food – Page 4 – The Next Kid Thing

Cooking Connections Offers Insight on Picky Eaters

March 16, 2011March 16, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

The other week, I participated in a great dialogue on TheMotherhood’s Cooking Connections about “Expanding Your Family’s Palate by Placating Picky Eaters.” The hosts and co-hosts were some of my favorite bloggers, many of whom blog about food and parenting and topics in between.

There were so many great takeaways from our discussion about picky eaters, and I was sure to add my two cents about the experiences I had growing up with an extremely picky sibling. I loved hearing other parents’ suggestions about getting picky eaters to try new foods, as I’m sure it’s something many of you have experienced firsthand.

My favorite suggestions for placating picky eaters includes eating and introducing colorful foods and involving kids in the cooking process. My friend Carol said it best: “involving kids in the kitchen gives them a sense of accomplishment…”

Some great insight from the other participants and hosts was the effectiveness they had with the “one-bite rule” to get their kids to try a food before simply refusing it.

“Our rule is you just need to take a full size bite, chew, swallow and then say, ‘Yes, please’ or ‘No, thank you,’” said host Jennifer Leal, Savor the Thyme.

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Share Your Breakfast and Help Fight Childhood Hunger

March 7, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Imagine not having the resources to adequately feed your child; even worse–sending your child to school on an empty stomach.

According to a survey released a few weeks ago, two-thirds of teachers across the U.S. say they have children in their classrooms who regularly come to school too hungry to learn because they are not getting enough to eat at home. It’s a proven fact that hunger impedes our childrens’ ability to learn and perform academically, but fortunately, there are organizations and brands who are shedding light on childhood hunger.

Kellogg’s has partnered with Action for Healthy Kids to help remedy this sad reality of childhood hunger. With their campaign, “Share Your Breakfast” Kellogg’s is is asking people to take pictures and “share their breakfast” on their website.

From now until July, an uploaded a photo of your breakfast can help combat childhood hunger. One photo upload to www.shareyourbreakfast.com or the word SHARE texted with a photo or a description of your breakfast to 21534 equals one shared breakfast.

With nearly 1 in 4 kids in America struggling with hunger, Kellogg’s goal is to share 1 million breakfasts in the 2011-2012 school year. With all the information I share online here on NKT, on Facebook and Twitter, a simple photo of breakfast is the least I can do to help a child in need. We hope to do our part and share our breakfast as soon as we can, and I sincerely hope you consider to do the same.

Check it

Kellogg’s will be kicking off the Share Your Breakfast campaign tomorrow in NYC in Grand Central Station, where they will be feeding thousands of people breakfast from 6am to noon. I’m hoping to make my way over there to help support this worthy cause.

Aside from uploading a photo of your breakfast, you can help spread the word about this important campaign. There will be a Share Your Breakfast Twitter party tomorrow, March 8 from 10 – 12 AM EST. Be sure to visit www.mombloggersclub.com for more details.

Disclosure:

This is a sponsored post through a compensated Mom Bloggers Club member program.

Cooking Connections: Placating Picky Eaters

March 1, 2011March 1, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

“Mama, is broccoli a treat? Because I love it.”

“Sure, honey. Broccoli can be considered a treat if you like it.”

“How about carrots?”

“Yup. Carrots can be treats, too.”

Last week, one of our dinnertime chats went a little something like that. At three years old, the kid questions whether or not veggies are, indeed, treats. And for as long as it lasts, I’ll to continue to advocate that veggies are treats, while simultaneously singing “There’s a Party in My Tummy,” the Yo Gabba Gabba eating anthem for preschoolers and parents alike.

Having grown up with the crowned prince of picky eaters, I’m well versed in the picky eating realm. Public breakdowns and refusals to eat unless we had what he wanted, my older brother’s precarious eating habits never made life easy for my parents. I was known to eat not only my dinners, but also my brother’s—perhaps to pacify his pickyness and to (ahem) feed my own love for food at an early age.

Whatever the case was, once I became a mom, I made it my personal crusade to try and avert the picky eating habits while refining my own eating habits. It makes me smile when my guy reaches for broccoli in the app tray at parties before he heads to the dessert table. Now, if only every day was a broccoli-loving day…

Kids are relentless when it comes to eating, but I don’t think it should always be a battle. Tactics like involving kids in the kitchen, helping with grocery shopping, and something as simple, yet significant, as eating the same meal together as a family can help with picky eaters. My motto is, I’m not an app cook, so we all eat the same thing for every meal. Special meals should be reserved for special days, preferably the days where someone is serving me too!

