Today is the launch of Fearless Feeding! Thanks so much for going on this journey with me and Jill. In many ways, it’s just started.

We hope Fearless Feeding will be the starting point for feeding kids:  a trusted, one-stop resource parents can use to help them make good decisions and feel confident about feeding.  We provide readers with a Fearless Feeding Strategy for each stage of development — infants, toddlers, school age and teen.

We go into detail about What to feed (how to meet nutritional needs and simple recipes), How to feed (parental attitudes and actions, timing of meals and nutrition education) and Why children behave the way they do (how growth patterns and child development affect eating).  For more on the Fearless Feeding Strategy, you can read a sample chapter here.

We also provide red flags that indicate your child needs additional help (picky eating, weight issues, behavior problems and food allergies) along with things that can be done at home.  We have a whole chapter dedicated to parents, empowering them to be healthy role models and transform their own eating.  And we help parents plan, shop and prepare meals in a way that works with their lifestyle and personal preferences.

Once parents get this big picture view of feeding kids, they may realize they need additional support in one or more areas.  Some may need more recipes and meal planning ideas.  Others might need more information and examples about how to feed their child.  And others may be dealing with a specific challenge, such as weight issues or food allergies.

So to celebrate the launch this Monday the 22nd, we are highlighting and giving away resources that complement Fearless Feeding, most of which are included in the book.

First up is The Six O’Clock Scramble, created by my friend: cookbook author and busy mom Aviva Goldfarb.  It is an awesome solution for busy parents who want to get healthy dinners on the table but feel squeezed for time or out of ideas.  The Scramble gives you a ready-made healthy dinner plan for the week, including easy recipes, side dishes and a grocery list.

The best part is all the recipes take only 30 minutes (or less) to prepare and are family-tested and approved. Many recipes can be prepared ahead of time or are perfect for a slow cooker.  Tens of thousands of families have turned to The Scramble to transform their dinner stress into family dinner success!

Aviva has offered to give a free 6 month membership to The Scramble to one lucky follower ($37 value).

The lunch boxes I use for my kids are Easy Lunch Boxes by Kelly Lester.  They are stylish, bento-style, easy to use and the #1 bestselling lunch box on Amazon.  They come with three compartments for food to and the option of buying mini dipper containers (I like to include these with ranch or hummus with veggies).  They are BPA, PVC, pthalates and lead free and they come with a lunch bag in 7 colors.  Love them!

Kelly is giving away one lunch container set and one lunch bag (winner can choose colors). Retail value is $21.90.

The winner of Easy Lunch Boxes will also get the free app, LaLa Lunch Box, which allows littles one to get involved with what goes in their  lunch.  I have it and it works great!

If you haven’t been to Katja Rowell’s site, The Feeding Doctor, you should!  As a doctor turned feeding specialist, she helps families relax and bring more joy to the family meal.  She trained with Ellyn Satter and provides insight and support that focuses on how best to feed kids.  I reviewed her book, Love Me, Feed Me here. Even though this book is targeted to adoptive parents, the principles in the book apply to feeding all children.

Katja is giving away a copy of her book to one winner.

As a member of Cooking Light’s Blogger’s Connection, I recieve Cooking Light books now and then.  The latest one,  Cooking Light Oops!: 209 Solutions for Everyday Kitchen Mistakes, is perfect for me because I’m not a natural cook.  I always wondered how I could follow a recipe with great reviews only to have it turn out badly.  From choosing the wrong ingredients to not reading the recipe all the way through to cooking meat too long, this books shows you how to avoid common mistakes that makes food taste bad!

Cooking light is giving away this book!

Melanie Potock is a feeding specialist, certified speech and language patholgist and national speaker who works with children with feeding problems.  I interviewed her for the book and she is not only rich in knowledge, but a wonderful person who really cares about helping children.  Her approach to feeding kids is positive and fun.

She has offered to giveaway her book, Happy Mealtimes with Kids, along with a CD.

And last is a bonus prize from Zak! Designs.  Given the many times families sit down to eat meals together, it’s pays to make it nice.  Zak has launched a new line called Moso that is made from bamboo and is 100% biodegradable.  It’s available in Kiwi or Azure.  They also have a new Healthy By Design plate for kids based on MyPlate that makes learning about food groups fun.

The best part is Zak is giving away a place setting for 4 of the Moso (4 dinner plates, 4 divided plates, 4 individual bowls, and 4 divided bowls) as well as 2 of the Healthy by Design plates!

