Kids Cook Real Food Blog

If you put a bike helmet or a seatbelt on your kids to protect their bodies from harm…what’s the equivalent for their minds and emotions? I submit that it’s a strong family identity and family culture, built through traditions. Today we’ll talk about: 1. How traditions create a family identity 2. How having a strong family identity grounds children and increases emotional well-being 3. Why you want to be intentional about “who” your family is and how your kids feel about it 4. Perfect opportunities (holidays, seasons, COOKING!) to set up traditions and build that family culture that will protect your kids, give them something to cling to and return to, and not get tossed about on the winds of [Read more...]

Picky eating. It’s a bane of many parents’ existence, but it doesn’t have to be this way. I love how every expert brings their own perspective to the table when it comes to various root causes of picky eating, and Renae Fieck brings her experience as an occupational therapist to us today. We’ll talk about: How the feeeeeeel of food can impact how much and how well kids eat How to avoid micromanaging in practical ways Strategies to teach kids to know when they’re full, choose the right amount of food to eat, and listen to their bodies (many adults need these skills too!!!) FREE DOWNLOAD: 10 Snacks a Preschooler can Make Super fascinating explanation of how feeding actually follows [Read more...]

I love Mareya Ibrahim’s candid humor as we talk about why perhaps we shouldn’t be pursuing things that start with “die” like diets, why we don’t need to have a deprivation mindset to be healthy, and more. In this great interview with the bestselling author of “Eat Like You Don’t Give a Fork,” you’ll learn: How to love your food again What living the 90/10 rule really looks like The basic building blocks a chef prepares before the week starts to make meal planning a snap A mindset shift for parents when it comes to getting kids to eat veggies FREE: Reading Nutrition Labels Worksheet How to make friends with your greens What a “tastebud reset” might look like (and [Read more...]

My brain literally lit up with realizations during this interview, and I realized WHY I procrastinate and better yet, the simple solution to stop doing it. Learn from parenting expert Jacqueline Green why silly may be the new serious, why “ok” MUST be the new great, and how simplified parenting is the new measure of success. Calling all Type A mamas… Calling all overwhelmed mamas… Calling all mamas who would (and do) do anything for their kids… You need this wisdom. It comes from the trenches of a failed marriage, a battle with depression, and Jacqueline’s realization that “doing it all” wasn’t just her goal — it was her downfall. And it wasn’t serving her kids. FREE DOWNLOAD: 10 Snacks [Read more...]

Some doctors say the whole idea of PANS/PANDAS is a hoax. But when you talk to practitioners who have brought children back to being themselves again after late-onset ADD, unexplained rages or mental confusion that no one can diagnose — it’s clear that this mental and physical diagnosis is not only real but a miracle for many families. FREE DOWNLOAD: 10 Foods that Fight Depression I sat down with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a rockstar pediatric psychologist, to get the scoop for you on what PANS/PANDAS looks like, and why it might be the root cause of a host of very strange and concerning symptoms. We’ll cover: What PANS/PANDAS is and how it differs from other behavioral and physiological struggles kids [Read more...]

White sugar is ubiquitous in our society and wreaking havoc on our health. I’m thrilled to introduce you to my friend Madiha Saeed, M.D.. In this interview we get into: How refined sugar causes inflammation Why inflammation is the root of so many diseases affecting modern humans The insulin resistance problem FREE: Reading Nutrition Labels Worksheet The difference between white, refined sugar and natural sugars when it comes to our health The importance of gratitude to our overall health I guarantee you or someone you know is battling one of these diseases caused by white sugar, and I bet the doctor isn’t calling it out as a root cause. You’ll be educated and uplifted by this interview — you can’t [Read more...]

If parents worried about too much screen time for kids and teens before the pandemic, we all know that the questions have increased. If my child is doing distance learning all day, is that too much screen time? Should I limit their screen use outside of school? What is the appropriate amount of screen time for a child of a certain age? There is no parenting handbook for this. We can’t simply do what our parents did, because it’s a whole new world. It was already a whole new world before COVID-19 hit, because our parents barely had to figure out what to do with one computer in the house. Most of our kids probably have multiple devices in their [Read more...]

Breakfast with the kids! We started last night to “soak” our very favorite pancake recipe and want to show you how flexible cooking can be. Don’t have whole wheat flour? White AP flour, gluten-free, spelt, etc have all worked in this recipe! FREE DOWNLOAD: 10 Foods that Fight Depression Running out of milk or worried you might? Swap for water instead (what we demonstrate) — they won’t be quite as fluffy but still uh-mazing because of the secret ingredient and cool science reaction your kids will love (think “volcano experiment” and you get the gist). Be sure to note in the video how I help my 5yo “guide” to new skills, including his first time cracking eggs! 🙂 Can’t view [Read more...]

We hear “kids are resilient, they’ll be ok,” a LOT, especially lately. This conversation with Marcy Pusey, a Certified Trauma & Resilience Practitioner, opened MY eyes to the fact that perhaps…they’re not. I thought we’d just be talking about the power of story, kind of a cute, sweet idea to share with you that some people might enjoy. Turns out we got to talk about the language behind “online learning” and why it’s totally wrong and harmful, how a global pandemic puts us all into a potential state of trauma, and vital habits every family needs to adopt for good mental health — especially now. FREE DOWNLOAD: 3 Ways to Build Brain Resilience Get your brain ready to be fascinated, [Read more...]

Since the pandemic started, I’ve been connecting with a lot of parents and listening to their biggest concerns around food. Particularly when I was presenting on how to raise more adventurous eaters and reduce picky eating power struggles for families, busy moms kept asking for a list of healthy snacks for kids. In our Kids Cook Real Food members-only Facebook group and even from a podcast host who was interviewing me, I was getting the same question: Katie, don’t you have a list somewhere of good ideas for easy, healthy snacks for kids? I admit that may have been one of the few times I was speechless. 😉 Of course, I want to help parents and kids find healthy snack [Read more...]