It’s been quite a year of blogging.  And what better way to celebrate than to take a step back and review the top posts of 2011.  These are the posts that stood out with higher-than-average Facebook shares and tweets or active conversation in the comments.

I also want to take this time to thank you for reading Raise Healthy Eaters.  I learn as much from you as you do from me.  My goal is not only to provide you with the most credible feeding advice but to get you to think more broadly about feeding kids and yourself.  I realize that some of you don’t even have kids yet, as one reader wrote: “I realize that I have to raise myself as a healthy eater first.”

So here are the posts from 2011 that stood out the most and why…

1. 10 Strategies for Ending Kids’ Sugar Obsession: The goal of my managing sweet series was to get you thinking about how to offer sweets so they don’t get more attention than needed. This last post in the series was well received because it provided practical tips for parents.  As one reader pointed out: Personally, as a parent, I employ most all of these tips, even having dessert with dinner, and it does take the emphasis off the sweets.

2. Why Banning Foods in Schools Sends Kids the Wrong Message: Things got a bit controversial with this post about banning chocolate milk in schools.  It’s not that I want children to drink chocolate milk, I just think bans create desire for the banned food and there are better ways to balance out the menu in favor of healthier items.  More on this subject in 2012!

3. The Annoying Kids’ Eating Habit Parents Should Adopt: This post has received the most Facebook shares of all time (271) and it was also reposted on Fooducate with a good response.  The message is vital: we need to stop getting kids to eat more food, and teach them to honor hunger and satiety.  In the food-centric environment in which we live, this will be essential to their long-term success in eating. 

As one reader points out: I feel one of the greatest gifts my mother gave to me was teaching me the mantra, “Listen to your body.” If I wasn’t hungry, I was never made to eat. And I think her tutelage is one reason why I never much struggled with maintaining my weight in adulthood.

4. 7 Convenience Foods That are Easy and Healthier to Make Yourself: This post was shared a lot and it got people thinking about the store-bought items that are surprisingly easy to make themselves. Check the comments for more great ideas on easy-to-make-yourself food.  This post got shared on quite a few baby forums and it seemed to hit a nerve with new parents.  I’m glad the information helped clear up the confusion of when to start and stop using sippy cups.  I only wish I had this information sooner!

5. Five Things Parents Should Know About Starting and Stopping Sippy Cups: This post got shared on quite a few baby forums and it seemed to hit a nerve with new parents. I’m glad the information helped clear up the confusion of when to start and stop using sippy cups. I only wish I had this information sooner!

6. What Rewarding Kids with Food Looks Like 20 Years Later: I wasn’t sure what would happen when I posted this one but I was pleasantly surprised by the comments and popularity.  It really points out how our feeding practices have long-term consequences that most parents never think about.  Check the comments for eye-opening stories.

7. My Top 10 Trader Joe’s Products: A fun post that had many wanting to share their favorite Trader Joe’s Products.  I need to do Part 2 because I have a lot more to add! 

8. Macaroni and Cheese in the Rice Cooker: This recipe was popular because most people don’t think to make macaroni and cheese in the rice cooker.  Other all-time favorite recipes include slow cooker Veggie Lasagna and White Bean Chicken Chili

9. Do You Believe One of These 5 Myths About Kids’ Nutrition? This post kicked off my nutrition series and it got some parents feeling relieved, especially the one that says children don’t have to eat veggies to meet their needs.  The other post in this series, How to Meet Your Child’s Nutrition Needs Even When They Don’t Eat Perfectly, was a good one too.  Check out this post from Science of Mom for more on this discussion. 

10. The Fearless Feeding Movement: There would have been more posts but I was spending time selling mine and Jill’s idea for a feeding book: Fearless Feeding.  If you haven’t done so already, like us on Facebook so we can access you for ideas and stories to make this the most relevant feeding book around. 

Well that’s it.  I’m looking forward to many more posts in 2012.  Happy New Year!

I wrote this post as a participant in the Eat, Play, Love blog carnival hosted by Meals Matter and Dairy Council of California to share ideas on positive and fun ways to teach children healthy eating habits. A list of other registered dietitians and moms who are participating in the carnival will be listed at the bottom of this post or can be found on Meals Matter. Don’t miss the free Webinar on May 18th as we talk about the fundamentals for raising healthy eaters. I’ll be speaking along with Janet Helm, RD, Jill Castle, MS, RD and Andrea Garen, MA, RD. It will be a feeding bonanza!

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned since starting this blog two years ago and becoming a mom, it’s that I don’t have all the answers. I can’t give you the exact formula for turning kids into healthy eaters. But I can, as Oprah says, tell you what I know for sure.

There’s one very under-rated strategy for increasing the chances that your child will grow into an adult who eats well. And by well, I mean someone who eats a balanced diet, eats the right amount of food for their body type, eats sweets in moderation, prepares meals for themselves and is healthy because of it.

What’s the secret?

It has nothing to do with starting them young or hiding veggies or any of the stuff you always hear about. Instead, it’s keeping your eye on the prize and not wavering.

