Hi everyone – while I am traveling overseas for my day job, I have some guest posters stopping by to introduce themselves. Next up is Brad from Fooduciary with some tips for you on how to raise a healthy eater. Brad also hails from Austin, TX!

7 Mistakes Parents Make to Raising Healthy Eaters

It’s natural for any parent to worry about what your children are eating. You might have a good idea of what your kids are eating at home, then lose control as they step out of the house and go to school or to visit friends. It doesn’t matter if your children are under or overweight or just fine. You still worry.

As you’re doing your best to ensure your children get the proper nutrition, keep in mind these seven mistakes that parents commonly make and how to avoid them.

1 – Making Kids Eat Everything on Their Plate

We’re born with the natural ability to eat when we’re hungry and stop when we’re full following natural internal signals from our body. This ability, very handy throughout life, can be lost when children are encouraged to eat past the point when their body is signaling to stop. Encouraging your kids to listen to their internal hunger and fullness cues will help them have a healthy relationship with food and avoid overeating later on.

Despite these natural cues, studies have shown that regardless of age, children eat more when served larger portions, regardless of how hungry they are.

To avoid this mistake:

• Don’t encourage or reward your children for cleaning their plate.
• Start with small portions, encourage them to eat until they feel comfortable, then allow additional servings if requested.

2 – Making Treats the Prize

If you’ve ever resorted to, “Eat your peas and you can have a piece of cake,” you’re not alone. Getting children to eat vegetables can be challenging, but studies show that preference for foods decreases when kids are rewarded for eating them. This approach is teaching kids that vegetables are to be barely tolerated and that sweets are the prize, valued over healthier foods.

To avoid this one, don’t tie dessert into the dinner conversation. Don’t make it the prize at the end of the challenge.

3 – Not Allowing Any Sweets

In light of the dangers of childhood obesity and the role of sugar, many parents go to the other extreme and ban all sweets. There’s certainly nothing wrong with controlling the amount of sweets kids have access to, but a moderate approach is best. Research done at Penn State showed that kids restricted from eating snack foods showed an increased desire to eat those snacks, and they’re likely to overeat at any chance they get. Allowing a fun snack in their lunch or a treat at dinner is okay. Simply try to control what you can and allow some reasonable independence with dessert choices.

A couple of cookies or a single brownie is a good limit. That said, as we always encourage, read ingredient labels and choose wisely to avoid unnecessary additives. It’s possible to sneak in a bit of healthy with the sugar sometimes. Ice cream – add some fruit. Cookies dunk well in milk kefir. You get the idea.

So, control what you can, allow some reasonable freedom of choice (a great opportunity to educate about ingredients), and relax.

4 – Letting the Little Kids Eat Like the Big Kids

Not surprisingly, children with older siblings are more likely to eat junk food than those without older siblings. The older siblings request a soda, or some chips, or cookies, or candy, or whatever, so the little boys and girls are generally exposed to those things much earlier than the oldest child. Think of how diligent new parents are about what their first child eats. There was no junk food for baby! Even though challenging, it’s best to continue the age-based food restrictions for all the kids, not just the oldest.

How? Allow the older kids to have their snacks when the youngest ones aren’t around. Send their snacks with them to school, or maybe while the young ones are taking a bath or even after they go to bed at night. But, you already know, there’s never an age where soda and artificial ingredients are ok.

5 – Snack Overload

Ok, the occasional snack is ok, but constant snacking leads to skipping proper meals. And if they’re never truly hungry, they’ll put up more of a challenge when presented with new foods at meals, like those vegetables.

So, try this: Do your best to stick to a consistent snack and meal routine, allowing at least two hours between snacks and meals. No more than two snacks a day and keep them small.