There will be 6 winners for this giveaway.  Jill has a similar giveaway going on at her site so don’t miss it. Our last giveaway for 3 months of free Chobani yogurt ends tonight at midnight so enter if you haven’t already.

Here’s what you need to do to enter:

1) Mandatory Entry: Tell us what part of feeding you feel you need the most help with — cooking, meal planning, feeding strategies etc. Leave a comment.

2) For a second entry: Join our Fearless Feeding Community (LIKE) on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did. If you already like us, tell a friend.

3) For a third entry: Sign up for our free newsletter.

4) For a fourth entry “Like” or tweet this page. Again, leave another comment.

Six winners will be chosen using random.org. The winners will be announced on Raise Healthy Eater’s Facebook Page. This giveaway ends next Friday, April 26th, at midnight.

You must be 18 to enter. Products shipped within the US only.

Only 10 days until the Fearless Feeding launch and we are upping the giveaways.

In the book, we highlight 5 Fearless Nutrients for each age and stage (infancy, toddlerhood, school-age and teen). These are nutrients that kids are most likely to fall short on — two that get the most air time are calcium and vitamin D. In fact, according to a 2012 study published in The Journal of Pediatrics, even with supplement use more than a third of children of all ages fail to meet calcium and vitamin D recommendations.

These two nutrients work together to help build strong bones. Calcium is needed to be deposited into bone but vitamin D holds the key that allows calcium to enter. So when vitamin D is low, calcium isn’t utilized efficiently. Additionally, inadequate vitamin D has been linked to a variety of diseases such as diabetes, autoimmune disorders, heart disease and certain cancers (not causal but related).

Knowing your child’s calcium and vitamin D needs at each stage is important. One to three year olds need 700mg of calcium, four to year olds need 1,000mg and nine to eighteen year olds need 1300mg! In the first year of life the RDA for vitamin D is 400IU and this jumps to 600IU for the rest of childhood.

Dairy foods like yogurt can help children meet their needs. They provide the most bang for the buck in terms of calcium, and many products are supplemented with vitamin D.

The product we are highlighting today is a new line from Chobani Greek Yogurt that makes it easy and fun for kids to enjoy yogurt: Champions Tubes. These yogurt sticks give kids authentic strained Greek low-fat yogurt without having to bring along the spoon. They are made with real fruit and natural ingredients. And they taste really good.

These tubes can be frozen (the way we like them) and are great to include in the lunch box or as a snack. I’ve been including them for Big A’s snack a few times a week along with a side of fruit. I like that these yogurt tubes have twice the protein as other on-the-go yogurt products.

The Champion Tubes come in the following flavors: Swirlin’ Strawberry Banana, Rockin’ Blueberrry, Jammin’ Strawberry and Chillin’ Cherry. Each tube also has 6% DV of calcium (60mg) and 15% DV of vitamin D (60IU).

The Chobani Champions 3.5 ounces yogurts also make a great choice for kids. My kids usually don’t eat a whole 6-ounce container so the size is perfect. They come in Very Berry, Orange Vanilla, Banana Honey and Vanilla Chocolate Chunk and contain 10% DV of calcium (100mg) and 20% DV of vitamin D (80IU).

The question of sugar always comes up. The total sugars in these products comes from a combination of the natural sources in milk and fruit along with evaporated cane juice used to sweeten the fruit, vanilla and chocolate chunk items. They have plain as an option (not in the tube but other Chobani products). In our house, Big A eats flavored yogurt while Little D prefers plain. These tubes also make a nice alternative to frozen treats.

These are wonderful products. They skip the artificial ingredients and colors while providing probiotics that are beneficial for a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Greek yogurt is naturally higher in protein due to how it’s made. See this link for more on Chobani’s yogurt-making process.

In honor of the Fearless Feeding launch, Chobani has generously offered for two lucky winners to get 3 months’ worth of free yogurt! For any frequent yogurt buyer that that’s quite a savings. Jill is holding the same giveaway so head over there for another chance to win.

And don’t forget the other giveaway which ends at midnight tonight for HeatlhyEating.org. (once the launch happens I will move to less frequent giveaways).

Here’s what you need to do to enter:

1) Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment saying why you want to win 3 months of free yogurt from Chobani.

2) For a second entry: Join our Fearless Feeding Community (LIKE) on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did. If you already like us, you can sign up for our free newsletter.

3) For a third entry: Like Chobani Champions on Facebook.

4) For a fourth entry “Like” or tweet this page. Again, leave another comment.

