Expert Advice On Feeding Your Children

Managing Thanksgiving with New or Selective Eaters

11/25/2019

Mateo, 9 months - @whitneysara08

Thanksgiving is a time to gather family and friends and share a delicious meal. You envision a table full of loved ones - or perhaps just your small family - and enjoying favorite dishes from recipes that have been passed down for generations.

Unfortunately, it's not always how Thanksgiving (or other holiday dinners) work. For parents with picky eaters, Thanksgiving may be stressful as you anticipate comments what family members will say about your kid's eating habits (and what they imply about your parenting). Perhaps you're doing Baby-led Weaning (infant self-feeding) and you worry that loved ones will not understand how your baby eats. The sights and the aroma’s might be completely delicious to adults, but for many children, especially picky eaters or children with special needs or allergies, this meal can cause stress to the whole family.

Remember, flexibility is important with all things, especially children and holidays.

We've laid out some strategies for keeping Thanksgiving fun and low-stress with your BLW baby or selective kiddo.

Tips for self-feeding babies.

Communicate with your partner. Make sure you're on the same page as your partner about how you'll handle your baby's food and when you plan to leave. Keep communication open.
Communicate with your family and friends. Inform your fellow Thanksgiving diners that your baby feeds themselves before you sit down for the meal. This helps prevent any surprises once food has been served. If you'd like, explain why you chose BLW (without judgement of what they may have done with their kids) and explain that many parents are now opting to go this route.
Use us as your scapegoats. If you have taken our Infant course, explain that you got specific instruction from two feeding professionals. Tell them that it is normal for babies to gag while eating, and that gagging and choking are not the same thing.
Keep it comfortable. Offer foods that feel most comfortable to you. Perhaps you just started BLW a few days ago. It's OK to offer baby mashed potatoes on loaded GOOtensils.
Bring supplies. If eating at somebody's home, bring baby utensils and an eating mat.
Thanksgiving dinner may not be the best place to start BLW for the first time. Practice a few meals prior to the big day.
Decide if you want to include baby in the eating experience. While Thanksgiving is a wonderful memory to share with your baby and we'd hope you feel confident serving them holiday foods on this day, brand new eaters don't necessarily have to share in Thanksgiving if it stresses you out too much. The family dynamic or mealtime environment may not be ideal for your family this year. This is especially applicable to families still navigating new food allergies, or if dinner is served after your child's bedtime. No one solution is right for every family, and it's OK if your baby skips Thanksgiving food for any reason. They can always try leftovers another time.
Protect your host's home. To minimize mess, make sure to put a towel or splash mat on the floor below your baby's eating chair (or your chair if they're on your lap). Don't forget a bib! Avoid serving baby's food on china or glassware.

Tips for selective eaters.

