Most parents want us to be able to rustle up a snack or meal, know how much to eat and the difference between a good choice and a not-so-good choice. The impact of us not being able to do this pretty obvious and is sending a few parents into a spin!

So my mother Glenda and I wrote a book life love food kids to give your down to earth strategies and practical tips to help parents.  My mother considers the serious stuff (nutrition, self esteem, eating too much junk food or not enough vegetables etc) and I bring her back to earth so she remembers how we think and operate. Her website for parents is www.foodsavvykids.com  – and yes it is safe for you to send them there – she won’t insist that they feed you only cottage cheese and celery sticks – I have made sure of that!!    

Life love food kids is a book about journeys.  My mothers food journey – from when she was a little girl to now. It’s about what happens when childhood memories, the science of nutrition and the teaching of cooking get mixed up with family and life.  And my journey about getting myself ready to leave home and wanting to know enough about food so that she can look after herself.   As I say “It feels good to know I know enough about food to take good care of myself.”

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.

Have you ever noticed how BORING nutrition messages are – I mean does it really worry you now if you might get heart disease in 30 or 40 years??? “Eat less fatty food and you will reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease”.

Blah, blah I am asleep already… It needs to be translated to “eat less greasy stuff and you wont get a big bum”. That has a lot more relevance to me.  I mean, I want to fit my ball dress and look good in my jeans.

Anyway with the help of a team of teens and some people that know stuff about nutrition and food we came up with 10 Foodie Rules that  if you follow will help you feel really great. I think it is where common sense and science collide we took all the boring nutrition and turned it into stuff kids like me think is important. We printed these foodie rules in my book Who’s Cooking Tonight? and so many people said that they liked them so we made a  foodie rules You Tube.

btw –  some of my foodie rules are about other things like tv, laughing and exercise! Curious…

Hope you like them!!

Claire

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.

The Best-Kept Secret for Raising Healthy Eaters, Maryann Jacobsen, MS, RD
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

Voting for the Children’s Choice Award in the NZ Children’s Post Book awards is going well – you can either vote on line (follow that little kiwi you can see next to my picture on this screen) or you can vote at your local library or bookstore…  I got a bit excited when I saw my book on the stand at the bookshop at Wellington Airport yesterday!! A big thanks if you have already voted or ‘please get on to it’ if you haven’t !!?!

Below is a cool review from one of my readers from Suunybrae Normal Primary School – thanks a heap Keanu!!