One winner will be chosen using random.org. The winner will be announced on Raise Healthy Eater’s Facebook Page. This giveaway ends next Friday, April 19th, at midnight.

You must be 18 to enter. Products shipped within the US only.

Only 17 days until the Fearless Feeding launch and we have wonderful, bigger-by-the-day, giveaways planned. Today’s will be highlighting a new website from the Dairy Council of California — HealthyEating.org.

HealthEating.org is a great resource for anyone interested in childhood nutrition. It’s a blend of information on family nutrition and meal planning resources including:

Healthy Eating Tools: Interactive tools and games will teach you about nutrition, fitness and healthy eating.

Meal Planning Tips and Recipes: Recipes, articles and tools to help make family meal planning easier.

Healthy Living: Small steps you can make toward your family’s long-term health and disease prevention goals.

Kids Games and Activities: Free online learning games for kids to teach them about nutrition and healthy eating.

The site also provides excellent classroom nutrition education programs for students of all ages.  These are excellent resources for educators or anyone interested in educating children in the school setting:

Classroom Programs for All Ages: K-12 sequential curriculum, turnkey nutrition lesson plans.

School Wellness Resources: How to get started with health and wellness programs in schools.

Parent Nutrition Education: 30-minute turnkey nutrition presentations to answer the nutrition questions that parents ask.

The site also provides information on the benefits of dairy, resources for health and wellness providers and my favorite: the Eat, Pray, Love section about feeding strategies for kids. Back in 2011, Jill and I were part of their Eat, Pray, Love Webinar!

The Dairy Council of California has done an excellent job creating “a one-stop healthy eating shop” for parents, educators and health and wellness promoters.  To celebrate the luanch of their new website they are giving away an assembled picnic basket filled with a pizza cutter, storage container; a spatula, cheese knife, serving plate, reusable grocery bag and flavor straw from California Milk Advisory Board; and a T-shirt, cereal spoon, pin, flavor straw and recipe card from GotMilk?

As a bonus gift, they are also providing one winner with an advanced copy of Fearless Feeding and about 35 dollars to go to kitchen tools of the winner’s your choice!

Here’s what you need to do to enter: (Don’t miss Jill’s giveaway for Yumbox lunch boxes that started today too).

1) Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment saying what you like about HealthyEating.org.

2) For a second entry: Join our Fearless Feeding Community (LIKE) on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did. If you already like us, you can tell a friend about it.

3) For a third entry: Like HealthyEating.org on Facebook.

4) For a fourth entry “Like” or tweet this page. Again, leave another comment.

One winner will be chosen using random.org. The winner will be announced on Raise Healthy Eater’s Facebook Page. This giveaway ends next Friday, April 12th, at midnight.

You must be 18 to enter. Products shipped within the US only.

Only 35 days until Fearless Feeding is launched and we’re ready to highlight another product/service. The theme is snacking, which I’ve written about quite a bit — how to tell when it’s good and bad, how many times a day a child should eat and what should ultimately drive it (hunger!).

In the book we lay out our snacking philosophy in pretty simple terms. We would like all parents to shift what they constitute as snacks from packaged salty snacks and desserts to good old fashioned real food. Satisfying snacks typically contain at least 2 food groups such as yogurt and nuts, fruit and cheese or half a sandwich. See Jill’s post for 51 more ideas.

The benefits of making this switch include everything from increased feelings of fullness, more energy to filling nutrition gaps. When planning Big A’s snack for school, for example, I consider what she is eating for breakfast and lunch and pick food groups to offer more variety. She knows her snacks vary each day and is generally happy with them.

I’m not saying salty snacks don’t have a place, but the goal is for families to associate snacking with real food most of the time. And there’s proof in the marketplace with products like KIND Healthy Snacks that such a shift is not only possible, but happening.

According to KIND’s website “KIND is a brand of all natural whole nut and fruit bars made from ingredients you can see and pronounce and it’s also a movement that gives new purpose to snacking.”

You may have seen them in the stores or already are a fan. All of their bars have see-through packages to highlight the nuts and fruit showing they indeed use real food and their line of whole grain clusters are chock-full of a variety of whole grains.

I received a complementary box of their bars and healthy grains to try. I used to eat bars all the time but after a while felt like they were just dressed up candy bars and moved them to occasional use. But when you look at the ingredients in these bars and try them you can tell they are different. And they taste really good!

