Hi, my name is Kate; I am the founder of Nurish^TM_. When our son Owen arrived in 2007 my life changed forever in such an amazing way. I not only became a mother to him, but in a way I became a mother to all children. His birth woke me up on so many levels, gave me a renewed sense of purpose, and made life feel more complete. This missing ‘peace’ was now sleeping soundly in my arms. I made an early commitment to myself and to him that I would take care of him to the very best of my abilities. Paying special attention not only to his physical health and wellbeing, but also his mind and spirit.

I chose to breast feed because it was ‘best’ and once we began to transition to solids I pureed his food out of fresh vegetables in addition to seeking organic, healthy baby foods. It was when we began to transition out of baby foods and onto solids, in late summer of  2008, that I began to worry about my promise. I realized I had never been taught by my parents to eat healthy and found little to no guidance from pediatricians and experts.

The information online was limited, sometimes conflicting. I found myself struggling to find the time to care for Owen and read various books to get a paragraph here and a little bit there. I figured there just had to be a more simple and convenient way to feed Owen a healthy variety of foods in proper portions without the fuss. A bunch of measuring cups and a few months later, I received the idea for a product line that I believe will change the way parents train their young children to eat. And with that my second child — was born.

As I mentioned, Owen is now four and a lover of healthy food – including fresh fruits and vegetables. But that isn’t all — he is also in excellent health and has fine table manners, too. Every year at his annual check-up the pediatrician remarks how healthy he is. He rarely gets sick, I seriously can’t remember the last time, and if it happens he recovers quickly. I am convinced now more than ever my method and tools work! Food profoundly impacts long-term health – especially in a small child’s developing body.

Over the past two years we’ve seen a distinct increase in the amount of dialogue around the state of our nation’s kids and issues concerning children having access to enough of the right foods to prevent disease and ensure optimum development. We at Nurish have been very involved at both the local and national level and will remain active. It is our mission to help support and nurture healthy families. All of them.

In the next month or so, you will see many changes taking place as we move-into our new website. I am looking forward to introducing you to a few of our friends, as well as our product line very soon. In the meantime, I hope you will join me here daily to discuss and apply a variety of topics, products and tips for raising healthy families from the start^TM!

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By Wendy Hammond

Perhaps
Grandma taught me
To snap the string beans
For anxiety relief
Maybe she
Knew more
Than I gave her credit for
Because here I sit
Forty years later
In the middle of it
With a bowl of
Tense green beans  
And a pile of little endings
I need to throw away
On a hot summer day
In the middle of July
I split my fears
And eat my tension
Every seven times
And I see grandma’s hands
Showing mine
Breaking off
The split ends of life
One bean at a time

This hearty recipe is the combination of two old family favorites. I tend to save it for over-night guests, special occasions or holiday mornings. Cut into 6-8 slices and serve on a handful of fresh baby spinach. Replace the bacon with crumbled chorizo sausage for a South of the Border spin, or substitute green pepper for a lacto-ovo vegetarian treat. ~ Kate

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut bacon crosswise in 1-inch pieces. Cook bacon in 10-inch, oven-safe, non-stick skillet, over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes – stirring occasionally until browned. Drain the bacon on paper towels and discard fat from the pan and wipe-out brown bits with a paper towel. Add butter to the pan and then add potatoes and onion. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until onion starts to brown and the potato is tender but firm. Add the jalapeño pepper and cook for 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, in a bowl beat eggs, heavy cream, salt and pepper with a fork. Stir in scallions and diced cheddar. When the potato is cooked, scatter the bacon evenly around the pan and pour over egg mixture; use end of wooden spoon to gently distribute cheese around the pan. This will ensure each bite is delicious.

Let sit on burner for 2-3 minutes, without stirring to let the bottom cook; then transfer skillet to the oven and bake until set, about 30-40 minutes (I like mine well-done). Center should be firm; knife inserted should come out clean. During last 2-3 minutes of cook time, sprinkle grated cheddar evenly to melt.

Serve hot, directly from the pan, after 5-10 minutes of rest.

Kitchen Tips:

If your skillet’s handle is not oven-safe, wrap the handle in a double-layer of tin-foil (shiny-side out).

A non-stick French skillet or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet is the perfect tool for this recipe.

Click here for tips on how to clean and ‘season’ a cast-iron skillet.

