Cozi Blog

"Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day" vs. the Bread Machine - Which is Best?

Since dinosaurs roamed the earth (or so it feels), I’ve been baking with my bread machine. A few years ago, the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day turned people on to home baking. However, I never tried it before the most recent book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (or, as authors Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois shorthand it, HBin5,) came out. Both the purported ease and the health aspects intrigued me. I became curious: How does their master recipe for whole wheat bread stack up to my less healthy, but delicious and easy, bread-machine recipe?

EASE. The HBin5 method is, indeed, quick. Throw stuff in a bowl, mix, add water, mix again, and you’re done. And then... you wait. It sits for two hours before you put it in the refrigerator and then, when you’re ready to pull off some dough and bake, the dough rests for 90 minutes and bakes for 30. However, there is no kneading, and it makes a fancier-looking loaf than the bread machine. I had no qualms with the (minimal) work or the waiting, but it’s not going to be a beginning-of-the-day treat unless you wake up at 4 a.m. Obviously, the bread machine wins the early-morning battle.

EXPENSE. Advantage: HBin5. I paid $8.29 for vital wheat gluten, which I did not already have on hand. I used ¼ cup (2 oz), or about .75, out of a 22-ounce bag, which makes up for the initial outlay. And you’re making dough for several one-pound loaves. The other ingredients are straightforward ones any baker would have on hand (flour, yeast, salt.)

TASTE. I love my bread machine recipe, so although I’m in like with HBin5 taste, I’m not in love... yet. My bread-machine loaf is neither chewy nor dry. And it’s lightly sweet and heavy on the wheat. The HBin5 bread tasted lighter overall and, for me, came out a hair gummy. However, the crust was PHENOMENAL. Even with the chewiness, I envision making this hearty, crusty bread to go with (or in) soups this winter.

Result? If I want sandwiches or something to start the day, I’m going with the bread machine. If I have time to wait for the bread to rise and I’m making soup, or trying to impress company, I’ll use HBin5. It’s nice to have options.

Here’s the recipe I use in my old Oster machine, loosely adapted from the one from the cookbook that came with it.

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ c. water
2 T. butter, softened (if you’re putting it in the night before, it will soften enough as it sits)
4 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 t. salt
1 ½-1 ¾ t. yeast

Put ingredients in order into bread machine pan. Ready in four hours, or whenever you tell the bread machine to be done.

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Robin Dodds, the writer behind Cheap and Crunchy, is a wife and mother of four children-two daughters and two sons, ages 3 to 11. When she’s not mothering or working with words and music (sometimes all at the same time), she is figuring out how to keep her family afloat in the most frugal way possible.

Gifts to Organize the Kitchen

We scoured the articles on Cozi about organizing your home, and came up with five essentials for keeping your kitchen tidy and functional.

Food Storage Upgrade

OXO offers two food storage solutions for pantries and refrigerators that need organizing. Both POP Containers (for dry ingredients like flour and sugar) and TOP Containers (for leftovers) are airtight and designed for easy one-motion opening and closing. Clear plastic allows you to see what’s inside which is particularly useful for leftovers. The square and rectangular shapes also offer space savings over round or oval containers.

File Folder System

Are the papers stacking up in your kitchen? For many families, the kitchen is the organizing hub as well as the place to cook and eat. A small, good looking file system that you can tuck away in a corner is a must for keeping recipes, bills, school information and calendars in their place.

Help With Reach

Cupboards are just not designed for easy access to small items. Put items you reach for everyday like salt, pepper, spices and oils on a turntable in your cupboard. A multi-tiered, adjustable turntable allows you to simultaneously store small and tall items.

Recycling Simplified

How many times does your family add to the recycling bin each day? Make the job easier and less messy with a functional recycling system. OXO’s Slim Step Cans can be placed side-by-side for trash, recycling, and more. Recycling labels are included for easy identification, and the opening is generous enough for a gallon milk jug or other bulky items. Much better than random boxes and bags!