I like to have them in my purse, especially on the days I work. I find that I bring something for mid-morning but am left with nothing to eat in the afternoon (and that doesn’t put mommy in a very good mood picking up the kids). I love topping the healthy grains on yogurt or having them with some milk when I’m home. For little ones, some of the bars may be too tough to chew or a choking hazard younger kids, but there is enough variety to find something the kids will like including the healthy whole grain clusters.

Here is a quick review of their products:

Kind Fruit and Nuts: These include whole nuts, fruit and a drizzle of honey. Some of the flavors include almond and coconut, peanut butter and strawberry, and almond and apricot.

Kind Plus: These have additional nutrients like protein, fiber and antioxidants. Some of the flavors include Cranberry Almond + antioxidants, Blueberry Pecan + fiber and Peanut butter dark chocolate + protein.

Kind Nuts and Spices: (with 5g or less of sugar) These are made with spices like cinnamon and ginger along with whole nuts and fiber. Some of the flavors include Dark chocolate cinnamon pecan, cashew and ginger spice, and dark chocolate nuts and sea salt.

Kind Healthy Grains: These whole grain clusters are an alternative to granola with a variety of whole grains perfect as a cereal or topped on yogurt. For example, the Peanut Butter Whole Grain clusters contain peanuts, amaranth, oats, millet, buckwheat and quinoa. These are mine and Little D’s favorite!

The best part about these products is the taste matches the nutrition and one of you will get a FREE sampler including 4 of each of the bars (total of 12) and 2 of the Healthy Grains for a retail value of $40.00. And don’t miss the giveaway going on at Jill’s site for Organic Girl.

Here’s what you need to do to enter the giveaway:

1) Mandatory entry: Leave a comment about how you define snacking in your home.

2) For a second entry: Join our Fearless Feeding Community (LIKE) on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did. If you already like us, you can tell a friend about it.

3) For a third entry: Like KIND Healthy Snacks on Facebook.

4) For a fourth entry “Like” or tweet this page. Again, leave another comment.

One winner will be chosen using random.org. The winners will be announced on Raise Healthy Eater’s Facebook Page. This giveaway ends next Wednesday, March 25th, at midnight.

You must be 18 to enter. Products shipped within the US only.

Only 52 days until the launch of Fearless Feeding which is now available for pre order! The pre-launch giveaway bonanza begins today but before I get into the lovely product we have, I want to share tidbits of the book as it relates to the theme of the giveaway.

It all starts with our little babies. They come into our world and it’s like everything we learned about what to do for them goes out the window. Life (and sleep!) as we know it is forever changed. But we don’t care because we love them so much.

Most new parents understand that when it comes to feeding solids that pure, unadulterated food is best, which is the basis for making baby food. In Fearless Feeding, we provide great detail on the WHAT, HOW and WHY of feeding at each stage, including infancy. Since we are discussing making baby food today, let’s focus a bit on the WHAT.

There are three important windows of opportunity when it comes to feeding little ones: nutrition, learning to eat and food acceptance. Making sure nutrition is right during this major growth spurt is vital and we detail key nutrients needed including iron, DHA, vitamin D, fat and zinc.

Challenging baby with textures and providing opportunities to self-feed are also important as babies need to physically learn to eat. Also, variety is important as this is the time that children are most accepting about food. After baby is used to eating, parents need to forget bland and think flavor! While this doesn’t guarantee a child won’t go through the normal picky-eating phase around age two or three, it can only help with food acceptance and getting the child used to the flavors of the family.

Fresh Baby makes it SUPER easy for parents to get started making baby food with an estimated time of 30 minutes per week. They sent me their So Easy Baby Food Kit which includes a cookbook with over 40 recipes, 2 dishwater safe freezer trays, a how-to DVD and a nutrition card which details nutrition and the steps involved for feeding baby.

They also sent their Homemade with Love So Easy Divided Dish and Baby Bowl that make storage and serving easy (and stylish). The inner bowl is made of stainless steel and the outer body is made of nontoxic polypropylene and is free of BPA, phthalates, lead and plasticizers. They are dishwasher and freezer safe which makes life easier.

I love how this is an all-in-one package and parents don’t have to go looking for individual items. And the advice is spot on in terms of nutrition and advancing texture and these are quality products. Making fresh food helps with flavor because it has a “real food” taste and allows parents to add spices or simply puree what the family is eating.

And because I’m sadly out of this stage, I want to send the So Easy Baby Food Kit and bowls I received from Fresh Baby to someone who needs it ($60.00 value). This also would make an awesome baby shower gift! And don’t miss the giveaway on Jill site for awesome Fresh Baby toddler plates and educational products.

