As I’ve spent the week preparing for my talk at this weekend’s You Are What You Eat event, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to get kids to the table and enjoy healthy and delicious meals with the family. As I thought back on strategies that I’ve used with my kids, I remembered this GEM of an idea, given to me by  Mary Hartzell, who is an early childhood educator and ran the nursery school both by children attended.  Mary suggested to always have one consistent dish on the dinner table that the kids could eat, no matter what.  If they are picky or fussy and don’t want to eat what I have prepared, there is always one dish that they can eat.

When I cook, I cook what my husband and I want to eat (and what we WANT our kids to eat) but, lets be honest, what  parents like eating vs what the kids want to eat is often not the same thing!  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told Halle and Walker, that our home kitchen is not a restaurant!  So in addition to what recipes I am preparing for that night’s dinner, I always prepare a whole grain dish, usually quinoa or brown rice. That way, the kids know there’s one nutritious item being served that they’ll WANT to enjoy.

I hope that there may be some of you out there who are able to make it to Brea tomorrow.  There promises to be a full day of talks and discussions on this very topic, which I know is one that most mothers grapple with regularly! Even if you can’t make it to Brea, please feel free to share any thoughts or questions you have in the comments section, I’d love to start a dialogue where fans of RFD and REAL FOOD can talk about how to make the best choices for you and your families.

Click here for more information on You Are What You EAT. I hope to see you there!