Take The Baby Bites Quiz

Find out how proficient you are at promoting picky eating in your prodigy.

If your offspring is eating primarily fast foods, white flour, sugar, and only a few whole foods, you’re headed in the right direction for raising a picky eater. Picky eaters universally love these foods while refusing to eat whole foods, especially green veggies. “Vegetable” might as well be a four-letter word, because a truly picky eater won’t touch one with at ten-foot pole, much less a fork.

To find out if you’re proficient at promoting picky eating, count each of the following twenty-five picky eater indicators which apply to your parenting style. At the end of the quiz, tally up and see how well you scored.

I …
• seldom read nutrition labels.
• never reprimand negative remarks about the food served: “That’s yucky,” or “I don’t like that.”
• take my child to fast food restaurants or for that matter any restaurant, more than twice a week.
• am unsuccessful at getting the family to eat dinner together.
• allow my kid to “graze.”
• allow my toddler to throw refused food on the floor in defiance.
• believe that artificially fortified cereals and breads are just as wholesome as whole grains.
• keep a smorgasbord of processed snack foods where my kid can easily reach them.
• don’t permit my child to help prepare a meal or with grocery shopping.
• serve processed breakfast foods like kid cereals, breakfast bars, toaster waffles, instant breakfast and oatmeal.
• sometimes fill my toddler’s bottle with fruit drink, chocolate milk, or soda pop.
• permit my preschooler to snack on favorite items (raisins, cereal, etc.) while the family eats dinner.
• make the foods I’m sure my child will eat and repeat (i.e.: always serve PB&J for lunch).
• insist that junior cleans his plate at every meal.
• don’t save candy for special occasions, after all kids grow up so fast.
• permit my family to frequently watch television during dinner.
• agree: green vegetables are yucky; therefore my child doesn’t have to eat them.
• discourage my preschooler to touch food with her hands.
• often drink diet or regular soda pop and my child does too.
• bribe my picky eater (with dessert or watching a favorite video) for eating a refused food.
• often use packaged, canned, and prepared foods.
• serve sugary desserts most nights.
• insist on the One-Bite Rule. (Only one bite is required of a new or refused food.)
• set an example for my child by frequently eating junk food myself.
• resort to being a short-order cook, because my precious child refuses to eat what’s for dinner.

How did you do?
Less than 5 boxes checked:
It’s doubtful your child will become a picky eater. Nutritious meals are the norm for your family. It’s likely that you rise early to prepare a hot breakfast and you’re a habitual nutrition label reader. In fact, your prodigy most likely thinks veggies are a snack!

5 to 10 boxes checked:
There’s a fifty-fifty chance your prodigy will become a picky eater. Because your child isn’t learning to enjoy whole foods, she’ll most likely make poor food choices. Weight gain will most likely become an issue by the time she’s a teen.

Over 10 boxes checked:
You’ve succeeded as a “cool” parent, who promotes picky eating. Your kid probably doesn’t eat many vegetables or whole grains. Obesity is almost a given. If your child isn’t presently overweight, he’ll certainly struggle with his weight as an adult, because white flour, sugar, and atlered fats are the mainstays of his diet. He’ll be at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other diseases.

If you’ve checked the last box:
There’s no need to tally your answers. Your child is unquestionably a picky eater.She’s the envy of the other kids in the neighborhood, who are expected to eat brown bread and atrocious vegetables!

Find out more about the free Baby Bites Ezine, Click Here.

To learn how to transform your picky toddler, preschooler, or grade schooler into a healthy eater…
Buy the Book at the Baby Bites Store Now! Click Here.

A mom with a picky eater asks for advice. She’s concerned about her toddler, who was born prematurely and at two is still underweight. He has a tiny appetite and he’s a clever picky eater who manages to get the junk food he prefers. Her pediatrician suggests she give him PediaSure® to guarantee he’s receiving enough calories.

Does your child make a face like Payton when veggies are placed on her plate?

High calorie drinks are a common “fix” in an attempt to boast calorie intake in a picky eater. Another mom of a skinny picky toddler expressed her concern when her pediatrician suggested she give her tot a Carnation Instant Breakfast® each morning.

Certainly, it is easier to drink calories, than to eat them (as is evident in sodas which are useless, even harmful calories). Unfortunately, high caloric processed drinks for skinny picky eaters tend to backfire. Sugar is the first ingredient in these drinks and sugar fuels the problem, instead of the child. With high calorie processed drinks, tiny tummies are filled with sugar and synthetic vitamins. Inevitably, children cut back on wholesome foods. A much better option is to make fruit smoothies loaded with real food like whole milk, bananas, and berries. You can super charge smoothies with omega 3 flax seed oil and barley greens.