Here’s what you need to do to enter the giveaway:

1) Mandatory entry: Leave a comment saying why you’d like to win.

2) For a second entry: Join our Fearless Feeding Community (LIKE) on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did. If you already like us, you can tell a friend about it.

3) For a third entry: Like Fresh Baby on Facebook or sign up for the Fresh Ideas Newsletter.

4) For a fourth entry “Like” or tweet this page. Again, leave another comment.

We are in the home stretch for Fearless Feeding. It is due out in April and we are starting our giveaways leading up to the launch.

The idea with these giveaways is to highlight products, services and books that help parents in the feeding department. Both Jill and I want to give our readers the chance to try these products out for free, while building excitement for the book launch.

Now back to this review and giveaway.

I’ve been searching for a water cup for my kids that doesn’t spill. I’ve been through so many cups and they all end up leaking, usually in my purse.

It’s very frustrating.

I wanted a spill-proof water bottle for trips to the park, throwing water in a lunch box or simply carrying water with me which is something I always try to do. For easy ways to encourage your child to drink more water, see this post.

Zak Designs contacted me about some of their products. I was drawn to their on-the-go drinkware because they have the fun kid factor and it was something I needed.

All of their bottles are spill-resistant and come in a variety of styles and sizes. I picked out a Disney Princess Liquid Lock Hydro Canteen for Big A and Amazing Spiderman HydroCanteen. They also have designer water cups if you don’t one with characters.

These cups did not spill once!! I especially liked the Liquid Lock Hydro Canteen for Big A and I plan on buying more of these. All of these cups are BPA free and some of them have a chill pack for keeping the liquids cold. Go here to find out more about Zak’s On The Go Drinkware for kids.

So we are giving away some wattle bottles to three lucky winners, meaning three of you will be able to choose from Zak’s awesome collection. Jill will be giving away some cool mixing bowls so check her site for more chances to win.

Here’s what you need to do to enter the giveaway:

1) Mandatory entry: Leave a comment saying why you’d like to win a spill-proof water bottle.

2) For a second entry: Join our Fearless Feeding Community (LIKE) on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did. If you already like us, you can LIKE Zak Designs on Facebook.

3) For a second entry: Sign up for our newsletter on the Fearless Feeding Website.

4) For a fourth entry “Like” or tweet this page. Again, leave another comment.

One winner will be chosen using random.org. The winners will be announced on Raise Healthy Eater’s Facebook Page. This giveaway ends next Tuesday, February 5th, at midnight.

You must be 18 to enter. Products shipped within the US only.

When I educate patients every week, many who have just had their first heart attack, the story is eerily familiar. They say they eat pretty healthily and try to exercise but then I find mentally they aren’t doing too hot: little sleep, lots of stress and pressures and not a lot of true self care going on.

I believe that when it comes to health and well-being, we are missing the boat on the role that our crowded, overworked minds play in it all. And I had to learn that the hard way.

My first brush with panic
I was in my late twenties when the strangest feeling came over me while driving. I was dizzy and felt like I was losing control of myself. When the feeling subsided I was left clueless as to what just happened. This occurred a couple more times but never developed into much.

Not long after that, I dealt with swallowing problems, making it stressful to eat in front of other people. And when I turned 30, I started to have heart palpitations and got a full work up done by a cardiologist. I was told not only that I was fine, but I was in really great shape (this is the time I ran marathons).

So here I was eating right, working out like mad, but my mind was being left in the dust

The search for answers
I moved to New York when I was 31 and sought help at this time. Most importantly, I was able to leave my comfortable surroundings and get perspective on my life. I also researched the causes of anxiety. There is no doubt that I have a genetic tendency towards it, but I was surprised how much I could control and that included taming my thoughts.

What I discovered was that even though I knew my thoughts were over the top (my husband is always amazed at what my mind can conjure up), my mind took them very seriously. In fact, much of what I was feeling had to do with my thoughts and not my true self. What a relief!

One of the books I discovered was the Feeling Good Handbook, in which Dr. Burns goes into details about how thoughts make us feel, with the science to prove it. With this new awareness, my anxiety became manageable and those scary symptoms disappeared.

What this has to do with raising healthy children
Stress is a constant in most families. According to the 2010 Stress in America survey by the American Psychological Association, frequent stressors include money (76%), work (70%) and the economy (65%) with “family responsibilities” (73%) being cited as a key stressor for parents. Although most parents in the survey (69%) say managing stress is important, only about half feel they are successfully dealing with it.