I know, I know…it’s easier said than done.

Let’s Connect with Cooking Connections

I’ve devoted a a lot of coverage lately to kid-centric food and healthier habits, but by no means does that make me an expert in this parenting arena. I am, however, quite excited to be a co-host in tomorrow’s installment of Cooking Connections, where picky eaters will be the topic at hand. Our fabulous hosts will lead a discussion on TheMotherhood.com, and I’d love it if you could join us! The deets are below:

When: Wednesday, March 2, at 1 p.m. ET

Where: TheMotherhood – here is the link to the page where the class will be held: http://www.themotherhood.com/talk/show/id/62135

And here is the registration page for all Cooking Connections classes: http://www.themotherhood.com/cookingconnections

What: The class I am co-hosting is called “Expanding Your Family’s Palate by Placating Picky Eaters,” and it is hosted by Jennifer Leal (Savor the Thyme), Kimberly Coleman (Mom in the City) and Kelsey Banfield (The Naptime Chef). We will be talking about how to make meals work for all members of the family, healthy and interesting foods that kids AND adults love, and strategies for getting picky eaters to try new things. Join us, and feel free to ask questions, share recipes or chime in with your own suggestions!

The class is sponsored by ConAgra and hosted by TheMotherhood.

My other fabulous co-hosts are:

Marla Meridith, Family Fresh Cooking
Kristy Bernardo, The Wicked Noodle
Jo-Lynne Shane, Musings of a Housewife
Dara Michalski, Cookin’ Canuck
Brooke McLay, Cheeky Kitchen
Shaina Olmanson, Food for My Family
Carol Cain, NY City Mama
Shari Simpson-Cabelin, Earth Mother just means I’m dusty
Amy Johnson, She Wears Many Hats
Stacie Billis, One Hungry Mama

I personally can wait to hear everyone’s ideas and recipes aimed to placate picky eaters. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! See you then!

Holly Robinson Peete: Tips on Enjoying an Allergy-Friendly Super Bowl Party

February 5, 2011February 5, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

For thousands of families, food allergies are a reality that involves carefully reading labels before consumption, as well as educating and communicating with family, friends and schools.

Food allergy awareness requires even more diligence when it comes to parties, such as Super Bowl Sunday. Pot lucks and buffet-type spreads could be a trip to the ER just waiting to happen if food allergies aren’t communicated. Raising awareness, even if the allergy isn’t in your own family, is the first line of defense for avoiding adverse reactions.

Holly Robinson Peete, one of the co-hosts of CBS’ The Talk and wife of former NFL player Rodney Peete, is well versed in food allergies. Mom of four, Holly hopes to help raise awareness and educate other parents about food allergies; each of her kids has some form of allergy, and she’s had her fair share of scary moments.

On Super Bowl Sunday, an occasion that boasts the most food consumption behind Thanksgiving, the reality of food allergies is heightened. Because of her experience with food allergies, Holly spoke with some fellow bloggers and me, on how to enjoy an allergy-friendly Super Bowl party.

Families can enjoy a fun Super Bowl party even if allergies are a concern. Some of Holly’s tips for having an allergy-friendly Super Bowl party include:

Holly Robinson Peete to Host Webinar on Food Allergies

January 31, 2011February 1, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Because allergies run rampant in our family, this topic has been on my radar well before I became a parent. Once I became a mom, introducing food to the kid with the possibility of food allergies became an even bigger reality. Aside from real-life experience by helping my younger brother cope with being “allergic to the world,” my husband and I researched to educate ourselves for the uncertainty of having a child with food sensitivities.

Amidst all the gatherings this time of year, it’s the parties and family events that can be a cause of concern for allergic reactions. After being so cautious with anything new that the three year old has eaten, over Christmas, he had an allergic reaction after having some cashews. Of course, the reaction happened the evening of the post-Christmas blizzard and weather conditions would have complicated everything. Thankfully, the kid is at an age where he can verbally communicate with us now, and immediately told us that his tongue was itchy—a telltale sign of an allergic reaction, and something that I always remember my brother describing after eating various things he was allergic to, when we were kids.

Always reluctant to let the kid have nuts in anything, for some reason, I thought he would have been ok trying cashews for the first time that night. I thought he was in the clear with any nut allergies, but I was wrong.

The kid’s hives, swollen lips and an itchy tongue was enough to remind us that not all foods are safe for our allergy-prone kid. Thankfully, we had Children’s Benadryl onhand to remedy the situation and that it didn’t require a trip to the ER. We learned from this terrifying situation and are grateful it didn’t transpire differently.