Consolidate the Bags

Even if you are getting fewer plastic bags at the store these days, the ones you do bring home can be used at least one more time before sending them to the recycling bin. Grocery bags, produce bags and bread bags can all go in this simply designed bag holder by OXO. It will consolidate bags and make them easy to grab and repurpose, and mounts easily inside your cabinet door or pantry wall.

Get your family organized and on the same page with Cozi, the free online family organizer.

Holiday Kitchen Gifts: Keep it Simple

Looking for items for your holiday wish list? A basic kitchen tool might sound boring and not very gift–worthy. But an item that makes everyday cooking easier, more successful and lasts for years or a lifetime is leaps and bounds better than a gift you add to your list because you need another item. And the best part is the price. These items are perfect for a modest gift exchange or a year of simple gift giving.

Cast Iron Skillet

If you don't own a cast iron skillet, you need to get one. This heavy duty and indestructible cooking staple can take care of most stovetop needs better than other pots and pans, all at a low price. And a cast iron skillet can even head straight into the oven to keep the food warm and is great for baking biscuits, corn bread and cobblers. Find cast iron skillets at Lodge.

High Quality Knife

There are few kitchen jobs that do not require a knife. One or two good knives with sharp, stainless steel blades allow you to chop, slice, dice, and mince with ease, and will last over even an entire set of mediocre ones. When looking for knives, keep in mind the tasks you undergo most frequently–many knives are designed for specific jobs. A paring knife and chef's knife are essential and will cover most tasks. For softer fruits like tomatoes and citrus, a utility knife with a serrated edge is also very useful. When shopping for a knife, also try out the handle and make sure it fits your grip comfortably, so you can chop with confidence. OXO makes a range of affordable knives with its signature rubber grip that won't slip, even when wet.

Kitchen Scissors

Kitchen scissors are handy to have within reach for a multitude of kitchen jobs. They can even take the place of specialized kitchen tools and knives with better results. Use them to cut through meat, trim flowers, snip vegetables and strip herbs. OXO makes a great pair of scissors that absorb pressure as you cut.

Basic Mixing Bowl Set

A good set of mixing bowls will be used over and over. When shopping around, choose a set of varying sizes that you can rely on for multiple jobs–a small bowl for marinades and salad dressing, a medium bowl for cake and cookie batter, and a large bowl for doubling recipes. A lightweight set with a non-slip bottom and handle grips are ideal for stability as you whisk, beat, and mix ingredients together.

Cookbook

A reference cookbook with basic recipes and cooking techniques is timeless and dependable. The good ones have standard recipes with ideas for variations and professional insight about how to cook successfully. Get back to basics with: The Art of Simple Food, How to Cook Everything, The Best Recipe from Cooks Illustrated, The Way to Cook, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Betty Crocker, Joy of Cooking

Silicone Spatula

Never melt another rubber spatula again! Silicone spatulas are heat resistant to a high degree and go from mixing batters in a bowl to mixing sauces in a hot pot or pan. And they are perfect for use with non-stick cookware.

Manage all your gift lists and access them from anywhere with Cozi's customizable lists.

Use a Kitchen Scale for Easier Holiday Baking

Did you know you can use a kitchen scale to simplify baking and everyday cooking? No need for scoops, measuring cups and a leveling knife. All you need to get started is a kitchen scale and information about the weight of ingredients.

It's as easy as this: if your recipe calls for 1 cup of flour, use a baking ingredient conversion chart to find that 1 cup sugar is equal to 200 grams. Place your bowl on the scale, tare it to zero, and pour 200 grams of sugar. No cups, no leveling, no mess. If you do nothing more than remember the gram weights of sugar (200 grams) and flour (128 grams) you'll still save time and mess every time you bake this holiday season.