Host a Thanksgiving dress rehearsal, especially if your child is very picky or has sensory issues. Serve a practice meal with your kids including many sights, aromas, and sounds of Thanksgiving Day. Many grocery stores or casual food restaurants have complete Thanksgiving meals you can purchase to practice. Have your child sit in a different chair, especially if you already know what kind of chair they might be sitting in on the big day.
Communicate with your family and friends. Inform your fellow Thanksgiving diners that you have been working on picky eating strategies and will not be forcing your child to eat or bribing them with dessert. Make sure to talk about this away from the table and away from your child. Kindly ask them to let you handle mealtime dynamics instead of stepping in themselves. They simply want to help, but the strategies they have used on their kids may be contradictory toward your end goal.
Taste test and dip! Kids love to learn to taste and dip into sauces. You may want to bring special tasting cups or separated plate to allow the child to deconstruct their meal for an increase in eating on that day. It's OK to add ketchup or another favorite dip alongside your child's food.
Keep portion sizes tiny. Remember, most children can get easily overwhelmed at Thanksgiving Day meals. We recommend using a tiny serving spoon to serve themselves less overwhelming portions - they can always have more. You may want to explain to the host that your child will eat better if you or another preferred person (like an older child who is a role model) plate your child's meal.
Kid table...or not? Many families use the kid table for older kids (2 years+). Only kids sit at this table. This can go either way, and predicting your child’s participation can be tricky. Remember - keep the end goal in mind: to enjoy the day and be thankful for friends and family. It's OK for your child to fill up on bread with butter and pumpkin pie filling for one meal, we promise!
Focus on making memories. Allow your child to help in the meal preparation process or other decorating ideas for Thanksgiving. Kids can participate in many fun ways, including coloring or decorating name cards for the table or using stickers to decorate placemats. (Remember - heartfelt and kid-made can be better than "perfect.") Making a Thankful Tree is also fun! Each guest writes what they're thankful for on construction paper leaves, and older kids can help cut out these leaves with age-appropriate scissors. Some families do a Thankful Table Cloth and write what they're thankful for on the cloth itself. This is a great way to make positive memories with your child and start traditions for your family. It also takes the focus away from food if mealtime causes any stress. Your kids will look forward to these activities as they grow, and they will be fun keepsakes to look back on!
Set expectations low and stay in the moment. Your child might be overwhelmed by so many things: experiencing new smells, the timing of the meal, their chair might not be perfect, there are way too many people talking at the same time, and the visual stimulus of candles, glassware, people and food on the table. It is a lot to take in, even for us adults! Keep your expectations low and enjoy the things you can control, like staying present with your family and having food on the table. The rest will all fall into place. Don’t expect your child to be a marvelous eater or sit there for the entire meal. Keep an eye on your child at the table and have a game plan with your partner for how to handle who gets up first with the child. Have one parent tend to your child while the other parent finishes dinner and then switch so each parent can have an adequate social engagement and meal as well.
Serve something familiar with the meal. There's no need to make a special meal for your child barring medical or developmental issues, but make sure there's one familiar food your kiddo can fill up on if they don't want to eat the main dish. Bread with butter is a common "safe" food for toddlers.
Make sure your child doesn't get too hungry - too full - before the meal. A hangry child is not a fun child, so offer a snack a few hours beforehand - kids don't appreciate or tolerate the "wait until the Thanksgiving meal so you're super starving" approach. They need regular meals and snacks on the big day. Conversely, appetizers can prevent your child from wanting to come to the table if they get too full. Remember, this won't be perfect. Do what you have to do to make the day pleasant.
Bring Turkey Day activities. Check out Pinterest for fun crafts and Thanksgiving ideas. Involve the kids so they have enough to do while the dishes are cleaned and football is watched. Bring enough for all of the kids in attendance - this can make the day last a little longer!
Protect your host's home. To minimize mess, make sure to put a towel or splash mat on the floor if your child is prone to spilling or dropping food. Some toddlers do well with china and glassware, but Thanksgiving is not the time to start practicing with keepsake dishes.
If you are at someone else’s house, have an exit strategy. Know when you anticipate leaving, and communicate throughout the day to check in. This can be especially important with babies and young toddlers who may struggle to nap in new environments. Holidays are different with little kids than they used to be, and sometimes plans change. It's OK! Things will get a little easier as they get older, but right now you're in a special season.

Managing allergies?

If your child has known food allergies, make sure to inform your host ahead of time. Always ask for ingredients in foods you didn't make, and consider bringing allergy-friendly Thanksgiving dishes your child can enjoy so they can be part of the celebration.

Creative Ways to Serve Frozen Waffles

11/3/2019

Feeding Littles | Frozen waffles can make breakfast quick and easy. Try these different ways to serve frozen waffles to your toddlers and young kids, as well as baby starting solids the baby-led weaning way. Includes our favorite brands that pack a nutritional punch and can be allergy-friendly.

We have so many favorite fast breakfast options, but frozen waffles are definitely top 5 lately! There are a lot of waffle brands out there, and some of our favorites include:

Kodiak Cakes Power Waffles Buttermilk and Vanilla
Vans Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon - egg-free, dairy-free
Birch Benders Paleo - gluten-free and dairy-free
Kitchfix Grain-Free Waffles Banana Cinnamon: grain-free, dairy-free

The waffles listed pack a little more nutrition than traditional waffles and can be helpful if you have allergies in your family. You can serve them with the traditional butter and real maple syrup combo, but we also love mixing it up with the toppings and serving suggested listed below!

Make sure to cut them in the right size for your child - babies 6+ months can eat them as strips or “sandwiches,” and older babies/toddlers can eat them as small pieces, strips, or whole using their hands! Just toast them first and make sure they’re a little crunchy for reluctant eaters!

Judy loves waffles because they have natural bite spots for babies and toddlers working on the “bite and pull” skill. We listed various waffle brands above that help satisfy different nutrient needs, as we know that some of you are dealing with allergies, intolerances or health issues. If the waffle itself is low in protein, make sure to pair it with a protein source like nut/seed butter, eggs, hemp hearts, chia seeds, or milk. As always, read labels carefully if you’re avoiding allergens.