Nurish^TM: Leslie, we are big fans of your work here at Nurish. Would you mind telling our readers a little bit about yourself and your family?

Leslie: We live in the beautiful mountain town of Ketchum, Idaho. My kids are 11, 8 and 6. A boy and two girls.

Nurish: What’s a typical mealtime like at your house?

Leslie: We make it a habit to sit down at the table and eat together most every night. Except for when the kids were babies, we always serve the same food for all of us – no special orders. Luckily my kids aren’t super picky, although they are fond of complaining about what we serve!

Nurish: Is there anything that inspires/interests you, when it comes to food preparation, cooking and healthy eating?

Leslie: I’m not much of a recipe follower, when it comes to our daily meals. I tend to just throw fresh ingredients together and keep it simple. Though, I do have a lot of cookbooks and cooking magazines, and review recipes for inspiration. Also, if I get something in mind I want to cook, or have a special ingredient I want to use, I will usually look up recipes online, which is an incredible resource, and either use them ‘as is’ or take ideas from them.

My mom is also an inspiration. She is a great cook. She can make something from anything and she is often trying new recipes. I notice that my kids are much more willing to try different foods when my Mom makes them than when I do, so after eating one of her meals, I will be re-inspired to try new things despite the potential complaining.

Nurish: How do you teach your children about nutrition?

I grew up in a household with healthy food. My Mom didn’t buy much packaged food. Although, growing up, I longed for a refrigerator and pantry full of boxes of goodies like some of my friends.  I think it paid off in the long run to not have it around [in Ketchum] — because making healthy choices comes naturally. I try to do the same thing for my kids, though my 11 year old gives me a very hard time about it. I find that when I cave in and buy junk food, packages start flying open as soon as I walk in the door.  It disappears immediately — not so good for the body or the budget. 

I do have a few tricks to get my kids to eat veggies.  One trick I have is to always have a big container of cut-up vegetables in the fridge. When they sit down to watch TV, I will bring out the veggies and since they are often hungry and in a mindless munching mode, they will eat them up without thinking about it. I also put them out after school, or anytime the kids start saying they are hungry. I’ve never seen them actually go in the fridge and choose the veggies by themselves, but if I make a point to sit them out, they will usually dive in.  Also, I will dive it, which keeps me healthy too and from munching on other things!

Another go-to is my "Spinach Reverse Psychology Trick", which works amazingly well (even on professed spinach haters). I get a big bag of washed spinach leaves and set it out, then tell the kids NOT to eat it, because it will make them way too strong. They think it’s hilarious to defy me, and will shove literally handfuls of it into their mouths and eat it. This works well on the younger kids … my 11 year old doesn’t buy it anymore, though he does eat spinach!

Nurish: Would you be willing to share one of your kid-favorite recipes with our readers?

I’m a big fan of smoothies for breakfast or snacks and have come up with ways of adding ingredients that my kids don’t know about. Here’s a recipe for one of them. When my son was into Spider-Man, I named it "Fly Blood" and he would ask for it every day.

Leslie’s ‘Fly-Blood’ Smoothie

Yields: 5 smoothies

2 c. frozen blueberries

1 c frozen spinach

2 bananas

1 c. milk (or milk alternative)

1 c. water

4 T frozen pineapple juice concentrate

6 almonds

1/2 c Kefir (any flavor)

1 t flax meal

agave syrup to taste

splash of vanilla

If you have extra smoothie, pour it into an ice tray and make "Smoothie Cubes". I end up with lots of Smoothie Cubes, which I keep in the freezer in a Ziploc freezer bag. I then pull them out to use as either the base of a new smoothie, or for the kids to eat as a frozen treat.

Nurish: Leslie, Thanks you so much for spending time with us today.  We wish you much continued success!

Leslie: Thanks for the interview!

For more information on Leslie Patricelli’s children’s books, puzzles and custom artwork, please visit her online studio at: www.lesliepatricelli.com

Owen’s favorite: Yummy Yucky

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I am often asked what we eat as a family; just yesterday, a friend inquired about dessert. Autumn is such a wonderful time of year filled with loads of harvest treats and goodies. Eating healthy doesn’t mean going without something sweet, particularly at the finish of a nutritious family meal. That said, when cooking for small children, it is important to manage the amount of sugar in-take (especially close to bed time). My go-to in these situations are naturally sweetened fruit desserts that provide lots of flavor and zero guilt. Here are a three of my favorites from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair — I’ve made a few changes over the years, which I’ve incorporated below. Whenever you can, please consider fresh organic or local ingredients. Enjoy!