Two-year-olds are experts at mommy manipulation. Desperate moms eventually give in and offer something they know their child will eat. Not surprising, the foods toddlers prefer are lacking in nutrients and are high in artificial ingredients: grilled cheese (often it’s imitation cheese on soft bread), French fries, hot dogs, dry cereals, crackers, cookies, and fast food (pizza and Happy Meals®). Fresh fruit and veggies are painfully absent on the picky eater’s list of preferred foods.

Health workers are quick to assure parents that children “won’t starve themselves.” But, they are starving for healthful nutrients. This is parents’ real concern, because the food their children willingly eat is processed junk food.

1) Skinny Picky Eaters
Calories aren’t the only worry for skinny picky eaters. Children require proper nourishment to be healthy and that includes eating vegetables. Picky eaters, especially those in the bottom 10 to 20 percentiles for weight, may be more susceptible to illness and may take longer to heal. Unless whole foods are incorporated into a child’s diet, it’s assured that illness will follow. Obesity isn’t initially a problem for the skinny picky eater, at least for now. Unless he learns to eat whole foods, adult weight gain is sure to become an issue, because he’s eating the same simple carbohydrates as the chubby picky eater.

2) Chubby Picky Eaters
Yes, picky eaters can be chubby. The difference is the chubby picky eater is consuming more calories than the skinny picky eater. Fast foods and simple carbohydrates (soda pop, cookies, chips, candy, etc.) are mainstay for the chubby picky eater. Don’t be fooled: a chubby child can be starved of nutrients as well.

3) Transformation to a Healthy Eater
Good eaters use ALL their senses. When ALL your child’s senses are integrated during mealtimes, she learns to enjoy whole foods, even veggies! Despite what you may have heard, parents can teach their picky eaters to love veggies.

Parents tend to forget the other methods of learning and expect taste alone should be enough when introducing new foods to their children. Taste is the LAST sense to incorporate. The first objective is to learn about food, especially food that has been previously refused.

Once parents throw out failed methods (bribing, punishment, and the One Bite Rule) and change mealtime rules, learning to eat whole foods begins. Parent-led directives during mealtimes about the food’s attributes include talking about its color, texture, aroma, and taste, before a child is ever asked to take a tiny bite. This is multi-sensory learning. Children’s transformation to healthy eaters occurs quickly.

For the picky toddler or preschool child, you can add an extra element of fun to multi-sensory learning. Through make-believe (directed-play) young picky eaters are encouraged to appreciate once-refused foods. I like to use two little plastic characters during toddler mealtimes. Both are foodies, appreciating the unique colors, textures, smells, and tastes of food.

A green T-Rex, named Try Rannosaurus®, is especially fond of green veggies. He’s called “Try” because he will try any new food. Tiny Betty Baby Bites^TM is his best mouse friend and is also a lover of whole foods. When your child pretends to feed these little buddies all her senses are activated. Also, mealtime conversation is more fun with preschoolers when Betty and Try say things like “Green food is yummy!” And offer positive words of encouragement, “Bravo: and “Fastastico!”

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

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

Picky eaters have built a wall of resistance to avoid eating nutritious foods. They love fast foods and junk foods, while refusing to eat whole foods, especially green veggies. “Vegetable” might as well be a four-letter word, because a truly picky eater won’t touch one with at ten-foot pole, much less a fork.

In my book, “Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater,” I explain that my 2½ year old grandson, Joshy, wasn’t eating properly. In fact, he regularly ate only a few foods. He never ate any vegetables, either. In fact, his picky eating had begun to affect his health.

One evening, Joshy and I were alone for supper and I thought I had everything under control…although, Joshy wasn’t happy. I implored cheerfully, “Take just one bite for Nonna and you can have your sippy-cup.” His sippy-cup of milk was his very favorite food.

PICTURED: Joshy is following his mom’s direction. He’s licking an apple…after refusing to eat the skin. It took numerous exposures to the texture and feel of the apple skin, before he began to enjoy eating the entire apple—including the skin!

Naturally, Joshy refused to take even the smallest of bites. I kept my cool attempting the train and airplane ploy. “Choo-choo, here comes the train. Open the tunnel, wide.” “Zoom, zoom, the airplane needs a hangar to land in. Open up!”