That’s not all — the first Stress in America survey to interview kids (2009) showed that stress affects children more than parents realize. For example, 45 percent of teens (13-17) said they were more worried this year, but only 28 percent of parents recognized it. And while a quarter of tweens (8-12) said they worried more this year, only 17 percent of parents reported their child’s stress had increased.

Research shows that stress is not good for our health as it can increase hunger hormones, decrease immunity and is linked to chronic disease. Some of it has to do with how the stress is handled in terms of less sleep, poor diet and little exercise but researchers now believe that the hormones secreted during prolonged periods of stress can increase inflammation in the body.

I may not experience anxiety symptoms anymore, but I still have a lot of work to do being a good role model for my kids. The unhelpful thoughts keep coming and I want to keep them at bay, while tuning more into my intuitive side. So with this blog, and its relevance to health, I thought, why not put it out there, as many of you might be in the same boat.

So I’ve made the commitment to sit still for 5 minutes each day and see where it takes me.

If you want to join me, leave a comment.  If I get a big response, I will blog about it more.  If I don’t, I’ll provide updates periodically in my weekly meal plans.

I’m really excited for 2013! Fearless Feeding, the book I’ve co-written with Jill Castle, is due out this April. Our website is up and running and we are planning some fun stuff leading up to the launch, including some cool giveaways that will increase in value as it gets closer.

But before I get into today’s giveaway, I want to share this week’s meal plan. Big A suddenly loves taquitos, especially the black been and cheese ones from Trader Joes. I thought it would be fun to try and make them myself so I’m trying this recipe from the Weelicious book. The Black Bean Chili is also really easy — I make it ahead of time in a pot and switch it to the slow cooker for a few hours.

For more meal plan ideas see Org Junkie.

What’s Cooking This Week?

Monday: Chicken Taquitos with guacamole and black beans

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna

Wednesday: Kids’ Choice

Thursday: Panko Crusted Salmon with roasted butternut squash, asparagus and fruit

Friday: Black Bean Chili with cheesy bread

I’m also going to be trying this homemade pasta sauce one day this week. I’ve tried others and have always been disappointed so I hope it works out.

Other ideas from Cooking Light…

101 Healthy Soups

Healthy Casserole Recipes

Kettle Brand Bakes Potato Chips

I was lucky enough to receive product from Kettle Brand’s Bakes Potato Chip line. We are not frequent chip consumers, but we do put them out when people come over and have them with lunch sometimes. My children do flock to chips at parties though.

These chips are baked, not fried and use only whole-food ingredients. For example, their regular Sea Salt Bakes ingredient line is potatoes, safflower and/or sunflower oil, sea salt. According to their site they “take real potatoes. Slice them. Season them with fresh, all-natural ingredients. And then bake them to crunchy perfection. ” They contain 65 percent less fat than regular chips, 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of fat, 115mg sodium and only 120 calories per serving (about 20 chips).

So I put these chips to the ultimate test and had them out when family came over, including my mother-in-law who is pretty selective about food. Not only did she like them, so did the kids and everyone else (including some very manly men). They are crispy and taste really good….dare I say, like real potatoes.

I asked Kettle Brand Chips to send one of my readers some product and they agreed. This giveaway is a kick off to Fearless Feeding website — and countdown to the book launch. The package includes all five Kettle Brand Bakes flavors:

• Bakes Sea Salt

• Bakes Sea Salt & Vinegar

• Bakes Hickory Honey Barbeque

• Bakes Sour Cream & Onion
• Bakes Cheddar & Roasted Tomato

Here’s what you need to do to enter the giveaway: (Don’t miss Jill’s giveaway of Carl Brandt’s natural jams and whole grain bread.)

1) Mandatory entry: Leave a comment telling me why you’d like to win Kettle Brand Bakes chips.

2) For a second entry: Sign up for our newsletter on the Fearless Feeding Website

3) Join our Fearless Feeding Community (LIKE) on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did. If you already like us, you can “Like” Kettle Bran Chips on Facebook.

4) For a fourth entry “Like” or tweet this page. Again, leave another comment.

One winner will be chosen using random.org. The winners will be announced on Raise Healthy Eater’s Facebook Page. This giveaway ends next Monday, January 14th, at midnight.

You must be 18 to enter. Products shipped within the US only.The best part about this review is I have an extra copy to give away.

You know the things you said you would never do before having kids? And then you have kids and those things sound better and better?