Short term vs. long term
When it comes to feeding, parents have two areas to focus on — short term needs and long term goals. The first, is making sure your kids are fed and meeting their nutritional needs. No doubt this is important. But if you use how our children are eating today as a testament to how you are doing as a feeder, you are likely to be miserable and guilt ridden a lot of the time.

In fact, this pressure to get kids to eat perfectly is what leads to many feeding mistakes. Parents are more likely to pressure kids to eat certain foods or give up entirely. I recently met a mom of a four-year-old who was on the brink of giving up on her child’s eating. (I gave her a really quick pep talk and thankfully she changed her mind).

But if you can keep your focus on the second area, the long-term goal, it changes the game. You will be less tempted to do things to get your children to eat healthy today, but have negative effects long-term. (For more on strategies that back-fire long term, see this post.) In other words, you need to check in with your daily feeding rituals to make sure they are in line with your long-term goal.

Case Study
Maureen K Bligh, MA, RD, is a registered dietitian and mom of two teenage boys, 17 and 18. She remembers all too well what it was like when they were younger and wouldn’t eat meat, rice or veggies (or any mixed dish), but they did eat fruit, milk and bread.

Maureen recalls viewing a video from Ellyn Satter, before having kids, that made a lasting impression. The video showed 5 scenarios of parents forcing kids to eat food and she couldn’t believe her eyes. Her takeaway: “If you force kids to eat they won’t choose to eat those foods in the long run.”

Even though Maureen was not picky when she was a kid — she had two boys that were. And she knew exactly what to do.

She followed the Division of Responsibility of feeding, letting her children decide what and whether to eat of what she decided to serve. Dinner was the toughest meal, as it is with many children, and she made sure to serve it family style, encouraged a pleasant environment, and as a result, heard many, “No thank you mommy, not tonight,” responses.

“I served milk, fruit and bread with each meal,” she adds. “I figured that way they were not going to die.”

When asked if it was difficult she said, “Not really.” It was clear she believed in what she was doing and trusted that one day her children would branch out in the food department.

Then that day came. Her eldest and most picky son, around the age of 8, said four words that made her do the happy dance on the inside: “I’ll have the broccoli.” Maureen says this was the start of his gradually trying more foods, which really took off during middle school.

“I know the experts say it takes 10-15 tries before kids learn to like a food,” she points out. “But I think it takes many more times for some kids, at least that’s how it worked for mine.”

But most importantly her kids will now try anything, are fit, regulate their intake well, eat a variety of foods (from all the food groups) and really seem to value family meals.

Expectations, beliefs and trust about kids’ eating matter
Most parents believe their kids will learn to read novels, drive cars and do other things adults do every day. But when it comes to eating, many lack the same confidence that their kids will eventually learn to eat well. That’s probably why there is so much pushing and giving up and outright frustration about children’s eating.

Maureen admits that if she had not been prepared, or had the right information, she may have been more pushy with her kids’ eating. Instead she kept her eye on the prize – and believed that, using the division of responsibility, eventually her kids would, of their own volition, choose to eat healthy foods – and it has paid off.

Yet Maureen makes it clear that life at home isn’t perfect. Her boys eat more fast food than she would like and deal with peer pressure when it comes to eating. “It’s still a leap of faith in many respects,” she admits.

Yet she is reminded that her children always return to the foundation of healthy eating she has spent years building in her home. When her youngest son was being hassled for having a dietitian mom he responded, “I like it, mom. I like that you feed us healthy food.”

No doubt you will weather many storms when it comes to your kids’ eating because they are in the process of learning — and have a lot of mistakes to make. I certainly don’t love it when my four-year-old responds to an unfamiliar dinner at a friend’s house with, “Do you have any ice cream?”

I know that for her, ice cream (vanilla) always tastes the same and satisfies. The day will come when she eats more of the food in front of her. The belief and trust that my daughter will grow into a good eater is so strong, that it keeps me going, even on the worst days.

How do you keep perspective when it comes to feeding your kids?

Don’t miss the free Webinar: Eat, Pray, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters on May 18th.

Don't stop here! Join the carnival and read other Eat, Play, Love blogs from dietitians and moms offering the best advice on raising healthy eaters. And if you don't get enough today, for more positive, realistic and actionable advice from registered dietitian moms, register for the free, live webinar Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters on Wednesday, May 18.