6 –  Introducing Liquid Calories Early

Kids average daily consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas, sports drinks, fruit drinks, as well as fruit juice, is 270 calories. This represents 10 to 15 percent of their totally daily calorie intake. Think of that. 15 percent of their calories from sugar! Sadly, this continues to rise. Even though these drinks are very calorie dense, the lack of nutrition does not trigger the same satiety signals that solid foods do. With no signal of feeling full from drinking lots of soda or juice, your kids won’t intuitively compensate for the extra calories gulped down, which leads to weight gain in the long term.

What to do? Don’t introduce young kids to sugary, calorie dense drinks at a young age. Don’t have sodas, flavored waters, or juice drinks in the home. Limit beverage choices to water (sparkling is ok), and diluted 100-percent juice on occasion. And remember, they’re watching you. Set a good example by not drinking the sugar drinks either.

7 – Eating the Same Way You Did Before Having Kids

As you’ve grown older and wiser about what to eat you’ve grown to be happy with a simple dinner of meat, salad, and vegetables. But more than likely your kids are going to think these foods are boring at best, gross at worst. Enticing your kids to eat healthy and even experiment with healthier foods may require a bit more creativity.

Adding a little pizzazz to your meals can be the trick that gets your kids hooked. Add flavorful condiments and sauces, or experiment with colors and shapes to put on a show.

For example, you might be fine with a plain baby carrot, but adding some flavorful hummus might be necessary to get younger ones interested. Top dinner plates with a favorite salsa or marinara sauce. Here’s another idea. Before baking a sweet potato, slice it into ¾ – 1 inch rounds. Use an animal shaped cookie cutter to create fun shapes. Lay the slices on a cookie sheet and bake. If you’re like me, you’ll be fine eating the trimmings. This also works with bell peppers, beets, and melons.

Or there’s the good ol’ standby: ants on a log with celery sticks – fill the stalk with almond butter, add a few raisins in a line, and voila! Find ways to sneak veggies into other foods. How about grating veggies into soups, casseroles, and sauces? If you have to turn to canned or frozen dinners on occasion, dump in extra frozen sliced veggies. Who will notice?

Food battles with kids are likely just a part of life that we adults all get to experience. While it can be really frustrating, do your best to keep your patience and perspective, avoiding turning food into a major contention point. Introduce new foods several times, even if the first attempts don’t go so well. They’ll come around. Celebrate the wins, continue setting a good example, and your children will likely turn out to be the healthy eaters you’d like them to be.

Brad Shepherd grew up on the classic American diet of boxed dinners and frozen meals. When his wife Kelli was confronted with difficult health challenges that left many questions unanswered, the two of them began studying the impact of food choices on their health. In that search for answers, dramatic improvements came, not just for Kelli, but surprisingly, for Brad as well.

Together they created Fooduciary as a way to share their journey and their knowledge with others who are also seeking answers.

With the newcomer in mind, Brad and Kelli teach others how food impacts their health not just today but in the future. He is inspired daily by watching readers embrace a healthy lifestyle and aiding those with similar questions that he once had, the best part being when someone realizes the power they have over their own health outcomes.

To help others make a gentle transition to healthy eating, Brad happily shares an introductory guide called Five Days to Clean Eating.

photo credit: Saad.Akhtar cc

Hi everyone – while I am traveling overseas for my day job, I have some guest posters stopping by to introduce themselves. Next up is Katie of Girl Meets Nourishment with an amazing brownie recipe using sprouted flour which is apparently easier to digest than regular flour. I cannot wait to try these when I get home!

I love fudgy brownies just as much as the next guy; but some times you need a thick, cake-like brownie with a tall glass of milk.

I have found that recipes for really good cakey brownies are hard to come by, so I became a woman on a mission. Cut to me in the kitchen: I experimented with my recipe, baked many batches of brownies, ate many test batches of brownies…until one night, the brownies came out just like I wanted. I am excited to debut my recipe for homemade sprouted flour brownies that are rich, cakey, satisfying, delicious, and great with a tall glass of raw milk!

