit by pureeing them. Homemade baby food purees from fruits and vegetables are easy to make and nutritious. Before you begin cooking, be sure to thoroughly clean the cooking area, your tools and equipment, and your hands. Prepare the fresh produce by washing, peeling, and removing seeds. Boil the fruits or vegetables until soft. You don’t need to boil fruits that are already soft. Puree the fruit or veggie in a food processor. If you don’t own a food processor, you can use a blender or hand mixer. Add a teaspoon of water (or more or less, depending on the fruit or veggie) to get the desired consistency. As a general rule, any basic puree should be thin but manageable with a spoon. While your child ages, add less water to make the puree thicker and gradually move your child toward chunkier foods.

Article / Updated 06-03-2016

Some certain foods tend to trigger food allergies in children. Don’t get carried away and feed your baby new foods too quickly or feed foods that are known allergens until your baby reaches age 1. A baby’s immature immune system is more likely to react to allergens. Because these foods typically cause problems with children less than 1 year of age, wait until your kid is older than 1 year old to consider trying any of these items: Cow’s milk: Many children have allergy problems with cow’s milk. If you discover an allergy with cow’s milk, try a soymilk substitute. Eggs: If eggs present an allergy, you can use egg substitutes that are on your grocery store shelf. Gluten and wheat: Gluten is a protein found in grains, especially wheat. Children that have gluten allergies must avoid all products with wheat. Peanuts: Peanuts aren’t true nuts — they’re actually legumes from the pea and bean family. Children with allergies to peanuts can be very sensitive to foods with even tiny amounts of peanuts in them. Avoid all foods with peanuts. Shellfish: Wait until your child is at least 2 before you try serving shellfish because shellfish often causes reactions on the more severe end of symptoms: difficulty breathing and anaphylactic shock.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 06-03-2016

You can tap into many resources when it comes to planning meals for your baby or toddler. Babies younger than 2 years old have some special dietary don’ts you need to know about. For recommendations on the types of foods young children should eat, you can consult the food pyramid compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. You can make use of suggested shopping lists of perishable and non-perishable foods to keep on hand. And, when your young one is sick, what you feed them can help cure them.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Dinner can often be a bit of a challenge for children who are 18-months to 2-years-old. Kids that tend to eat an afternoon snack are often uninterested in dinner, but the delicious recipes below help alleviate that problem. Naturally, dinner is the last meal of the day, providing balanced nutrition for your child before he goes off to sleep, so it's important to work with your child to establish a pattern of healthy meals and healthy snacks. Just remember that some children are often uninterested in dinner. If you're having this problem, watch out for oversnacking or milk or juice intake before dinner. Work to establish a pattern that keeps your child from eating or drinking milk or juice for at least an hour and a half before dinner. This standard chicken "bake" recipe works well for dinner, and you can freeze the leftovers for use later. Mushroom Chicken Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 25 minutes Yield: Four 1-cup servings 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 10-1/2 ounce can of condensed cream of mushroom soup 1/4 cup whole milk 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Place the chicken in a 9-x-12-inch baking dish. 3. Mix the soup and milk together in a bowl, then pour the soup evenly over the chicken. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Serve warm. If your child is a bit unhappy about broccoli, and let's face it — sometimes kids scrunch their noses at veggies — this cheesy rice mix should change those attitudes from grim to glad. If you don't serve this dish by itself, it also makes a great side dish. Cheesy Rice and Broccoli Preparation time: 15 minutes Yield: Six 1/2-cup servings 10-ounce package frozen broccoli florets 1 cup instant rice 1 cup water 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1. In a medium saucepan, combine broccoli, rice, and water. 2. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat and cover for 5 minutes. The water should absorb into the rice and broccoli. 3. Stir in the cheese until it's melted. Serve warm. Here's a quick chili dish with a twist: It uses turkey meat, which is less fatty than hamburger or other chili meat. Chili can be a bit spicy, which kids aren't acclimated to, but most toddlers will love this version because it's blander than typical chili. Quick and Easy Turkey Chili Preparation time: 15 minutes Yield: Three 1-cup servings 1/2 pound ground turkey 14-ounce can pinto beans, undrained 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained 10-1/2-ounce can of condensed tomato soup 1 soup can water (10-1/2 ounces) 1 teaspoon chili powder Salt to taste 1. Over medium heat, fry the turkey in a large frying pan until brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain extra grease if necessary. 2. Stir in all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce heat, stirring occasionally. Serve warm with crackers, carrot sticks, and ranch dressing.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Naturally, you may get a lot of conflicting advice, such as Aunt Wanda's persistent instructions to start feeding your baby table food at 2 months old, but the age actually differs. You may wonder when you should begin introducing solid foods and what you should serve. Healthcare professionals overwhelmingly recommend that your baby's first food be rice cereal, which you can start serving around your baby's fourth month. (If you're breastfeeding exclusively, you can wait until your child is 6 months old.) Rice cereal contains a starting nutritional base of carbohydrates and, like other infant cereals, is fortified with iron, which is important for your baby's brain development. Additionally, rice cereal is easy to digest, which is very important during these early months. As your baby adjusts to the new taste and texture of rice cereal, slowly introduce other cereals (such as barley and oatmeal after several weeks of rice cereal) and basic veggie purees. It's okay to begin feeding some fruit purees before your baby reaches her seventh month, but you may find that your child starts to love the sweet taste of the fruit and won't want anything else. With that addiction in mind, try to hold off on the fruit until the latter part of the sixth month. What are the signs that your baby is ready to begin eating cereal? Watch for these three signs: Your baby puts things in his mouth. Your baby can easily hold his head up on his own. Your baby seems interested in food when someone else is eating. If you're saying "Yes, yes, yes" to the preceding bullets, then your baby can begin rice cereal during month four. However, what if your baby doesn't have these signs? In this case, wait a bit longer while your infant grows and develops. The fourth month is just an average benchmark and doesn't mean that there's a problem if your baby isn't quite ready for solids. Naturally, if you have questions or concerns about your baby's development, you should check with your pediatrician. If your baby was born prematurely, he may develop more slowly, so check with your baby's doctor instead of spending time worrying and biting your nails. If your baby seems to have all the readiness signs, but she seems only to push the cereal back out of her mouth instead of swallowing any, she may have a normal tongue-thrust reflex. This thrusting reflex is a normal condition that helps a baby to nurse. Test your infant's reflex by touching your baby's lips with a spoon or your finger. If her tongue comes out of her mouth every time, she still has the reflex. Wait a week or so and try again. She'll outgrow this reflex in time and begin swallowing as you feed her. Don't think that if your baby pushes the spoon out of her mouth on the first try that you should give up. Infants know only about suckling and have to learn to use the tongue to move solids from the front to the back of the mouth. This process takes time, and your first few tries of feeding cereal may end with most of the food down the front of your baby's bib, so don't get discouraged.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