Feeding is Love, Jill Castle, MS, RD, LDN
5 Quick Ways to Prepare Veggies with Maximum Flavor, Dayle Hayes, MS, RD
The Art of Dinnertime, Elana Natker, MS, RD
Children Don’t Need a Short Order Cook, Christy Slaughter
Cut to the Point – My Foodie Rules, Glenda Gourley
Eat, Play, Love – A Challenge for Families, Alysa Bajenaru, RD
Eat, Play, Love ~ Raising Healthy Eaters, Kia Robertson
Get Kids Cooking, Jessica Fishman Levinson, MS, RD, CDN
Kid-Friendly Kitchen Gear Gets Them Cooking, Katie Sullivan Morford, MS, RD
Kids that Can Cook Make Better Food Choices, Glenda Gourley
Making Mealtime Fun, Nicole Guierin, RD
My No Junk Food Journey – Want to Come Along? , Kristine Lockwood
My Recipe for Raising Healthy Eaters: Eat Like the French, Bridget Swinney MS, RD, LD
Playing with Dough and the Edible Gift of Thyme, Robin Plotkin, RD, LD
Picky Eaters  Will Eat Vegetables, Theresa Grisanti, MA
Raising a Healthy Eater, Danielle Omar, MS, RD
Putting the Ease in Healthy Family Eating, Connie Evers, MS, RD, LD
Raising Healthy Eaters Blog Carnival & Chat Roundup, Ann Dunaway Teh, MS, RD, LD
Soccer Mom Soapbox, Sally Kuzemchak, MS, RD
Teenagers Can Be Trying But Don’t Give UpDiane Welland MS, RD
What My Kids Taught Me About Eating Mindfully, Michelle May, MD

Happy New Year! It’s 2010. I can feel the possibility in the air. A new decade awaits.

One of my New Years’ resolutions is to solve problems for my readers. The survey I conducted in November gave me an inkling of the barriers you face when it comes to feeding your family (if you haven’t completed it yet you still can). This has given me tons of ideas that will materialize in 2010. Here’s some of what you can expect:

I will be creating several series — consecutive posts that are linked and build off of each other. Here are a few noteworthy ones:

-Meal Planning 101: Creative meal planning solves the no-time-to-prepare-meals problem. Here you’ll learn the secret to making meals that work best for your family, your schedule and your growing child’s nutrition needs. After the series is finished, I will post profiles from both parents and experts who excel in this area (more ideas!).

-Eating Disorder Prevention: My next expert interview will be with several dietitians who specialize in eating disorders. This series will teach parents how to raise children who have a healthy relationship with food and their bodies. This will be a must-read for parents of girls.

-Nutritional Needs at Different Stages: This series will showcase key nutrients (the first being calcium), their food sources, how much individuals of all ages need, and ways to work it in to daily food choices. This process will help you figure out if your family is getting the nutrition that they need, and whether or not supplementation is needed.

-Getting Kids to Eat: Preparing nutritious foods kids will eat, getting them to try new foods and taking the stress out of feeding will all be discussed in this series. But don’t expect the same-old information here — you’ll get inside info that will change the way you think about this subject.

I will continue to post on a variety of topics including quick and easy recipes ideas, the National School Lunch Program, obesity prevention, family dinners, time-saving health tips for parents, and relevant nutrition news. I will also answer the questions I got from the survey in several Ask the Dietitian posts. I have many ideas, many I got from you, for more in depth articles that I’ll sprinkle in the content.

I’ll also be adding a product store from Amazon that will consist of the books and products I highly recommend. Every product I list will be something that is reputable and that I use myself.

I’m asking you to join the conversation by leaving comments and tips for other parents. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and can learn from one another. So if you have something to add, do it. And that includes super-simple recipes you make at home (send to me through contact us).

If you have a friend you think would be interested in these topics, by all means forward this along — see share options at the bottom of this post.

I’ll be leaving you with two simple recipes. The first is a vegetable and the next is a healthy dessert. The perfect way to start the New Year.

Zucchini Cakes

This is the last recipe I’ll post from the Fix it and Enjoy it Healthy Cookbook. I didn’t take a picture because my camera wasn’t charged at the time. These turned out tasty but my picky 3-year old didn’t try them. But she did recently try (and finished!) a bowl of soup after many offerings so I’m hopeful.

Makes 2 main-dish servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

2 cups zucchini, grated and drained
2 eggs, beaten, or 4 egg whites, or egg substitute equivalent to to 2 eggs, or 1/2 cup soft tofu, blended.
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs, divided
1 Tbsp. light mayo (used canola-based)
1/4 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
2 Tbsp. minced onion
lemon juice (optional)
tartar, or cocktail, sauce (optional)

1. In a good-sized bowl, mix zucchini, eggs, egg whites, egg substitute, or tofu, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, Old Bay, and onion. Combine thoroughly.
2. Form into golf-ball-sized balls. Flatten and roll lightly in remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs.
3. Lightly brown on both sides in a non-stick pan sprayed with oil.
4. Serve sprinkled with lemon juice, or with tartar or cocktail sauce, if you wish.

“Reprinted from Fix-It and Enjoy-It Healthy Cookbook. Copyright by Good Books (www.GoodBooks.com). Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Greek Yogurt with Pine Nuts
This one is another one from Charlotte in France. She’s trying to find more healthful ways to serve dessert for her family. And she came up with this great idea. Thanks Charlotte!

I take half a container of the real Greek yogurt (I use the 2%) and put it in a small parfait glass with some Acacia honey on the bottom and also more honey drizzled on top. Then I toasted some pine nuts and sprinkled them on top. Very easy, and more nutrients that chocolate pudding (I think at least!) Of course, you could also sprinkle some berries or bananas on top too.

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