Homemade Sprouted Flour Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup melted coconut oil (or butter) (where to buy coconut oil)
• 1 cup sucanat or rapadura (where to buy)
• 1 – 1/2 teaspoons pure organic vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt (where to buy)
• 1/2 tablespoon aluminum-free organic baking powder (where to buy)
• 3 pastured eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp homemade sprouted flour (where to buy)
• 1/2 cup fair trade, raw, organic cacao powder (where to buy)
• chocolate chips, for sprinkling on top (how to make homemade chocolate)

Directions

1. Mix together the melted coconut oil and sweetener. Then mix in the vanilla extract, sea salt, baking powder, and eggs.

2. Slowly mix in the sprouted flour and cacao little by little. Once everything is well incorporated, pour into a greased and floured 8×8 glass baking dish. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips if desired.

3. Bake in 325 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!

About Katie

Hi, my name is Katie and I blog over at Girl Meets Nourishment! I am on a real food and unprocessed living journey. I am getting back to the basics preparing food the old-fashioned way and discovering new ideas for a healthy life. I am here to share my journey with you.

This veteran vegetarian of nine years now proudly eat lots of butter, takes cod liver oil, drinks kombucha, eats grass-fed meats, and all that is nourishing. This journey has opened me up to a new world filled with the wisdom of generations before me. I want to try these out-of-the-ordinary old-fashioned recipes and make them into my modern nourishment – making real food from real things in real time. I am also getting back to the basics with what we use in our everyday life, making our home as unprocessed as possible.

It is an ongoing adventure for us and I would love it if you would join me as we discover what unprocessed living is! Visit me at www.girlmeetsnourishment.com!

Hi everyone – while I am traveling overseas for my day job, I have some guest posters stopping by to introduce themselves. First up is Meagan of Growing Up Herbal with some great ideas for flavoring your kombucha + a how-to on how to make your own kombucha! I cannot wait to try these when I get home! During the month of June you can get a continuous brew kit for 50% off via your VGN Premium club membership!

Kombucha is healthy for us. It’s a fermented tea product that aids the body in detox, digestion, boosting the immune system, and overall bodily health, but no matter how good we parents know it is for us, it can sometimes be difficult to get our kids to happily drink it.

Kombucha is many times referred to as “kombucha vinegar” because it can have a very vinegar like taste to it. Not always. It just depends on how long you let it ferment. But, this vinegar-like taste can be a turn off to kids who are less likely to take something because it’s good for them. They’re all about the taste, right moms?

So if you’re wondering how you can get your kids to drink more of what the Chinese refer to as the “immortal health elixer”, read on because today I have 3 flavored kombucha recipes you’re kids will love to drink. Not only have they been doctored up a bit to make them taste less vinegar-like, but they’re still full of beneficial properties for your little one’s body. I bet they’ll love them so much, they’ll constantly be asking you for them!

Getting Started

To get started making your flavored kombucha, you’ll need a fresh batch of kombucha that you’ve fermented over the past 8-10 days. If you’re new to making kombucha, it’s not that difficult. Below are two videos from Sarah of The Healthy Home Economist where she shows you exactly what you’ll need to make kombucha and how to do it.

Video 1

Video 2

You can find more of Sarah’s videos on her YouTube channel and her blog.

Now that you know how to make kombucha you’re going to follow these next steps to make your flavored recipes.

Take your finished kombucha, remove your scoby and your starter kombucha that you’ll need to make a new batch, and pour the finished kombucha into 3 glass jars. You’ll need one quart sized jar of kombucha for each of the following recipes. If you want to make more of one later on, you’ll need to adjust your measurements to taste.

Recipes

Strawberry Lemonade Kombucha

Strawberry Lemonade Kombucha is hands-down, my favorite kombucha! I love it, and my kids love it. In fact, my 18 month old gets really excited if I ask him if he wants a “bucha berry”, and don’t even think about taking it away from him!

Here’s how to make it.

You’ll need some organic strawberries and a few slices of fresh lemon. That’s it!