A Kitchen Scale Makes Baking Easier

• Easy accuracy. Almost all U.S. recipes call for volumes of ingredients measured in cups, teaspoons and tablespoons, e.g., 1 cup flour. But the amount of flour in that cup depends on many things including how much the flour is compacted, how well you level the cup, and whether air pockets are present in the flour. A kitchen scale, on the other hand, gives you an accurate measurement each time.
• Fewer dirty dishes. With a kitchen scale, you simply zero out the weight between steps and eliminate the need for cleaning a slew of measuring cups and the extra step of leveling the cup.
• Tame sticky ingredients. Instead of wondering how much honey, molasses or peanut butter is still sticking to the measuring cup, just pour or scoop out the correct weight directly from the container.
• Simplify favorite recipes. Convert ingredients to grams once and go. Your favorite recipes will be easy and you can be assured that the dish will turn out the same each time!

Tips

• Convert any recipe to gram weights in a single click at certain recipes sites like allrecipes.com.
• Use the kitchen scale for measuring the big ingredients like flour, sugar, brown sugar, butter, cocoa, chocolate, water and milk and switch back to measuring teaspoons for baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. A good rule of thumb – if you want to measure less than ¼ cup, use teaspoons and tablespoons and for more than ¼ cup, use the kitchen scale.
• Keep a copy of common ingredient conversions in a handy place in your kitchen. You won't need to spend extra time looking up conversions.
• Make sure your scale remains accurate. Calibrate your scale or test the weight of a cup of water periodically to make sure the scale is still functioning.

We recommend OXO's Food Scale with Pull-Out Display, recently touted by The New York Times as one of the best scales on the market. This scale includes many standard features like a zero function and an optional backlight. But true to OXO form, there are some useful innovations that make using this scale even easier than most:

1. A handy pull-out display makes it easy to read measurements when using a large plate or bowl, which might shadow or obscure the display
2. A convenient indicator displays how much capacity is left, so you don't find yourself maxing out the scale in the middle of a complicated recipe
3. A removable plate for convenient cleaning (handwashing only)
4. A thin profile for convenient storage in tight spaces

OXO 11 lb Food Scale with Pull-Out Display

OXO 5 lb Food Scale with Pull-Out Display

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8 Essential Pots and Pans for Busy Families

Although I count 15 pots and pans in my bulging cabinet, nearly half of them are just taking up space.  Here are the pots and pans that I have found to be indispensable for making my family’s meals. (If you’re just starting out, or in very cramped quarters, you could get by with just numbers 1, 3, 5, and 6 below.): 

1. Large (10-12 inch) stainless steel skillet (also called frying pan): My All-Clad skillet, probably the best wedding gift we received back in 1994, is excellent for browning or searing meats, sautéing onions and other vegetables, and making sauces. It’s my first choice for sautéing unless I need a nonstick skillet.
2. Large (10-12 inch) nonstick skillet: A good nonstick skillet is vital for cooking eggs, making stir-fries, browning breaded fish or chicken fillets, or cooking anything else that may stick to regular cooking surfaces. I recently switched from Teflon coated pans that wear out after a couple of years to a more expensive but long lasting and exceedingly durable Scanpan cookware (made in Denmark) and I love it!
3. Small or medium (8-10 inch) nonstick skillet: Like the above, but this is great for making omelets, scrambled eggs, and other smaller and potentially sticky meals.
4. 6-12 quart stockpot (also called a pasta pot): essential for making pasta, big pots of soup, boiling lots of potatoes, and making homemade popcorn.
5. 3-4 quart stainless steel stockpot (also called saucepan): I use this beauty for steaming vegetables or rice or making small quantities of noodles. It’s smaller than the stockpot so I can pull it out easily for smaller jobs.
6. Small Saucepan: Look for a stainless steel saucepan, which is perfect for making small amounts of sauce, single servings of soup, and for melting chocolate.
7. Dutch Oven: This heavy duty pot, often made of coated cast iron, goes easily from stovetop to oven to table and can work well for making a roast, a stew, or soup.
8. Cast Iron skillet: This isn’t one of my daily pans, but it can’t be beat for browning steaks and pork chops-I use it like an indoor grill. If properly seasoned (don’t wash it with soap, dry it immediately, and rub it with a little oil on a paper towel occasionally), a cast iron skillet can also be used as a nonstick skillet.