Baked Apples

This one takes me back to Girl Scout camping and bonfires!

Ingredients:

4 Honeycrisp or Fuji apples

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2/3 cup 100% apple juice

1 tablespoon butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash apples and remove core from the top, leaving the bottom intact. Using a peeler, take off a piece of skin around the top next to the core to prevent apples from bursting while they bake. Place apples in a baking dish.

Stuff each apple with raisins, sprinkle with cinnamon, and fill with apple juice. Top each apple with a dab of butter. Bake 30 minutes, depending on how tender you prefer them. Delish!

Caramelized Bananas

Bananas are a lovely ending or beginning. Try them over pancakes, waffles and oatmeal!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons Sucanat or brown sugar

1/2 to 1 teaspoon rum extract OR 2 tablespoons water, white grape juice or apple juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 bananas

Method:

Preheat boiler. Peel bananas and cut lengthwise. Heat butter, sugar, rum extract, vanilla and nutmeg in a small saucepan until melted. Stir to blend.

Place banana halves in a lightly oiled baking dish, cut side down. Pour glaze over bananas and broil until sugar bubbles and bananas are lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Yum!

Mango Lassi

This South Asian favorite is perfect alongside a spicy dinner, or as a stand-alone treat.

Ingredients:

1 ripe mango (skin is soft to touch; stem end will smell fruity)

1 cup vanilla yogurt

Pinch of ground cardamom OR half a pinch of ground cinnamon

Method:

Hold mango vertically and cut down from the top on both sides, just missing the seed. You will have two bowl-shaped halves. Push up from the skin side turning the bowl inside out; score and cut the meat of the mango into a blender followed by all other ingredients; blend until smooth. Blend in ice cubes for a thinner consistency; freeze leftovers for a wonderful frozen treat. Sweet!

For babies 6 months and older

The easiest baby food on earth can be made from cooked, organic fruit. Apply the heat to the fruit only (not the other ingredients) and you have soft, mushed apple and banana. Ripe mango blended with a little purified water is just right for baby.

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National Food Day is bringing together Americans of all stripes to celebrate food and push for a healthier, more sustainable food system. Get involved today by finding an event in your community or setting up your own.

And please urge Congress to support National Food Day’s agenda, which promotes healthy, safe and sustainable foods.

We’re looking forward to celebrating National Food Day with you!

Teaching Babies to Like Vegetables by Jill Epner

One of the most popular baby food flavors at Little City Kitchen Co. is Swiss chard and kale with caramelized onions, apple and white sweet potato.  Kids eat chard?  Really?  I talk to parents all day at the farmers market, and one of the most frequent statements I hear is “My kid doesn’t like _____”.  Typically they fill in the blank with a green vegetable like broccoli or green beans.

Which begs the question: Can you teach food preferences, or do babies already know what they like and don’t like?

I recently had the honor of attending the first annual Childhood Obesity Conference hosted by Slow Food San Francisco.   You may know one of the keynote speakers, Dr. Alan Greene, author of Feeding Baby Green and creator of the WhiteOut initiative that calls for a ban on baby white rice cereal.

My long-time readers know that I’m honest to a fault, so while I was familiar with the book Feeding Baby Green, I must now confess that I picked up the book for the very first time last week and sorta “crammed” for the conference – sorry Dr. Greene!  Imagine my surprise that nearly every philosophy and conclusion that I came to through my own research (with the help of experts like pediatricians and nutritionists) was echoed and even expanded upon in this wonderful book.

So back to baby’s food preferences…can they be learned?  YES!

Why is it important to expose your kids to a variety of foods at an early age?  Because you’re setting them up for a lifetime of healthy eating.  You have a distinct window of opportunity when they start solids to teach them to love a variety of flavors. Once they start walking, that window closes and they rely on what they’ve been taught so far to carry them throughout toddler-hood and the rest of their life.

Dr. Greene talks about the key word to introducing new foods is patience, and to that I would also add the word persistence.  If you keep those two words in mind, you’re likely to have a drama-free feeding experience and a healthy eater in the end.

