My grandson, Joshy, was the world’s pickiest eater. He only ate a few foods. At a mere two-and-a-half, his picky eating had already begun to affect his health. His parents were beside themselves with worry. They tried every trendy parenting trick to get him to eat, to no avail.

Baby Bites® was the answer to our prayers. By the time it was published, Joshy was just about to enter kindergarten. Because of the Baby Bite steps, his diet had dramatically changed. His daily food battles had already ended. What he once considered to be “yucky” became “yummy.”

I have just returned from a stay with my grandchildren, Joshua, Zachary, and Angel. I flew out to California to spend time with them while my daughter and son-in-law were in Europe. It’s the first time I’ve been alone with the grandkids since Baby Bites® was conceived. The Baby Bites steps were designed for Joshua.

Joshua’s turning seven this month and is finishing up first grade. He’s quite grown up. While I was there, he received the annual class citizenship award for displaying six pillars of good character (trustworthy, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship).
Joshy now says “Green food is yummy!” Basil is especially tasty and it smells sooo good, too.

Unless you’ve had a picky eater, you will have difficulty understanding how far Joshua has come! The drama is missing at the table. No more tantrums. No more defiantly throwing food on the floor. No more pleading or bargaining or bribing or threatening in an attempt to get him to eat.

The Baby Bite steps are all about multi-sensory learning. Food is appreciated. It’s color, texture, aroma are all discussed. Food is touched. There are no obnoxious remarks made about what’s served. The steps integrate multi-sensory learning with whole foods and positive discipline.

Today, Joshua eats most things without a second thought, although he didn’t love my chili. We all have a few things we don’t like to eat. It’s okay, as long as it’s only few things. There are no special dinners made for him or his brother and sister. If an item at dinner isn’t eaten, then they can eat more of something else already prepared. That night we had salad with our chili. So, Joshua ate small bites of his chili with a lot of salad. After the meal, fruit was served for dessert.

Later that week, I came up with a new recipe for the kids, using a mango found in the refrigerator: Mango-Chicken over brown rice. It’s very simple and when you have already cooked brown rice; it takes only a few minutes. Chicken broth and mango are added to browned chicken pieces, then cooked for a just a few minutes. ( Click Here for my recipe.) The mango melds with the stock, giving it a delicate sweet taste.

At the table we played a game to see who could discover the secret ingredient. My granddaughter, Angel, had remarked the day before that she didn’t like mangoes, so I didn’t want to tell her right off what she was eating. We were all enjoying the chicken dish as they tried to identify the secret ingredient. Angel, who usually has a discerning palate, thought for sure it was peaches. Zachary thought it might be bananas. Joshua made several guesses. Then, you could see the light blub turn on…he correctly identified mangoes as the secret ingredient!

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, Click Here.

Listen to today’s podcast, Click Here.

For a synopsis of Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater, Click Here.