I have found that it’s worth investing in good quality pots and pans that can really help us get great meals on the table and don’t need to be replaced often, if ever. For help choosing great pots, I recommend the kitchen store, Sur la Table, and/or using the product ratings and advice in Cook’s Illustrated and Consumer Reports.

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More on Nourish
 
Aviva Goldfarb is a cook, author, and founder of The Six O’Clock Scramble (www.thescramble.com), a weekly meal planning system (recipes, weekly plans and automated grocery lists) to get healthy, earth-friendly, family-happy meals on the table each and every night. She can be reached at aviva@thescramble.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @thescramble. 

Top Go-To Meals from Cozi Fans

A recent Cozi Question of the Day featured this question: What’s your foolproof dinner dish? The one weekday dish that’s easy, quick and everyone eats to the last bite. Results are in and pasta is the winner.

Here are all the answers for inspiration next time you are out of family dinner ideas:

Pasta

• Pasta with butter and basil topped with spaghetti sauce and pork sausage. easy, filling and GONE
• Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread!
• Spaghetti & green Salad
• Pasta of course!
• Angel hair pasta with butter and cheese, meatballs, garlic bread and a salad - they all love it and eat every last bite!
• Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread.
• Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread... gone everytime!
• Pasta and meat sauce
• Faked baked pasta. I cook rigatoni then add low fat cottage cheese, browned ground sausage, mushrooms and red sauce. Then I layer it with shredded cheese in a casserole dish and microwave for 5 minutes. Everyone loves it and even company thinks I took the time to bake it.
• Turkey spaghetti. I finely chop broccoli or julienne zucchini and squash, add it to the sauce, and that is it. I get an easy dinner made, kids get their veggies and low-fat protein. Everyone is usually pretty happy with this one.
• Pesto pasta and grilled chicken.
• Pre-made pasta w/ pre-made pesto. Plus broccoli if it's available. We call it "the green dinner." 
• Annie's Mac & Cheese. Not terribly fast but easy and requires few ingredients (we use butter & yogurt). Plus it's somewhat healthy and everyone chows it down!
  
• Ditto on the Annie's Mac & Cheese. I add steamed broccoli on top to get some greens in. Btw, steaming broccoli in the microwave takes 3 minutes. My b-i-l, who is a chef, taught me that--much easier than steaming on the stove.

Chicken

• Just throw in boneless chicken breasts in crock put with bbq sauce let it cook for a few hrs and serve with plain white rice and frozen veggies. An alternative is put the chicken thighs with bone in the over instead of bbq sauce I use catalina dressing ad sliced onions and bell peppers and some spices and leave for an hour and its is yummy.
• Chicken tostadas!
• Chicken quesadillas.....tortillas filled with canned chicken and shreded cheese. I cut them in triangles and we dip them in salsa. Fast and most importantly yummy to my picky eaters!
• Chicken flautas, yummie...
• Chicken with cream soup gravy over rice.
• Spicy Chicken Mac
• Barber Foods Stuffed Chicken Breast: Creme Brie & Apple with a side of steamed broccoli (in the microwave) sprinkled with Garlic salt and butter.

Soup/Sandwiches

• Toasted sandwiches with chopped turkey, grated cheddar cheese and sliced tomato - delicious!
• Soup and Tosted Cheese or Toasted Tuna Sandwiches   
• Basil tomato soup and grilled cheese
• Grilled cheese and soup
• Grilled Cheese or Hot dogs - when I need a lazy night, I need a LAZY night. LOL
• Meatball subs. Inexpensive, and in ten minutes, it's ready.

Crockpot

• Throw a roast in the crockpot, pour a can of Coke over it, and let it cook all day. Then shred and add BBQ sauce. Serve on buns with frozen veggies and fruit! Yum, and super easy!
• Crockpot Parmesan chicken!
• Crock Pot Chicken recipe that I found from a recipe club. Frozen Chicken Breasts, Dry italian dressing packet, cream of chicken soup & cream cheese. Put it all in the crock pot and let it cook all day. Chicken falls apart and my guys will eat every last bit of it. I have shared this with my friends and it has quickly become a family favorite for them as well.
• Crockpot pork carnitas
• Crock pot pizza!