After my failed attempt at the train and plane, he picked up his toddler spoon and scooped a solitary cheese-coated noodle onto it. He then made the most spectacular sound effects for a train and airplane I’ve ever heard a small child make! Although, neither the train nor plane ever came near his lips. Obviously, I wasn’t the first to attempt the train and plane maneuvers.

I prayed for wisdom on how I might convince Joshua to eat anything, something nourishing. The answer came in the quiet of the night, “You’ll never get Joshy to eat anything he refuses to touch.”

Why yes, Joshy needed to touch his food first, before an expectation of eating it. The first objective isn’t a plate licked clean, but for Joshy to become familiar and comfortable with food using all his senses.

We think that taste alone should be enough to convince a child to eat a new food, but taste is the last sense that should be engaged in the learning process. ( CLICK HERE to find out more about taste.) Teach your child about the food’s attributes, before asking that he take a bite. In fact, multi-sensory learning is vital for transforming a picky eater into a healthy eater. Additionally, when multi-sensory learning is incorporated from the beginning of a baby’s introduction to solid food, you can avoid ever having a picky eater.

I began what is now called the Baby Bites Steps with Joshy. He was assured that he didn’t have to eat a refused food, at least not at first. During the course of several days, we instructed him to touch his food, then to pick it up, and hold it. The next sense incorporated was smell. Did you know that 70 percent of taste actually comes from the sense of smell? After a few days, we asked that he lick the previously refused food. And finally, he was instructed to take a tiny bite.

During the process, we continually talked about the food in positive words. Auditory learning is vital, so negative remarks about food were forbidden at the table. No one was allowed to say “That’s yucky” or “I don’t like that.”

Directed-play came about mid-week when Joshy brought a small plastic toy to the table. It was then we discovered, he’d happily pick up a food he hesitated to even touch-to pretend feed the toy. I ran out the next morning to purchase two plastic toys: a green T-rex, we called Try Rannosaurus. He’s named Try, because he’ll eagerly try any healthy food and because he’s green, all green veggies are his favorite. Try has a best buddy, Betty Baby Bites. Betty is an Italian mouse. And as you would guess, her favorite foods are cheese, grains, seeds, and nuts. The two characters become valuable tools in transforming a picky preschooler into a healthy eater.

Directed-play takes the pressure off your young child, redirecting attention away from your child’s reluctance to eat a refused food. It helps you to include all your child’s senses for optimal learning—besides it’s more fun for you. too! Directed-play transforms mealtime conflict into happy multi-sensory learning experiences.

For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine, Click Here.
For a synopsis of Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater, Click Here.

Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater is full of real-life testimonials of what parents do influence their children’s eating patterns for life. When I was writing my parenting book, I interviewed many people. Most had a food-related horror story to tell. Many times a child’s eating difficulties persisted into adulthood, because of the actions taken by adults.

You can’t force a child to eat anything. You can’t humiliate her into compliance. You can’t send a stubborn eater off to bed without dinner and think he’ll eat it for breakfast. You can’t trick food into the mouth of a baby who is refusing to eat. You can’t bribe a child into liking a refused food. In the first chapters of Baby Bites, I explain why this is the case.

I wrote Baby Bites, not to train children, but to train parents. It takes only a short time before parents have run the gamut of trendy methods attempting to get their kids to eat whole foods. Bad habits are first formed, not by the child, but by the parents. Not only do parents end up frustrated, but they have unknowingly made the problem worse.

Does your child refuse to eat whole foods,
but will eat junk food like Chase?
Photo with permission from ZIMage Photography

Baby Bites explains an easy step-by-step approach to teach your child how to enjoy whole foods. The steps work because eating is not the first objective. Multi-sensory learning and positive reinforcement is. Obviously, the environment must be controlled to accomplish the steps. I explain how to set the stage for healthy eating in great detail in Baby Bites.

Once, you begin the Baby Bites steps it’s all about having fun while learning. People learn with all their senses. Parents think taste should be enough to convince a child to eat a refused food. Taste is the last sense to incorporate. Texture is usually the issue with a refused food. Sometimes it’s the color or smell.

Hopefully, your pediatrician will make the recommendation for a physical therapist (PT) if you have an orally sensitive baby. Many adult picky eaters had oral issues as infants. It doesn’t usually go away on it’s own. The PT will direct exercises to desensitize the lips and mouth. One method is to lightly rub a washcloth on the lips for a few minutes. Parents, slowly increase the number of times this is done a day. Then the mouth is lightly touched, etc.

