Family Forum: Eating Healthy

Family Forum is the new name of our previously named Moms Talk column. This is a new initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to local families.

Also, this new forum will allow you to reach out to your neighbors as well as we share comments and information with Sayville, Sachem, Bayport, Blue Point and Patchogue. We invite you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for families.

Each week in Family Forum, our council of experts take your questions, give advice and share solutions. If you are interested in joining our council, email Denise@pach.com.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Family Forum will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. Do you know of local moms raising their children in the Tiger Mother's way and is it the best way? Where can we get information on local flu shot clinics for children? How do we talk to our children about the Tucson shootings? How can we help our children's schools weather their budget cutbacks?

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today. Please tell us your opinion in the comments section below. 

Today’s question: Share your tricks and tips for getting toddlers to eat healthy foods.

Donna Nolan: My daughter was a picky eater so I used to make cupcakes by adding carrots, spinach, or other veggies to the batter. Of course I used whole wheat flour and tried to make them as healthy as possible. Apparently everything tastes great with chocolate icing. I have also mashed up cauliflower and added it to mashed potatoes and of course I have added many different veggies to tomato sauce.

Debbie Bacon: Seeing as toddlers can't go to the store to buy their own food, I think putting food in front of them that you put in front of yourself should work most of the time. Making them feel like part of the family at the dinner table is important. They should eat when the adults eat and eat what the adults eat. Letting them help in the kitchen is integral to a healthy body and mind and they'll most likely eat what they helped to make. Usually, it's the people who buy 'kid-friendly' foods that are the ones with the picky eaters. Of course kids will go through their stages; my kids didn't eat salad as toddlers either, but they did eat raw veggies with a dollop of ranch dressing. They still love fruit salad, edamame, and 'topping' salad, which contains everything you'd top a salad with, hold the lettuce. My kids love soup so I load it with seasonal vegetables, crushed tomatoes, and broth and sometimes add cooked orzo or beans to individual bowls. When I make them oatmeal, I cook in applesauce, flax seed, honey, chopped walnuts, and a banana (I freeze them when they start turning brown; you don't even need to defrost it to cook it). Talk about a bowl full of brain food! If my children truly don't like something, after they've tried it, I let them opt for a bowl of cereal. That's their only other choice and they usually choose to eat what I give them, since they need to wait until after we've finished what I've prepared before they can go for door #2.

Amy Keyes: I don’t know that “tricks” are necessary to get children to eat healthy! If they’re given healthy choices from the start, they’ll want to eat healthy. There are plenty of sweet and tasty snack options, you just have to establish buy-in from a young age. For Charlotte, I don’t plan on excluding cookies or ice cream entirely, but it’s clear even now that those are “sometimes” foods, fruits and veggies are the main events.

Theresa Oakes: I don't have tricks to offer because I just gave my son fruits and vegetables and other healthy things when he was younger and he ate them. I didn't treat these items any differently and just gave him everything to try and enjoy.