Mexican

• Tacos!
• Rice and Bean Burritoes!
• Taco skillet

Pizza

• Frozen pizza!
• Homemade pizza with green beans and pears. Both of my kids love it!
• Ordering pizza and salad
  

More Classics

• Banana vanilla french toast, yes breakfast for dinner but its oh so yummy!
• Fried hot dogs with mac'n'cheese
• Goulash & Mashed Potatoes w/Green Beans
• Hot dogs!
• Cheeseburger Macaroni (homemade, not from Hamburger Helper!)
• I make a "chili", ground meat, ranch style beans and corn...there are never any left overs!
• Sweet potato casserole.
• Matza Ball Soup and Meat Loaf and mashed potatoe and beets
• Shephard's Pie
• Homemade chicken pot pie... yummy always fast and cheap and filling and my kids love it....
• Taco Bake - basically mac and cheese with taco meat and cheese layered together in a dish . 30 mins or less to great meal the whole family loves!
• Ground turkey w/ taco seasoning, flour tortilla wraps, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoe, black olives, sour cream, taco sauce. w/ corn. they all love it!
• Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad
• Do it yourself Tortilla Pizza: I set out the stuff, the kids make it, and I bake it. Take a 12" flour tortilla, cover shell with favorite shredded cheese (or slices), put A LITTLE BIT of your favorite red pasta sauce (we like garlic, onion, basil), put your choice of meat (leftovers work great)... we like chicken, pepperoni, and ham, put whatever... Read More else you like (son likes onions, peppers, tomatos) and then put more cheese. Bake until top is crispy, flip, bake until other side crispy, remove, let cheese solidify a bit, cut like pizza. Use a ranch or red sauce dip... YUMMY!! Easy use of leftovers!!
• Pizza grilled cheese. Sourdough or french bread, pepperoni and cheese with pizza sauce for dip. Just add a bagged salad and it's dinner.
• Tatertot hotdish
• Tuna casserole, for sure!
• Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
• Salmon Quesadillas. Tortillas, cheese 1 salmon burger pattie chopped, spinach and that's it. soo easy.
• Cooked Ramen mixed with tuna fish, mayonnaise, mixed vegetables, and some sliced cheese
• We call it "slop" It's hamburger, cream of mushroom and corn all in one dish
• Chili (from a can) and cornbread (from a box). Don't tell my mother!
• When I'm on dinner duty, the easiest menu is sausages on the grill. Easy, fast and everyone loves them. 
• Dino chicken nuggets from Costco. Embarrassing, but true!

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Top 10 Reasons You Shouldn’t Plan a Weekly Menu

When it comes to planning a weekly menu, there are plenty of sites that tell you all the reasons you should plan ahead. Let's look at the top ten reasons you shouldn't:

10. You’re a non-conformist by nature, and since meal plans are popular, you refuse to give in.

9. You like to spend your free time staring blankly at the pantry trying to come up with dinner ideas. It’s like a hobby.

8. You prefer the “seek and you shall find” method of meal planning. You stock the shelves and the fridge, and your family is required to seek-and-find their meals there.

7. You like to test your cooking skills by looking through the cabinets at 5:15 in the afternoon and creating a gourmet meal out of the random ingredients you find.

6. Your family enjoys having the same seven dinners every week, so there’s no need for a menu plan.

5. You’re a free spirit and refuse to be bogged down with “organization” of any kind.

4. You want to be able to blame an empty refrigerator and pantry when you tell your extended family they can’t drop by at dinnertime.

3. The grocery store is your “happy place” and you like making extra trips to pick up last-minute ingredients.

2. You want to do your part to boost the economy by spending lots of money at the grocery store, even if the food goes bad before you use it.

1. You like to use the excuse “We don’t have anything to eat” as a reason to go out to dinner.

Manage your grocery lists and access your favorite recipes from anywhere with Cozi's customizable lists.