Enjoying Chocolate When You're Dairy-Free

11/3/2019

Feeding Littles | Don't miss out on chocolate when you go dairy-free! Try this dairy-free chocolate in some delicious ways to satisfy your chocolate cravings.

Megan here, talking about our favorite food group - chocolate! My family isn’t dairy-free, but we know that many are you are for various reasons. Some people have to stop eating dairy for their breastfeeding baby who isn’t tolerating dairy in human milk, or perhaps it doesn’t sit well with your system. We get messages all the time about adjusting to dairy-free life when you’re used to eating it. Enter Enjoy Life chocolate chips (not sponsored). They're a godsend for those who don’t do dairy but really miss chocolate and want to satisfy a sweet craving!

Here are some great ways to enjoy them:

Eat a handful of chocolate chips
Pretzels dipped into melted chocolate
Chocolate chips and nut butter on graham crackers
Lara or other energy/granola bar dipped into melted chocolate
Energy ball
Chocolate-covered strawberry

Above are just some ways to use chocolate chips or melted chocolate - all of which can make needing to be dairy-free for baby a wee bit easier. To make energy balls (adapted from Gimme Some Oven), combine 1 cup uncooked oats, 1/2 cup peanut butter or other nut/seed butter, 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup (no honey for babies), and 2 T chia seeds; roll into balls and refrigerate to set. Keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Keep in mind that some of these ideas aren’t allergen free, so adapt if necessary! (Note: Larabar also has dairy free chocolate chip options, but it’s always more fun to dip it in chocolate sauce!)

Breakfast Burritos

11/2/2019

Breakfast burritos are amazing for adults and kids alike because you can modify them to your tastes and dietary needs (see below for allergy/diet modifications), plus they’re super easy and delicious!

Sometimes babies, toddlers and kids are overwhelmed by burritos in their whole form and do better with deconstructed options, so above is one way you could present breakfast burrito ingredients to your tot - using an ice cube tray! (This is a silicone tray from Target purchased this past summer.) Shown here are tortilla, eggs, cheese, beans, guacamole and salsa (2 flavors). Yes, babies and kids can eat spicy foods - just start slowly! Some of these foods contain salt, so if you serve these to babies under 12 months just go easy on salty foods the rest of the day.

Since breakfast burritos from restaurants can be so filling, we’ve shown half of a burrito here. The most important thing is not rigid “portion control,” but rather eating until your body is comfortably full and satisfied.

The ice cube tray spaces are really small - the image isn’t to scale next to the full burrito so you can see it better. Each section has about 1 tablespoon of food. Keep offerings small for kids so they’re not overwhelmed - they can always have more than what you serve, and if they don't eat it you waste less food.

Here are some of our favorite breakfast burrito ingredients:

eggs
pico de gallo/salsa
refried beans
potatoes
steak/bacon
cheese
guacamole
sour cream
sautéed veggies
avocado slices
hot sauce (more for adults - start very slowly for kids)

Need to modify your burrito for allergies or dietary concerns?

Egg allergy/intolerance: use beans/meat for protein source
Dairy allergy/intolerance: use guacamole instead of cheese or sour cream for creaminess
Wheat allergy/gluten intolerance: use corn or gluten-free tortilla
Vegan: try (vegetarian) beans with potatoes, salsa and guac, and consider a dairy-free cheese (some traditional tortillas may be made with lard so ask about this too if eating at a restaurant)
Low-carb/problems digesting grains: wrap eggs, bacon, salsa and guac in a lettuce wrap

Getting Back on Track after Vacation

11/2/2019

Feeding Littles | Coming home from vacation can be difficult for kids and adults. Here are some simple self-care tips for the whole family to get back on track after a fun trip.

Coming home from vacation can be, as one of our followers called it, very “disorienting.” Ain’t that the truth! Get back on track - no, not in a “diety” or restrictive way, but in a self-care way - with some of these simple tips.

Hydrate! Most people don't drink enough water while traveling - water helps us feel more energized!
Put your kids and yourself to bed early for 3-5 nights after you come home to make up for lost sleep.
Unpack quickly once you arrive home. Feeling organized will help you feel less anxious.
Include lots of high-fiber foods like veggies/fruits and probiotic foods like yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut in your diet - traveler's constipation is a real thing!
Practice deep breathing or use a mindfulness app to reduce anxiety about getting back into your routine.
Plan something to look forward to a day or two after you come home (think family movie night, date night, etc.).
Serve family meals and snacks as usual, focusing on your hunger and fullness cues - going on a diet or "cleanse" will only make you more food obsessed and less happy in the long run.