Three small steps that parents can take:

Involve baby in the new food ahead of time.  Let them feel the avocado skin, squeeze the cooked sweet potato in their hands, watch you chop up the green beans before you feed it to them.  Getting them familiar with flavors and aromas will help them be more accepting of those foods.

Eat these foods yourself for dinner.  Kids will naturally want what’s on mom or dad’s plate, so if you eat the same foods, they’ll be more apt to try them themselves.

And the most important one: Try new foods 7-15 times before allowing baby to make up her mind.  Just a spoonful a day needed, once a day, for at least a week.  No need to force it, just try again the next day if they aren’t interested.  You’ll be surprised when all of a sudden they gobble up the Swiss chard they’ve been refusing for days!

Yup, you too can grow a broccoli-lover!   Please feel free to leave a comment below about your own experiences with getting kids to eat less-common whole foods!

Jill Epner is the owner of Little City Kitchen Co. a company built on the belief exposing kids at an early age to various flavors, textures, and spices sets them up to be healthy eaters later in life. We’ve developed seasonal and International-inspired baby foods that your little ones will love with the nutritional content that you can feel great about as a parent. Visit our Website or Like our Facebook page for current flavors and selling locations.

Yesterday I had the supreme pleasure of attending Slow Food San Francisco’s First Annual Childhood Obesity Bay Area (COBA) conference at the Commonwealth Club in downtown San Francisco. The presentations were very compelling including Dr. Alan Greene’s ‘obesity tsunami’ demonstration depicting the growth rate of obesity in the U.S. over the past 10 years, as well as Stanford’s Dr. Donna Matheson and her fascinating research on family-based childhood obesity prevention methods.

Especially thought-provoking was former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler’s biostatistics research into the effect of processed food (sugar and fat) on the human brain. I also enjoyed slow food advocate and mom Lena Brook’s plea for parents to become involved in their local communities and schools to drive change at the micro-level, while encouraging corporations and government to drive change at the macro-level. There were a number of folks who shared their insights into school lunch reform and community/curriculum garden programs. It was a full and productive day.

During breaks we were encouraged to mingle; I was able to make my way around the room, introduce Nurish, and hear folk’s stories. I was fascinated by all of the various types of work taking place to solve childhood obesity and its related issues. But, beyond the statistics and latest findings, there was a reoccurring theme that surfaced in many of my conversations. It seemed the vast majority of people had a personal understanding of how precious and valuable ‘having’ one’s health is. These people were survivors; no, warriors. They were parents of children who had overcome illness; parents that had lost children; people impacted by food allergies or other dietary related disease; still others who work tirelessly to heal and/or teach our children. Each one with a strong sense of justice and respect — willing to roll up their sleeves and be a part of the solution.

It was a deeply moving experience, especially as I began to connect the dots and reflect back on my own story including the loss and recovery (via better nutrition) of my health from Multiple Sclerosis and my new work of empowering parents and children to eat healthy. I feel as if everything I’ve experienced up to this point in life has prepared me for the conversations I had yesterday. I am so blessed to find myself among an amazing community of warm, welcoming new friends. It is remarkable what’s possible when folks determine to stand together and make a difference. Perhaps our opportunity then is to simply be who we are, and live-out our heart’s purpose in the service of others. In this way we each do our part, in big ways and small ways, to ensure the health of our earth, our children and generations to come.

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Howdy, folks. Well we are simply blushing and gushing at the news we’ve been nominated for two awards:

First, we are a finalist in the 2011 Red Tricycle Totally Awesome Award (Mom Run Businesses-SF) 

Our founder Kate has also been mominated for Babble.com’s Moms Who Are Changing the World (Entrepreneurial) contest.

We’d sure love your support; please click the links above to vote and be entered to win a number of prizes including a $500 gift card from our friends at giggle!!

Join the Nurish community – be a fan on Facebook; follow along on Twitter!

When it came time to make the switch to solid foods, I decided I needed to get smart about what and how much I should be feeding ‘little o’ (that’s one of our many nicknames for our son Owen). I didn’t find a lot of immediately applicable advice, which is a problem for a pragmatic mommy. So I put on my old ‘market research’ hat and hopped online for the latest academic research regarding toddler feeding practices. Out of this research Nurish^TM was born (because no parent should have to spend that much time ever again!). Though we’ve packed a lot of nutrition science into the design of our products, I promise these feeding accessories are fun, time-saving and simple to use for the whole family.