Just plop 3-4 berries and 3-4 half slices of lemon in your kombucha, put a lid on it, and let it sit for 24 hours on your counter to give it just a bit more fermentation (and extra fizz). Your kombucha will turn red like your berries and it will take on some of the sweet and sour of the berries and lemon. Delicious!

Pina-Colada Kombucha

This is another kombucha recipe that I’m loving right now, especially as warmer weather comes through the cool mountains. It makes me feel like I’m at the beach sipping on some pina-colada flavored fizzie drink! Plus, my kids love the sweet coconut flavor this one has!

All you need for this recipe is some sliced pineapple, 3 TBSP of pineapple juice concentrate, and 1/2 – 1 tsp. of coconut extract.

Put it all in your kombucha, put a lid on your jar, give it a good shake to mix it all in, and let it sit on the counter for 24 hours to let the flavors infuse.

Enjoy, and join me at my imaginary beach!

Cinnamon Apple Kombucha

This is the last recipe I have for you today, and this one has a nice subtle flavor. If you like the taste of plain kombucha, this one is close to it. Not only is it not overly sweet, but it has that hint of apple that makes it smell delicious!

You’ll need some sliced organic apples and a cinnamon stick. If you’d like to punch up the flavor a bit more, you can add in 2-3 TBSP of apple juice concentrate and 1/2 tsp. of ground cinnamon.

Put these things in your kombucha, cover with a lid, shake well, and let it sit on your kitchen counter overnight so your flavors mingle together.

This is a great kombucha drink for fall as well!

After 24 Hours

After you’ve let your kombucha jars sit on your counter for another 12-24 hours, they’re ready to drink. Put them in your refrigerator to store them and when you’re ready to try one, pour your flavored kombucha through a tea strainer to catch anything you may not want to drink. You can always eat the fruit after you and your kiddos have finished drinking all the kombucha!

Enjoy and be healthy!

What’s your favorite flavor of kombucha? Share with me in the comments below!

Meagan Visser is the owner of Growing Up Herbal on Etsy where she offers natural, herbal skin care products for children. She also teaches parents how to take charge of their children’s health naturally on her blog, GrowingUpHerbal, and she’s enjoys living a simple and healthy life with her husband and 3 little boys in the southern Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee. Connect with her on her Blog, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Here is what I packed for my 4 year old for lunch today:

• Leftover grass-fed t-bone steak from last night
• Raw mozzarella cheese from Sand Creek Farm
• non-GMO corn tortilla from Blanco Valley Chips
• cucumber and cilantro
• Kale Chips
• Sauerkraut

Like the lunchbox? You can get it here.

Check out my other lunch and snack ideas and my lunch packing philosophy.

Village Green Premium is a brand new discount club for members only with exclusive savings for those of us who love real food! Last week I explained how I save money on real food and introduced this discount club. Now I am going to share some of the latest deals which you can take advantage of when you sign up for just $5/month (or $49/year). To recap: members always get 25% or more off all Village Green products from me and all of your favorite bloggers, including e-books, online classes, e-book bundles and more.

For example, VGN plans to do 4 e-book bundles per year (one each quarter — the next one’s happening later this summer). In these bundles, you get over 30 of your favorite bloggers e-books for only $30. Great deal right?  Well now as a Village Green Premium member, you’ll save 25% (or $10) on EVERY e-book bundle — and get 30 books for only $29 (instead of $39). If you bought all 4 e-book bundles this year, you’d save $40 which pays for your membership!

You’ll also save on all your favorite brands including organic foods, supplements, personal care products and more, with exclusive discount coupon codes and monthly specials and sales.

Village Green Premium Pays For Itself

As a member of this buying club, you get access to special deals (like special pricing and free shipping) and ongoing discounts. During the month of June, you can save a whopping 50% off the price of a continuous brewing kit from GetKombucha.com. Each month there will be more special deals from various brands. If you are in the market for a continuous brewing kit, you will save over $218!

