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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At Nurish^TM we help time-starved parents positively influence the way their young children eat, as early as possible. It is our opinion waiting until children pack a lunch, is too late.

Healthy eating begins in the womb, moves to the breast or bottle, into the high-chair, and eventually onto the family dinner table. We believe children’s diets should include a spectrum of flavors; children’s palates can be trained as soon as they start eating solids.

In particular, the second year (12-24 months) is critical in a child’s development not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. As of today the USDA food pyramid excludes children ages 1-2, calling it a “year of transition” and leaving it to parents, pediatricians, food manufacturers, and disease organizations, like the American Heart Association, to fill-in the gap. As a result, the information can conflict and get confusing for a new parent.

From ages 1-2, during the ‘year of transition’, many cool things occur developmentally. In one short year, babies go from crawling to walking, from a vocabulary of about 10 words to over 100, and as far as food is concerned, by the end of 24-months a child has nearly established his/her food preferences and taste palate for life.

Parents of infants and toddlers can help their children develop a preference for healthy foods early-on by providing tastes of simple, clean, whole foods found in nature.

Nurish products are designed to help parents teach their children nutrition, as they transition them from baby foods to solid foods. We help parents take the guess-work out of meal prep by providing products that will ‘map-and-measure’ three nutritious, whole foods toddler meals throughout the day.

Stay tuned at www.nurish.com.

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As the cost of whole foods and fresh produce increases and processed food costs decrease, obesity and chronic illness continue to rise among our nation’s children. Childhood obesity is one of our nation’s leading health threats.

The Alliance for Healthier Generation states today, nearly 1-in-3 youth, age 2 to 19, are already obese or overweight. Obesity is now considered an ‘epidemic’ in the U.S. since kids are developing conditions and diseases typically associated with adults.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1-in-3 individuals born in the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes. In vulnerable populations that number increases to 1-in-2 individuals.

High calorie, sugar laden processed foods coupled with sedentary lifestyles is growing our waistlines and contributing to serious health issues like diabetes, heart ailments and cancers. One-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. And the numbers show no sign of decreasing, in a recent Datamoniter report; over 40% of U.S. kids aged 5-13 will be overweight or obese by 2012.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, in children, the obesity rate has tripled since the 1960s; the American Academy of Family Physicians now estimates that between 25-30 percent of all children between the ages of 6 and 17 – roughly 13 million to 16 million children – also are clinically obese.

The childhood obesity epidemic has become of such concern that health officials in several industrialized countries have estimated that if obesity levels continue to rise, the average life expectancy could actually drop for the first time in more than a century.

What can parents and schools do to help reverse the trend?

We founded Nurish^TM in an effort to support and nurture healthy families. Our research-driven and nutrition-based products promise peace of mind and convenience for parents, as well as a foundation of healthy habits for children.

Please stay with us as we break-down the issues, research and most important discuss ideas for how to take charge of this issue!

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