Now I do want to share a few highlights with you, because I am on a mission to help parents and caregivers learn that waiting until your kids pack a lunch is way too late for teaching a child to eat well. To underestimate a baby-to-toddler’s propensity for learning is absurd – consider their ability to go from crawling to walking, 10 words to over 100, speak a foreign language! For goodness sake, babies are little sponges and you can train your young child to eat well for life. Waiting to do so just means working against established behavior (read: knocking your head against a wall) later. Anyone that’s ever been on a diet understands that changing eating habits can be a challenge.

By cooperating with your baby’s natural course of development – you can successfully train his/her taste buds and eating habits before the age of three. What mom eats while her baby is in the womb is where it all begins. The process then continues, as mom breast feeds and passes on certain flavors through her milk. Primetime for baby’s first tastes of real food and food relationship building begins around 4-6 months and carries on through 24 months. According to research, a child’s taste buds and eating habits are largely set for life by the age of 24 months. And once a healthy foundation is in place, it can be reinforced at every meal as children grow, learn and take on more of their own self-care outside of the home.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Feed your child fruits and vegetables early and often

Research proves repeated exposure to vegetables, in infants of 4 to 6 months, results in all infants increasing their intake after repeated exposure. What you need to know is that ages 4-6 to 12 months form a sensitive period for the introduction of solid textures, as the tongue learns to move solid food around the mouth in preparation for swallow. In one report, early exposure to fruits and vegetables at six months predicted consumption of fruit and vegetables at seven years. That means a child who ate carrots at six months, preferred them at age seven. Weaning practices therefore contribute to later childhood diet – and possibly to childhood obesity. There is no rule saying you have to begin with rice cereal – that is simply food marketer speak. Smash a banana or avocado and let your baby’s first tastes be real food. For more information visit White Out.

Work with your child’s strong need for a ‘sense of order’

Toddlers, ages 12-18 months, become increasingly reluctant to try new foods during the second year of life – what researchers refer to as the “neophobic phase”. This coincides with the child’s developing “sense of order” and need for repetition and structure. During this process, toddlers become more aware of the local details of food, and refuse to eat food that doesn’t look “right.” Foods are identified as “known” or “unknown” and new foods and some previously accepted foods will be rejected on sight. Children of this age are also able to form sophisticated categories: foods (e.g., raisins) and non-foods (e.g., animal feces); foods they like and foods they don’t like; things that are disgusting and things that are okay, etc. At some point between 18-24 months, most children move out of the “neophobic phase” because of: imitation of other’s behaviors; development and comprehension of food categories; less emphasis on local features of foods; and repetitive exposure to new foods. It is a good idea to note here that children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) or Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) may stay at this stage a little longer.

Accept you are your child’s #1 influence when it comes to eating healthy

This was a tough one for me – I finally had to face-up to my own irregular eating habits. But facts are facts, and this is the future of our kids we are talking about. So, here it is…are you sitting down? Children imitate other adults–and their parents’ eating behavior, and will try new foods that they see their parents eat. There, I said it. You can’t feed your child an orange while eating Doritos and expect they will prefer oranges. By nursery school children will imitate the eating habits and food preferences of other children, so our best bet is to train them as early as possible at home.

What’s the best way to introduce real food to your child? Share the experience with them. Give your child a choice. Even a pre-verbal child can pick a food that is visually stimulating by pointing. Show her two green veggies, e.g., broccoli and green beans, and ask, “which one do you want?” Prepare the one she chooses and then let her see you enjoying it. If you puree the food, if possible, give her a large piece (large enough to prevent choking) to play with, so she associates what real food looks and feels like with its taste. Talk about it – this is a great opportunity to teach vocabulary too! “This is green”, “it’s a green bean”, “mmmm… daddy loves green beans”, etc.

And don’t lose heart if precious spits it out – it takes somewhere between 14-20 tastes to ensure your child has enough opportunities to form a food preference or memory for the food. That can mean 14-20 separate feedings. The brain is connecting the dots in your little person’s body – children learn through their senses, so what you may view as a mess is really your child forming a relationship with his food through smelling, touching, squishing, tasting, rubbing, throwing, etc. Stock up on paper towels, jump in and have fun.

By preparing and serving a wide variety of nutritious foods in recommended volumes, as well as encouraging your child to taste and engage in messy play, you can train your child’s taste buds, as well as establish his/her healthy eating habits for life.

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