The ONGOING discounts allow you to buy the products you need on a regular basis. These ongoing discounts include a few I need this month: 15% off Perfect Supplements liquid Cod Liver Oil and 10% off non-toxic deodorant from Primal Pit Paste!

Instead of having to search around looking for the best deals, now I can just order what I need and use the ongoing discount coupon codes from Village Green Premium to save.

I just bought 4 bottles of liquid cod liver oil to last me the better part of this year for $37.40 each. With a savings of 15% off, I am paying a total of $149.50 instead of $176.  I also just bought 4 jars of deodorant for $32.22 vs. $35.80.

My total savings: $218 + $26.40 + $3.58 = $247.98

This pays for my membership for the whole year multiple times over and I know there will be more deals I would like to take advantage of next month! Right now the Village Green Premium membership is marked down from $49 to only $39 through June 30th.

No Risk

What have you got to lose? With the monthly plan, you can cancel at any time. For the yearly plan, if you are unsatisfied for any reason, you have 30 days to request a full refund.

Sign up Now: Save 20% Through June 30, 2013

Sign up now and get in for only $4.99 $3.99 per month (for up to one year) or $49 $39 per year.

If you pay the annual amount you save even more – it works out to only $3.25 per month!

I just do not understand what is so hard about labeling GMOs here in the US if companies are already doing it on exported products to other countries that do require labeling. 64 countries now require GMO labeling. Unfortunately the US does not.

(It’s a can of Cake Mate brand frosting via a photo posted in the GMO Free USA group on Facebook from a group member in Australia)

Not sure about GMOs?

Watch: Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods
Here is a great introductory guide
GMOs for Newbies
Hybrid Seeds vs. GMOs
The Link Between Roundup Ready GMOs and Disease
Genetically Modified Foods: What you need to know

GMOs in the news

GMO Wheat Escapes, Tainting Crops In Oregon
New study finds GM grains harm reproductive and digestive health

GMO Free Zone

How to Avoid GMOs
GMO Free Food List
Got The Blues About GMO Corn? Two Varieties Remain Uncontaminated
Reading Food Labels: How to Avoid GMO Sugar
Frankenfish

Final note – Sh*t GMO companies say – hilarious!

Here is what I packed for my 4 year old for lunch today:

• Sourdough butter, cashew butter and jam sandwich (on excellent local sourdough bread made by Flour Bakery)
• homemade dilly carrots and tomatoes/basil
• Kale Chips
• Sauerkraut
• Sour cream (bi-product of making cottage cheese) for dipping

Like the lunchbox? You can get it here.

Check out my other lunch and snack ideas and my lunch packing philosophy.

I was down to my very last package of meat from my bulk half cow purchase last season. It was a package of stew meat. I didn’t feel like making any stew, so I figured why not make a kabob out of it? This marinade tenderized the meat very nicely and it turned out fabulous! I guess I should call this the poor man’s kabob.

Spiced Kabobs

Ingredients

• 1-2 pounds cubed beef stew meat (or if you happen to have some sirloin, cut that up into 1.5 inch chunks)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground turmeric (where to buy)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp kosher salt (where to buy)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup whey (how to make whey)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (where to buy) or ghee (where to buy)
• 8-10 baby bella or cremini mushrooms
• 1 large onion, cut into quarters
• 10-15 cherry or grape tomatoes

Equipment You’ll Need

• 6-8 metal skewers (where to buy)

Directions

In a large glass mixing bowl, add the garlic, spices, vinegar, whey, and oil and stir to combine.

Add the meat to the bowl and toss to coat (I use my hands because the ghee or coconut oil can be firm and needs to be massaged in a bit). Place in the refrigerator in an airtight container or a plastic bag and allow to marinate for 2-4 hours.

Thread the meat and vegetables onto the skewers, alternating between meat and vegetables. Pour the marinade over the skewers and marinate another hour or two in the refrigerator.