Because of our family’s allergies and my interest in sharing this sort of information to other parents, I will be logging into a video webinar on the topic tomorrow.

Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest eating day of the year after Thanksgiving. Since severe allergic reactions to food send 90,000 people to the emergency room annually, TV personality Holly Robinson Peete of CBS’s The Talk (who is married to former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete) will be hosting an online video webinar about handling food allergy dangers at gatherings like Super Bowl parties. Nine out of 10 people say they will be attending one this year, according to a recent Nielsen survey. Since Holly’s four children all have some kind of food allergy, she has plenty of expertise in this topic.

After the webinar, I’ll be one of a few bloggers who will ask Holly questions pertaining to allergies and her experience. It’s always interesting to hear other parents shed light on issues that hit so close to home. I’ll of course share Holly’s insight after the interview, but I’d also like to invite you to watch the online webinar.

Allergy Friendly Superbowl Webinar with Holly Robinson Peete

When: Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT)

Where: Click this link
to get to the webinar, where you will be able to watch Holly via live video feed: http://agencyroad.na4.acrobat.com/allergyfriendlysuperbowl/

Full disclosure: I am being compensated for my participation in this webinar and Q&A via TheMotherhood. The webinar is being sponsored by Dey Pharma L.P. As always all opinions on NKT are my own.

Cooking Connections Launches Today

January 28, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

As you all know, food has become a significant part of my coverage on NKT. The foods we eat and cook and the eating habits we display, ultimately, help our kids to make healthier choices.

For me, cooking resources on the internet and tv help me to navigate in the kitchen. I’ve always been big on cooking, baking and eating, but online sites, magazines and shows underscore just how much I enjoy being in the kitchen. I could seriously watch Food Network for hours and daydream about these professional cooks and chefs coming to my house to cook for me! But good news, though these fantastic chefs can’t come to my house, but there are “real” parents who can—well, sort of!

TheMotherhood’s Cooking Connections, an awesome and innovative eight-week series of virtual cooking classes is launching today. In this series of virtual cooking classes, “real” moms and dads will lead us in their kitchens, to help us learn more about topics relevant to parents. The conversations, led by some of my favorite bloggers, will leverage social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and TheMotherhood.com.

Sponsored by ConAgra Foods, Cooking Connections is launching today, actually at 1:00 pm at the Blissdom Conference that’s going on right now in Nashville.

I love, love, love TheMotherhood and all the wonderful things that they’re doing around our community. Cooking Connections will, no doubt, be just as successful as their other projects. I’m excited to be participating in the cooking class that focuses on picky eaters. “Placating Picky Eaters” will take place in a few weeks, and I’ll be sure to share more about it soon. By the way, TheMotherhood, Emily McKhann and 77Kids by American Eagle got a nod in Forbes for the inspiring Do Good Day campaign that tapped bloggers around the country to pay it forward.

Join the conversation! Want to learn more about Cooking Connections and/or register to participate? Be sure to sign up here at TheMotherhood.

Check out Cooper and Emily’s announcement video for even more details!

Play Kitchens Promote Imagination and Creativity for Girls and Boys

January 19, 2011January 19, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

I was planning on writing about something completely different today, and then I saw this question posed on Twitter:

I was caught off guard since my boy, like I’m sure many of yours, enjoys play cooking. As we finish our remodel and completion of rooms, we’ve been on the hunt for a kitchen that’s “just right.” But the reason I was caught off guard was, since when did imagination and creativity become a gender thing, because isn’t that what role playing, such as kitchen play, promotes?

Maybe it’s because I choose to ignore such conversations, but I never realized that play kitchens were considered “girl toys.” Quite honestly, I wish it didn’t have to be that way. Ample research has revealed that exposing kids to the kitchen benefits them in the long run. Whether it’s a play kitchen or a real kitchen, let the kids explore, learn and be creative.

Ever go to a toy store where the demo play kitchen is set up? It never fails, the play kitchen, just like a real kitchen at family gatherings, has some sort of magnetic energy that lures people and kids.

While we’re at it, let’s talk kitchens. Here are just a few kitchens that are perfect for cooking up a good (pretend) feast:

The Educo Gourmet Kitchen is made of wood with completely non-toxic, child-friendly paints and finishes. I love that this kitchen features bright, bold and modern, a contrast from that gender-specific color palette.