Parents know if they have an extreme picky eater. What they don’t know is how to overcome the obstacles. Obviously, the younger the child, when you begin the Baby Bites steps, the greater the success. First, because fewer mistakes have been made by the adults in the child’s life. Secondly, bad habits surrounding eating haven’t been ingrained. Lastly, it’s easiest to control a preschoolers environment.

After a child enters school, there are many other factors to consider. In Baby Bites the steps are adapted for toddlers, pre-schoolers and grade school kids. The game changes during puberty. Controlling external circumstances isn’t enough. The desire for change must exist within the child. As is evident with adult picky eaters, the perceived discomfort becomes a huge obstacle.

I’m an eternal optimist. I believe it’s never too late to become a healthy eater…that’s why I wrote Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater.

Read more about adult picky eating, Click Here.

CLICK HERE for the Baby Bites Store.
For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine,  CLICK HERE

We purchased a freezer and I made weekly trips to the grocers.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that stocking up when an item was on sale, made a lot of sense. Even a little falling snow could prevent a dash to the store. Over the years, Denver’s had a couple of blizzards stranding us for days.  (Other parts of the country have their own severe weather disrupting services.) A well-stocked pantry made even more sense.

Tristan doesn’t know that long-term food storage,
doesn’t have to mean buckets of oats.

Nutritious Foods Are Whole Foods
Today, I’m still a firm believer in food storage: for convenience, savings and the unexpected emergency. You’ll find four food storage blogs located in  “Food Storage” in the Baby Bites Categories (to the right of this page) and another in “Stretch Grocery $$$.”

I often speak to moms’ groups about the importance of food storage. Although some moms recognize the need, they can’t always find the time to get started with storing whole grains. Some don’t bake, so the prospect of storing whole-wheat grain is impractical and some are just too busy. This has been a frustration for me, because of the uncertain times we are in. I understand the need is even greater, today.

Over the years, there have been many offers to advertise on Baby Bites. Although, I thought about some, in the end I turned them all down. I feel strongly about the integrity of what is posted on my site. My goal is always to provide vital nutrition information to families. Some have questioned why I “give” so much information away for free. It’s because my heart’s desire is to help families. If I sell a book, that’s great, mostly because I know it will help a mom transform her children into healthy eaters.

So I’ve forgone advertisers…until now. I’m very pleased to have added eFoods Global to the Baby Bites family. It fills the gap for the parent who is overwhelmed with the prospect of long-term food storage. For the busy mom, it provides a healthy alternative to chemical-laden processed foods. It’s easy to prepare. It’s tasty. It’s affordable.

My philosophy is to store what you eat. Most long-term food products contain many unhealthy ingredients, which I would never want to consume. In addition,  the overall quality of most storage food is poor. That’s exactly why I am totally impressed with eFoods Global.

Fresh whole food is optimal and should be the primary source of nutrition for our families. My message has always been to cook from scratch at home. Like it or not, the reality is 90 percent of the food purchased is processed. Not only that, families eat out several times a week, mostly at fast food restaurants. For those times when the quicker the better is the answer for a meal or food purchased for an emergency, in my estimation eFoods fills the bill. Dehydrated food is one of the best options for processed foods. In the end food, water and shelter are the only TRUE currency and eFoods Global just made it easier.

eFoods Global Food Facts

• Dehydrated from premium-grade fresh raw foods
• No genetically altered food (GMO)
• No added MSG
• No chemical dyes
• No imports from countries using illegal fertilizers and insecticides
• All of the products have zero trans fats
• Many of the ingredients are organic, but not all
• Their products are certified kosher by the Orthodox Union (OU)
• They have products without dairy, soy and some are gluten-free.

Free Food…Just for Tasting
eFoods is in the start-up phase of a global enterprise. For those who want to sample eFoods products, they will mail three different mylar packs of food, each contains four servings. There is only a small $6 shipping and handling charge…the food alone would normally cost $15, but it’s really free. (Look for the “win free” button on the right side of the eFoods home page. Fill out the info, pay the small shipping charge and the food will be shipped to you.)

Unbelievable Opportunity: Independent Business Owner
eFoods Global just began setting up their sales team in September. For those who are interested in a home-based business and making extra cash this is a unique ground floor opportunity. Getting started is surprisingly affordable. Most networking businesses have a lot of costs. Some up-front, some not-so-up-front. If you want a business allowing you to stay-at-home with your kids, you’ll want to check out the eFoods Global opportunity page. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. While you’re there, take a close look at the “Products” information page as well. And be sure to get your FREE food.

Click Here to find out more about eFoods Global food storage.

CLICK HERE for the Baby Bites Store.
For info about the free Baby Bites Ezine,  CLICK HERE