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Place the skewers on the grill and cook for about 3-4 minutes each side, 8 to 12 minutes total. Remove from the heat, cover with foil and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

This was delicious with rice!

Here is what I packed for my 4 year old for lunch today:

• Grass-fed beef burgers (spiced with ancho chile, turmeric and salt)
• homemade sour pickles
• Smashed and roasted purple potatoes
• Kale Chips
• Sauerkraut
• Fermented Ketchup for dipping

Like the lunchbox? You can get it here.

Check out my other lunch and snack ideas and my lunch packing philosophy.

Did you know that cheese comes from a plant? Did you also know that tomatoes grow under ground?

Apparently this is what children surveyed in the UK believe to be true! A recent survey conducted in the UK of more than 27,000 children shows that children know very little about food. The picture is grim…of the children surveyed:

• 29% of primary aged children (4-10 years old) think cheese is made from plants
• 34% of 5-8 year olds and 17% of 8-11 year olds believe pasta comes from animals
• 18% of primary school children believe fish fingers come from a chicken
• 80% of the school children do not eat enough fruits and vegetables (less than 4 portions per day)
• 21% of 4-10 year olds reported never visiting a farm!

I am not sure why I am surprised. If this survey had been conducted in the US it might even be worse. We teach kids to read, to write, and to do math, but why do we find it so difficult to teach them about the food they eat multiple times a day?

Talk to your kids about real food

I talk to my daughter about real food and the impact it has on her body and her life day in and day out. I want her to know that the meat on her plate came from a cow, lamb or chicken and that they had to die so she can eat. I want her to know that milk makes cheese and butter and that it comes from a cow.

We play a fun guessing game on the playground where I bring up a category (like ‘dairy’) and then name a letter. She has to guess what dairy item I am thinking about. For example – ‘M’ is for ‘milk’. We have even started in on spices and on cuts of meat. Yes, she asks me very insightful questions about how we get the rib from a cow. I have to provide the best answer I can which is that we respect the animals but that we do raise farm animals for food. She and I talk about the difference between pets and farm animals we eat.

I do not see this as a disturbing topic – this is LIFE.

How we talk to our children matters

We teach them about the semantics as well as provide guidance on our values. How you do this is your choice. Do I agree with this video which has gone a bit viral on the Internet promoting vegetarianism?

While these are not my values because we do eat meat, I do welcome any type of discussion with children about how food gets to their plate. This mother entertained a discussion with a very young child about her values. That is the point. She did not skirt the issue. She tackled it and she taught her child something about his food.

It would be nice if there was a Disney movie about living on farm and seeing your favorite ‘pet’ farm animal being butchered and then eating it that night for dinner to facilitate this conversation, but that just is not the case. Parents have to do the hard work of making the invisible visible to their children about their food. Food does not come from a ‘grocery store’. Without farmers or foragers there would be no food.

Provide life experiences for your children

Participate in nature.

When I was young, I used to go on fishing trips with my dad. When we caught a fish, we gutted it, then cooked it on the fire, and then ate it for dinner. My dad would show me if it was a male or a female by looking for fish eggs. That is some of the best fish I have ever tasted to this day and I will never forget those experiences with nature.

Take a field trip to a local farm.

My daughter’s school recently took the children on a field trip to a local teaching farm. The children were able to see all kinds of animals and even watch a cow milking demonstration. We also take her to pick up our raw milk and to the farmers markets each week.

Have your kids help you cook!

The one bright spot in the British poll is that 84% of primary school aged children and 73% of secondary school aged children said they would like to cook more! 85% of all of the children surveyed said they enjoyed cooking. Cooking teaches math, reading, and science all at once. Cooking is a great activity because you accomplish much more than making a mess – you get a meal out of it.

These experiences are important for young children. Otherwise, they are left to imagine for themselves where their food comes from.

Do you take your kids on nature or farm excursions? What did you recently learn about your food and where it comes from?