That’s how cruises went for us. Before having kids we weren’t into them. After all, we love to travel to different places and explore on land but a cruise is mostly about relaxation with some exploration.

Fast forward to post kids. Our desire from exploration has decreased while our need to relax has gone up a few notches. When my husband came home very interested in cruising after his coworker went on and on about his family’s Disney Cruise experience, I was all over it.

So we ended up booking the cruise we just went on which sailed from Los Angeles, travelling to Mexico including Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.

Finding Our Way
We boarded the Sunday after Thanksgiving. After checking in to our room, there was a party on board with all the Disney Characters while the ship took off. After taking a look around the ship, we got ready for our first dinner, which was always at 5:45pm (early seating) with the same servers and dinner companions. Each night when we came back to our room there was a newsletter listing the next day’s activities waiting for us.

The first day or two was about figuring it all out. They have two areas where the kids have supervised play along with planned activities (Pluto’s pajama party, dosey doe with Snow White etc). Each child gets a bracelet that identifies them and they can tell the supervisors when they want to be picked up. We each had an assigned cell phone to receive the messages or phone calls.

Once the kids got comfortable there, they loved it and asked to go, giving us time to relax on our own. In my opinion, this is what makes this cruise line so nice at this age – they go out of their way to please the parents and children so they can have fun together and apart.

Food, Food and More Food
For those of you who’ve been on a cruise you know there is no shortage of food. There were many options for eating from room service to buffets to sit down restaurants to grab and go items like pizza. There was a soda and soft-serve ice cream bar. I wasn’t quite sure how to handle all the food choices with the kids but I quickly figured it out (for more details see this WebMD blog post).

The truth is my kids like kid food just as much as the next kid, but I wasn’t comfortable having them eat it at every meal. At dinner each of the menus offered kid options including starters, chef options and your typical kid options (see example below). And of course you can order off the regular menu for kids, which we occasionally did.

So I focused on variety. If they ordered something last night for dinner, like macaroni and cheese for example, I steered them to the other options. They ended up being exposed to a pretty decent variety of food. Big A dug into the shrimp one day at lunch, wanted to order lobster with us and took to some of the soups, which was all new for her.

Here’s the lobster dinner…

And some black bean cakes that were delish…

And the Mickey breakfast special…

I even took this variety approach with dessert. There were a few options including Disney ice cream bar but we tried them all including chocolate pudding, cheesecake and assorted ice cream. Instead of hitting the buffets for snack time, we chomped on fruit leftover from some of the meals.

In general, there was something for everyone in terms of food – vegetarian options, light fare, traditional and ethnic. I would have loved to see a smoothie or salad bar too, but those items were available, just not given their own space.

What Disney Does Best
This crew aboard the ship had impeccable customer service, going out of their way to give us what we wanted. For example, Little D wanted grapes as part of his fruit bowl for dinner one night and they went to another floor of the ship to get it. And the next night when we went to dinner, they had grapes waiting for us at the table.

I like that attention to detail.

Other Stuff
There’s so much more to mention like the nightly shows after dinner, the three pools (one kids only, one mixed and one adult only), nightly dancing to music, the spa, the gym and the deck in which we tried to run almost every day. We only went on one excursion to Puerto Vallarta and it was a tour ending with a nice lunch with panoramic views. The kids came down with a stomach flu so we couldn’t take advantage of Cabo San Lucas, but looking back the day of rest did us some good.

We agreed that another cruise will be in order, especially since we learned a lot about what to do different next time. We figure these cruises are perfect for our kids’ ages, 6 and 3, allowing us some time to recharge and them some independent and fun play. When they are older and can appreciate other types of travel, we will likely outgrow it.

So if you have been thinking of a Disney Cruise, I highly recommend it. I would love to hear from anyone who has been on one of these cruises and what your experience was.

But no matter how nice it is to get away, there’s no place like home.

I received complimentary copies of each of the following books around the same time. Needless to say, I was going to review all of these separately but thought I’d wrap it up in one post. I’m selective about the books I review, and feel that each of these are worth your time and consideration. And here’s why.

(Don’t miss giveaway at the end!)

Cooking with Trader Joe’s: Easy Lunch Boxes by Kelly Lester

This book combines two things I love — Trader Joe’s and Easy Lunch Boxes. Easy Lunch Boxes is the number one selling Amazon bento box and I’ve been using it since Big A started preschool (see review). I love them and so do my kids. They helped me slowly get creative with packing lunches.