The Deluxe Kitchen Play Centre from Melissa and Doug is the kitchen in question that always lures my kid in, whenever we visit our local toy boutique. It’s made mostly of wood, features a myriad of controls, buttons, shelves and accoutrements. Basically, like the marketing material implies, this kitchen has everything including the kitchen sink.

Another kitchen that’s made of wood that I love is the kid’s play kitchen from IKEA. Like their furniture, it boast straight lines, euro design and most importantly, the kids love its “realistic” features. Best aspect, though, is that its in the $100 range, with plenty of options to add personal touches.

Speaking of personal touches, what about DIY play kitchens? I can’t think of a more sustainable option that involves interaction from parent and kids than creating a play kitchen from repurposed furniture. This one, made by a set of grandparents, is probably my idea of the holy grail of DIY play kitchens.

Do you guys have any thoughts on kitchens? Any faves? Opposed or in favor of boys/girls playing in the kitchen?

KidFresh Frozen Meals: Convenient Deliciousness

January 14, 2011January 14, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

An advocate for helping kids make healthier choices, as you know, I’m always on the hunt for good eats. I’m not the biggest fan of “sneaking” veggies, making exclusive meals for kids, nor am I really a fan of overly processed food for kids. But in reality, if it works, it works—especially if you’ve got a picky eater.

Time is of the essence for all families, which is why it’s always great to have easy meal options or frozen food onhand. When you’re not feeling well, running late for that playdate or just don’t have the inspiration to cook, it’s nice to simplify life with a meal that takes little or no brainwork. The problem with many of those frozen foods, however, are the sodium and preservative levels.

And then, there’s KidFresh.

Special K What Will You Gain Tour Launches in NYC

January 10, 2011January 11, 2011 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Now that the confetti has cleared, the ornaments are packed away, resolutions and promises for change often mark the transition into the New Year. But what makes this year different from years past? For me? Motivation and discipline—two characteristics that I’m known to lose as quick as a tantrum rears its head.

For a recent assignment, some bloggers and I were tapped to help promote the launch of the Kellogg’s Special K What Will You Gain When You Lose campaign. In addition to conducting some interviews, I found myself perched atop a bright red scale in the middle of Times Square Studio.

Instead of releasing my own tantrum and running far, far away from that scale, I left feeling inspired—with a photo of me on the jumbotron as a reminder to boot.

In lieu of numbers, the bright red scale offered singular words, which served as gems of inspiration for people who seek change in the new year.

From interviewing a few women who attended the event to weigh in, I learned that positivity and encouragement can spark motivation and change.

The creative brains behind Special K’s Resolution campaign sought to harness emotional benefits and sincere reactions from “real” women. Women relate to each other, especially when weight management is concerned, and so, social media also plays a big role in the brand’s promotional efforts. Check out my interview with Special K brand manager Vivienne Edwards.

In line with sharing sincerity and the value of emotional benefits, Special K interviewed and taped several women’s reactions after weighing-in at the Times Square event,with the intent of using some interviews in an upcoming commercial. Some of the latest Special K commercials, which are already running, include “real” women and provide a genuine perspective of maintaining healthier lifestyles.

Catchphrases like Sass, Guts, Confidence are just a few of the gems that Special K hopes women will GAIN when they lose. I had the chance to interview one enthusiastic participant at the Special K weigh in, who genuinely embodied the emotions that the campaign was meant to evoke. Felicia was a breath of fresh air, a bright personality, and someone that made an impression. Apparently, the Special K team felt the same way; over the weekend, Felicia contacted me to let me know that she was asked to be a part of an upcoming commercial.

How’s that for some sass!? Congrats to Felicia!

Be sure to check out the What Will You Gain Tour on Facebook to “weigh in” and share/gain your own gems of inspiration.

Full disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this campaign. As always, all opinions on NKT are my own.

You Say Tomato, I Say Yum

December 11, 2010December 13, 2010 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

With the cold weather settling in, dinners at our house are usually hearty and wholesome. I’m talking meat and potatoes, and sometimes tomatoes and other veggies too.

I know I’ve probably admitted this before, but I’m not a fan of hiding veggies. While the sneaky route may work for many families, over here, I’m a big believer in doing what you can to expose the good stuff and see where it gets you. Kids will surprise you.

Tomatoes are an ingredient I’ve found myself including in recipes lately, more often than not. We all know there are healthy benefits to tomatoes, but specifically, they’re a great source of fiber, Vitamin C and the antioxidant lycopene, not to mention they’re said to be good for your heart.

And in the height of sick season, I’ll take all the vitamin C and antioxidants we can get.