If you end up with a child who is a picky eater, you can put to work some important tactics as you continue to feed and work with your finicky child. In fact, dealing with selective eaters can be frustrating, and parents often make situations worse by letting their emotions get in the mix. Be consistent The key tactic to managing a picky eater is consistency. Don't give up or give in. A consistent mealtime offers your child three healthy meals a day and healthy snacks in between. Offer a variety of foods, and don't allow your little beggars to panhandle for snacks between meals, either. Also, keep the milk and juice in check, and serve water occasionally. Your child won't starve to death. Just because she's picky, don't feel like you have to throw organization and nutrition to the wind just to get her to eat. Be consistent and firm, and don't force the issue. She'll eat when she's hungry. Defuse the stress A finicky eater can be stressful for you and the rest of the family. That stress and aggravation can end up making mealtime a war zone, and your stress can actually make the problem much worse. In fact, your reactions can make your picky eater even pickier! As you work with your kid, it's important to remember that you're not alone, and pickiness is actually common in children. With this in mind, don't take a food protest as a personal attack against your cooking. Instead of letting mealtimes stress you out, just do your best and move on — tomorrow is another day. Parents often make mealtime stressful for their children by putting too much food on their plates. Keep portion sizes small to diffuse your child's stress — he can always have more. Mix it up As you're working with your picky eater, you may fall into the routine of letting your child eat whatever he'll eat for the sake of simplicity and your sanity. In the end, though, this form of nourishment isn't a good tactic. This behavior produces an older child that automatically rejects any new foods and continues to be picky. Avoid planning meals based on what your picky child eats. This tactic decreases variety and the rest of the family ends up resenting having to eat only what the picky one eats. Keep varying the meals and encouraging good eating behavior. Encourage your kids to try new things. Sure, sometimes they'll complain, and sometimes they'll gag, but they'll be comfortable with trying new foods. And you can nurture adventurous kids too! If your child doesn't like it, no big deal. You don't want to end up with children who eat only five things. Serve meals away from the table If eating is a problem, then your child may associate the kitchen table with negativity. This is the time to shake things up and get away from the kitchen table: Plan a backyard picnic. Have a "tea party" (with real mealtime food) in your child's bedroom. Play restaurant — move the meal to another area of the house and pretend like you're eating out. Have your toddler help out as a waiter! Use the kitchen table for activities other than cooking. Let your child work with molding clay or other craft projects. By putting this tactic to work in your home, having craft time at the same table at which you eat may lessen the opposition. Avoid disciplining behavior One of the worst mistakes to make is allowing the kitchen table to become a place of discipline, criticism, or arguing. As frustrating as your child's defiance to food can be, avoid using discipline, and never force-feed — this is dangerous due to the choking hazard and results in more eating problems later. Instead of focusing on discipline, try these tips at the dinner table: Reinforce table manners with your behavior. Lead by example. Focus your child on eating, but talk about other things at the table as well. Conversation defuses the attention away from the food. Tell little Becky what foods she's eating, but don't talk about food after that. Avoid comments such as "Look, mommy likes it," or "Don't you want to be strong like daddy?" These comments only add to the stress of the situation and don't help the picky eater. Remove the plate if your child simply refuses to eat, but don't allow him to leave the table until everyone else is finished, and don't give him a snack within the next hour. Keep the same meal and snack schedule whether your toddler eats. Children may manipulate dinner situations if you allow them to skip meals but eat a snack afterward. Never, ever bribe your child to eat one food based on a reward for another food (such as something sweet). This reward pattern begins a lifelong struggle with sweets, which can lead to weight and health problems.