Cooking with Trader Joe’s is full of easy and healthy lunch ideas for kids. Most of the recipes are from food bloggers using a plethora of Trader Joe’s Products. I was going to contribute to this cookbook but was too overwhelmed with the writing of Fearless Feeding.

The book is categorized in the following sections: packing lunches fast, early, kid friendly, playful (AKA creative), snack ideas, work lunches, veggie, vegan and gluten-free. There is definitely something for everyone here — and even if you don’t use the exact recipes, the ideas (and beautiful pictures) are inspiring.

Even though I am a weekly shopper at Trader Joe’s, there’s always seems to be a treasure that I’m missing like the Brown Rice California rolls featured in this book. I also cannot wait to try the Sweet Potato Graham Cracker French Toast Sticks , Spaghetti Meat Ball Muffins and Spicy Beef Pinwheels.

If you stuck in a lunch-making rut, or are looking for more ideas, this book is for you!

French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon

I read French Kids during my late summer vacation, devouring it within a couple of days.

Le Billon, married to a Frenchman, decides to move her family abroad for a year to a small village in France. The culture shock is apparent in many ways, including food. Her young children enjoy a carb-rich diet, snack throughout the day and don’t quite measure up to the manners the French kids have.

The French, on the other hand, are pretty regimented in how and what they eat. They eat at specific times and don’t snack, except for the afternoon goiter. Quality food is of the utmost priority to them as well — and kids are expected to eat what the parents eat. LeBillon couldn’t help but notice how well (and neatly) the French kids eat and with little fuss from their parents (no threats, bribes etc).

What is most amazing is how and what the kids eat in school. French children get an hour long lunch in the cafeteria (cantine), with elaborate menus and feeding helpers cutting up food if needed. Kids also get taste training in school and French parents, and daycares, feed babies and young toddlers with variety in mind.

Throughout the book, Le Billon gradually adopts rules for eating based on what she learns about French food culture. This is not something she comes to easily as she defends her way of feeding (and eating) but gets worn down over time. At first she makes the mistake of being too overt with these “rules” and eventually loosens up with help from her husband. What were rules simply become habits and her two children increase their food repertoire nicely.

I kept thinking how the French don’t seem to have the same challenges we have which is why, at least for me, the most relatable part of the book is when her family moves back to Canada. Her children pick up old habits and she comes up with some strategies on how to combine the two worlds she loves so much.

Admittedly, there were a few “cringe” moments like the 8 month old French baby being fed (milk and solids) only four times a day and some other tidbits I didn’t agree with. But I do believe there is something to be learned from a culture that places such a high value on good food — and the enviable food education they provide to children. It made me reexamine the kind of “food culture” I want for my own family and gave me ideas on how to incorporate traditions from my own Serbian heritage.

I commend Le Billon for her candor and a very enjoyable read (couldn’t put it down!). Merci!

Real Family Food: Simple and Easy Recipes Your Whole Family Will Love by Amanda Haas (with Cooking Light)

Cooking Light sent me Real Family Food because I’m a member of their Blogger Connection. I wasn’t even expecting it which made it even more of a treat.

Amanda Haas, founder of One Family, One Meal, does a beautiful job putting together appealing recipes. I have already made several including homemade pizza sauce, Caesar salad and Chicken Divan. In this book, I finally found a homemade ranch dressing I love! Just simple, whole food recipes that are quick to make. Right up my alley.

The book begins with some basic recipes such as dressings, pesto, salsas and dips. Then there are breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes as well as wholesome snack ideas, salads and side dishes. It includes grilling recipes and sweet treats too.

I can’t wait to try the Black Bean Dip, Chili Roasted Sweet Potato Nuggets, Chasen’s Famous Chili, Thai Chicken Noodle Bowls and Chocolate Pots de Creme. French Kids motivated me to get more adventurous with my desserts and there are lots of good ideas in this book.

I asked Cooking Light to send this amazing book to one of my readers and they said yes. Here’s what you need to do to enter the giveaway:

1) Mandatory entry: Leave a comment telling me why you’d like to win a copy of Real Family Food.

2) For a second entry, Join our Fearless Feeding Community (LIKE) on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did. If you already like us, share the Fearless Feeding Facebook page with a friend and tell me here.

3) For a third entry tweet or “Like” this page and leave one last comment.

One winner will be chosen using random.org. The winners will be announced on Raise Healthy Eater’s Facebook Page. This giveaway ends next Friday, October 12th, at midnight.

You must be 18 to enter. Products shipped within the US only.