Kids Cook Real Food Blog

Anxiety didn’t used to be so hip and popular when Sarah Janette was diagnosed, and she felt such a stigma and resulting shame that it caused a major health issue. As an eating psychology counselor, her mission is to provide young women with strategies to master stress, enhance productivity, and better navigate a healthy lifestyle on both high school and collegiate campuses. She joins us today on the Healthy Parenting Connector to share practical strategies for parents to start healthy habits with your kids to avoid the over-achievement mindset, find their passions, and learn to be more resilient, no matter what life throws at them. We talked about: The cycle of anxiety generating anxiety The achievement mindset in our culture [Read more...]

Warning – sad statistic. 🙁 The 2nd leading cause of death for kids ages 10-24 in America is…suicide. I’m not okay with this! Let’s talk this Depression Awareness Month about prevention – there are research-based strategies that parents can use to reduce their kids’ chances of being depressed. While depression isn’t the only risk factor for suicide, it is certainly correlated. If we can make these practices a part of American culture, we can save American kids!! Mayo Clinic lists the following about depression: One of the potential causes: Learned patterns of negative thinking. Teen depression may be linked to learning to feel helpless — rather than learning to feel capable of finding solutions for life’s challenges. And one of [Read more...]

Do you wish “happy” and “parenting” were used more often in the same sentence? Our guest today is a former NY Times reporter who realized she was hearing way too many parents say that they just weren’t happy, not finding joy in their kids like they thought they would…so she sought to do something about it. She dug into research and interviewed parents in the trenches and wrote a lovely book that is as good for beach reading as for personal development, and I’m so honored to learn from her wisdom today. KJ Dell’Antonia will help you see: Why mornings are so important in family life (+ a few options for making them smoother). I almost guarantee you’ll see one [Read more...]

“Since I became a parent, I’ve gained a lot of weight…” “I don’t sleep enough – parenting, duh!” “What parent has time to take care of themselves?” Ever heard a busy parent say these things (or caught yourself saying them)? Dr. Ryan Wohlfert is on a mission to flip the script and convince all parents that not only do they have time to be healthy, they MUST make it a priority for the good of their entire family! He believes parents don’t have to choose between their own health and energy and being a GREAT parent. We sat down on a sunny Michigan day to talk about his 6-pack of health to UPgrade your parental health: 1. Focus: What we [Read more...]

Coughs, Flu and School Germs, oh my! If cold-and-flu season causes tremors in your heart but you hate the idea of using over-the-counter drugs on your kids just to get through the night, I have great news: The bees got your back. Carly from Beekeeper’s Naturals joins us today to share about the power of nature – she will feed your science geek brain and share SO many practical ideas and uses for bee products (bet you’ve never even heard of some of them!): What beats coughs as effectively as OTC cough meds but with no side effects? Find out about a natural anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal product that you can ingest or use on the skin for coughs, rashes, scrapes, [Read more...]

How much does it stink to not be able to eat your favorite foods??!!?? My daughter Leah joins us today for a candid chat about how we discovered her dairy sensitivity about a year ago and what it’s been like since then. (I think we’re both still in denial a little bit which is probably too long to be a healthy grieving reaction!) 🙁 She’ll talk about: What it felt like to do an elimination diet What she noticed first and the big surprise when she tried dairy again :0 How kids teased her for clearing her throat in 4th grade (sheesh, I mean, really kids???) Some good substitutions that made life easier Whether dairy-free ice cream, cheese and yogurt [Read more...]

Dr. Sheila Kilbane can spot a child with high inflammation walking down the street! But many parents can’t even see it in their own kids – dark circles under the eyes, mouth breathing/snoring, red ears or cheeks, eczema and more. Inflammation is a more prominent problem than most people think (even medical doctors), and it’s causing all sorts of issues for our kids. Are you willing to cut dairy to find out if it would help your kids? This interview will surprise you with how little Dr. Kilbane tests blood and how often she recommends elimination experiments, particularly with dairy! There is a huge difference in a true allergy, an IgE reaction, vs. a sensitivity, IgG. Be sure to watch [Read more...]

Remember the brilliant Dr. Elisa Song? We last talked about poo with her and today we get to hear about what kids should eat. Um, yes, that’s going backward on the digestive system but bear with us. 😉 We all know that most pediatricians get about 2 hours of nutrition training, which means some of them give food advice and probably shouldn’t and most don’t bother with food at all. But FOOD is the ROOT CAUSE of so much of what ails our kids! Dr. Song goes above and beyond normal MD training with all her holistic background and she’s 150% qualified to tell us a little about our kids’ diets. Today we’ll talk about: What has changed in the [Read more...]

If we believe food is medicine, we have to stop waiting for a diagnosis before we do something about it! On today’s edition of The Healthy Parenting Connector, I’ll share a bit of what I challenged a few hundred natural health practitioners to do in their practices two weeks ago from a big stage — the best news is that YOU can implement the same strategies (even better) in your own home starting this very afternoon. WHY do we teach kids to cook now before they’re sick? 1. Prevention using diet (and the confidence that builds) 2. Getting the whole family healthier (strong connections extra bonus) 3. Inspiring and laying the foundation for healthy eating as adults (and how creativity [Read more...]

What motivates kids to get in the kitchen? Wanting something good to eat and realizing they can make it themselves!! My daughter cuts up all sorts of lovely fruit (melons, apples, peaches) because SHE wants to eat them, and the whole family benefits. She also decided she wanted to make something fun and chose homemade vanilla pudding from my Smart Sweets eBook and learned to make it herself! Get Your Kids in the Kitchen with a Free Lesson One of the other benefits we find when kids know how to cook is an opportunity for service. Because we rarely make food just for one person to eat, there’s a built in generosity in cooking, and it’s important to me and [Read more...]