How-To: Feed Your Whole Family

During pregnancy, you only need a few hundred more calories a day to support mom and growing baby.

You and your baby will both benefit from nourishing foods that fuel your body. Try this Sausage and Greens Stew for lots of protein, fiber and iron!

Some kids will try things sooner, but for a picky eater, don’t give up! It may take 10 or even 15 tries before a child will accept a new food.

Try offering small amounts prepared in different ways. Baked cauliflower tots might have more appeal than steamed cauliflower.

It’s true! Research suggests that frequently eating as a family can relate to better performance at school.

Turn off the TV and phones so mealtime becomes family catch-up time. Try making and eating personal pizzas together!

Juice is fine as a “sometimes” food. But it’s high in sugar and calories, low in fiber, and won’t fill your child up the way a piece of fruit will.

Choose whole fruit whenever you can. Fruit kabobs with yogurt dip are quick, fun and tasty.

Many of us were raised to clean our plates. But now we know that a child’s own feelings of fullness are the best way to measure. The “clean plate club” approach makes us ignore our own bodies’ cues and leads to overeating (and a lot of arguments at the table).

Avoid using dessert as a reward—that can make other food seem less appealing. When you do have dessert, try something with an extra nutrition hit, like our applesauce brownies.

This is mostly true. Kids’ appetites go up and down. If things seem extreme, your child doesn’t have energy or you’re worried, talk to the doctor. But most of the time, you can just go with it.

Use snacks to round out nutrition between meals. Ants on a log is a fun way to add veggies, fruit and protein.