So many of us feel anxious about the return to our normal life after we’ve been on vacation. We face mile-high piles of laundry (and emails) and don’t always feel well physically because of changes to our normal eating, drinking and sleep routines. Maybe we are sad that a much-anticipated vacation is over, or perhaps the change of environment caused our precious little angels to turn into sleep-deprived, hangry tyrants. Vacations with kids aren’t always relaxing, but they can be joyous nonetheless - we just have to figure out how to manage the depressing after-vacation effects so we can smoothly integrate back into our normal, crazy lives. We hope some of these ideas help you integrate back into normal life!

Teach your Child How to Eat Tacos

11/2/2019

Feeding Littles | A step by step guide on how to teach your child to eat a taco including baby starting solids at six months. As your child gets older, the expectations change and eventually will be able to eat a hard shell taco.

Tacos are an easy dinner that can be enjoyed by the whole family! We’ve put together some visuals for how to serve tacos to kids 6+ months to help them developmentally get to the stage where they can eat crunchy tacos! (Hard taco shells are technically a choking hazard for kids under 4!) These are simply ideas - if you’ve taken our online courses, you know that we encourage meeting your child at their current stage and challenging them to get to the next level safely.

In these images, you’ll notice that foods start soft and in larger pieces for new eaters to hold well and then actually get smaller as they develop more sophisticated grasps and techniques.

6+ months: Babies can have cheese - it’s just that if you’re serving shredded cheese with your own taco, it may be hard for them to pick it up!

10-12+ months: A 10-12 month old baby is just starting to learn how to bite and pull with front teeth (as these teeth come in), so it can be helpful to make serrated lines with a fork on a soft tortilla to give their mouths a place to bite.

15-18+ months: As they get a little older (on average 15-18+ months), toddlers can try eating very small tacos (basically mini burritos) to practice this bite and pull skill. Their little mouths probably aren’t ready for a full-sized soft taco, but it’s great to start getting them used to these types of foods so they can eventually eat sandwiches, pizza, etc. Note that the lettuce and bell pepper servings are small - around this age many toddlers become more particular, so it helps to keep less preferred foods in tiny portions so as to not overwhelm them. They can start to try crunchy lettuce at this time.

4+ years: As your child gets older (4+), it’s time to try a crunchy taco! Let them build it themselves from a topping bar - they’re more likely to try different foods if they serve it to themselves.

A few notes:

The ways beans and avocado/guacamole are served here are arbitrary - either black beans or refried beans can be served to children 6+ months (same with guac or avocado), it’s just hard for young eaters to pick up black beans.
Your child may not be ready for these foods at these ages, or maybe they’re ahead of the game!

Sandwich Skewers Appetizer

11/2/2019

Feeding Littles | Try this fun appetizer for the next football tailgate or Holiday party! These sandwich skewer appetizers are also fun for kids to snack on if modified appropriately.

Perfect for game day!

Need to bring an easy, fun snack to your next Sunday night football party (or, well, any party)? We love these sandwich skewers originally inspired by Pinterest browsing. The Cuban flavor is amazing, but I figured we could mix it up in so many ways! Some of the flavors are more complex and may or may not be kid-approved in your house (but we still recommend trying it so your child has the opportunity). Just be careful with food on sticks/toothpicks for kids under 2-3, and watch round foods like olives and cherry tomatoes for kids under 4!

Here's some ideas:

Cuban: cubed Swiss cheese, nitrate-free deli ham, pickle slice dipped in spicy mustard
Vegetarian: roasted eggplant, zucchini, and sweet potato dipped in hummus
Turkey: nitrate-free deli turkey, cubed cheddar, tomato dipped in guacamole
Italian: olive, mozzarella ball, cooked tortellini or ravioli piece, roasted red pepper dipper in oil, vinegar, and herbs

Don’t feel like party snacks have to be “healthy” to share - all foods can be a wonderful part of living life and enjoying celebrations!

Teething and Mealtime

11/2/2019

Feeding Littles | Teething almost always affects mealtime for babies and toddlers. Here's some food ideas to help ease the pain for baby-led weaning baby starting solids and toddlers or young kids when teething.

Teething almost always affects mealtime in some way. A sudden change of eating patterns usually means something’s up - and teeth are a very likely culprit (even before you can see them poking through the gums).

When it comes to teething and mealtime, here's some things to keep in mind:

Expect regression - a mouth in pain is less motivated to eat.
Don't be surprised if your baby or toddler wants only milk - hydration is #1. Babies need at least 20-24 ounces of breast milk or formula, and toddlers or older kids need even more fluid! Watch for signs of dehydation like dry lips, decreased tears or less diaper/urine output.
Stay consistent with mealtimes and snacks, offering some cold and soft foods for pain relief.

Food ideas to help with the pain:

Homemade breast milk or formula popsicles
Homemade fruit, veggie, and yogurt popsicles
Smoothies and smoothie bowls
Cook your favorite veggies and then pop in freezer until slightly frozen
Freeze spoons and load with soft foods like yogurt, guac, or oatmeal
Offer slightly frozen bagels and teething biscuits

Remember, stay consistent with regular food at regular mealtime - you never know when they’ll pick it back up again, and we don’t want their eating to digress in the long-run!

Inspiralized Littles

11/1/2019

Feeding Littles | Do you have a baby six months old getting ready to start solids? Consider the baby-led weaning approach to starting solids with baby. This ecookbook has information on how to get started with baby-led weaning as well as delicious recipes.

For years we’ve been asked to do a cookbook, but we hesitated because our expertise wasn’t in recipe development. Enter Ali from Inspiralized and Inspiralized Kids, the brilliant New York Times best selling author! Together we collaborated to create Inspiralized Littles, our first eCookbook! It's now available! We are so thrilled to partner with such a talented cookbook author and recipe developer. The best part? It’s just $5.99!

What does this eCookbook include?

A brief introduction to Baby Led Weaning (BLW) from Feeding Littles, including how and when to start
14 healthy and delicious recipes written by Ali Maffucci of Inspiralized
Photos of every recipe, including a separate photo of a suggested way to plate for baby
Infant feeding, nutrition, & occupational therapy tips from Feeding Littles
Suggested vegetable and fruit list for starting BLW

Need more of a step-by-step guide to baby-led weaning? Check out our infant course covering everything you need to know about starting solids with you baby at 6+ months old.

Truths from Feeding Professionals

11/1/2019

Feeding Littles | Two feeding professionals share information they have seen to be true for most families. If you need more help navigating mealtime with your baby starting solids at six months or picky eating toddlers and young kids, check out our online courses.

Oh, the things we learn when we become parents, right? As feeding professionals who have worked with thousands of families - and moms ourselves - we have both learned a lot more about food than we ever learned in school. Fortunately, there is still so much more to learn and more ways to grow in our understanding...but here are some things we know to be true right now"

When feeding goes well, it’s great. When feeding doesn’t go well, it affects the whole family and can be all-consuming.
Not all families - and not every human - are meant to eat the same way. We have different tastes, preferences, nutrient needs, and genetic makeups. We feel different eating different foods, and that’s OK.
HOW you feed your kid is as important as WHAT you feed your kid. Pressure, negativity and tension at mealtime can influence your child’s eventual eating habits even more than the foods they were exposed to.
Culture affects what we eat and how we perceive food. Many of our beliefs and values around mealtime are common to the culture in which we grew up.
Perfection is not the goal. Over-preoccupation with healthy food is actually now a defined eating disorder, orthorexia. Nourishing foods are important, but so is balance (and cookies)!
It’s OK for you to want to do things differently with your kids than your family did with you. We recommend approaching family members with sensitivity and grace when explaining how you manage food, and realize that we all do our best given available information.
Not everyone prioritizes or values nutrition. That’s OK.
Yes, a bowl of cereal or cheese and crackers DO count as dinner. We have to go easy on ourselves - parenting is no joke!

Need more help? Our online courses are here to help you navigate feeding your kids under age 7! The infant course is appropriate for new eaters and babies who haven’t learned to self-feed; our toddler course is best for kids 10 months - 6 years.

<<Previous

Managing Thanksgiving with New or Selective Eaters

Tips for self-feeding babies.

Tips for selective eaters.

Managing allergies?

Creative Ways to Serve Frozen Waffles

Enjoying Chocolate When You're Dairy-Free

Breakfast Burritos

Getting Back on Track after Vacation

Teach your Child How to Eat Tacos

Sandwich Skewers Appetizer

Perfect for game day!

Teething and Mealtime

Inspiralized Littles

Truths from Feeding Professionals

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