Mandi Ehman is mom to four spunky little girls. She believes that organizing only lasts if you do it your way – to fit your needs, your preferences and your lifestyle. She shares organizing and time management tips at Organizing Your Way and tips for simplifying and beautifying your home at Simple Nest.

Dinnertime Games

Make mealtime into fun time

Who says dinnertime always has to be serious? Serve up a side of fun with dinnertime games like secret ingredients, breakfast for dinner and truth or dare.

Eat Backward

It’s a dream come true for kids (and lots of adults too): At this meal, dessert comes first, followed in reverse order by the other courses. Get your kids into the kitchen to help prepare a special sweet for this occasion, then watch your family dig in with enthusiasm. Have veggies and simple side dishes ready for the second course, but remember it’s okay if you don’t finish the entire meal — just for tonight.

Breakfast for Dinner

Shake things up a little and serve your family’s favorite breakfast foods for supper — especially the kinds of dishes you rarely have time to serve in the morning. Try funny-face pancakes (decorated with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, chocolate chips, whipped cream — the works), fruit kabobs with vanilla yogurt dip, waffle- and ice-cream sandwiches or make-your-own omelets.

Secret Ingredient

Have the family vote on one favorite ingredient that has to be included in at least three dishes at dinner. Perhaps raw broccoli florets with a dip to begin, followed by broccoli soup and a cheesy broccoli pasta side dish. Anything goes — yes, even chocolate. (Helpful hint: Bittersweet chocolate is an ingredient in the classic Mexican sauce called mole.)

Be Daring

What crazy combination of food are you willing to eat? Go around the table daring the family to try new things. Dare Dad to drizzle ketchup on his salad. He has to take two bites or do a silly dare. Mustard on macaroni? Mayonnaise on broccoli? It’s a sure way to keep the fun going throughout dinner.

Food Art

Create a work of art at the table! Encourage your family to dish up their dinners in creative ways. Stack it, blend it or squish it into a work of art. Take a vote on which one the family likes best, then take a picture of the winner and post it on the refrigerator.

MakingLifeBetter provides tips and smart strategies to help you feel good, look good, and get more out of life.

Looking for more ideas for family dinner activities? Check out CoziMama's recommendations for Dinnertime Conversation Games.

Organic on a Budget: Create a Colorful Meal

What's for dinner? Whether written on your daily to-do list, emailed from your husband, or questioned by the little faces who hope your answer is cookies, you likely hear this question every single day. And when you do, various thoughts run through your mind: incorporate all the food groups, in a relatively short time, within the weekly budget, all the while creating a dish that inclines your family to stand on their chairs and cheer.

One shortcut to a healthy dinner is incorporating multiple colors in every meal. Adding color reflects variety–so your family won’t get bored. And nutritionally, eating fruits and veggies in a variety of colors automatically provides a range of phytonutrients.

A few highlights about what each color brings to the table:

• Red: If you cook tomatoes for two minutes, you increase their antioxidant power by 50%! A budget friendly fact - a serving of tomato sauce or salsa count as one of your daily fruits and veggies.
• Orange: Often high in beta-carotene.
• Purple: Berries are antioxidant powerhouses. But other purple fruits (grapes and olives) contain potentially healthful compounds as well.
• Yellow: Citrus fruits are high in vitamin C.
• Green: Broccoli and spinach are great choices. Microwave broccoli instead of boiling it over the stove and save 90% of its vitamin C.

Try this colorful, budget friendly recipe for dinner tonight:

CHICKEN SAUSAGE WITH VEGGIE PASTA RECIPE

Approximate cost: $16
Servings: 4, plus leftovers
Prep and cook time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 organic zucchini
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 garlic cloves, diced
2 cups organic diced tomatoes
2 teaspoon oregano
1 package chicken sausage
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Using a vegetable peeler and turning the zucchini as you go, slice the zucchini into ribbons.
2. In a skillet, over medium heat, sauté zucchini in olive oil until it is soft and the edges are clear.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
4. Cook chicken sausage in another pan. When thoroughly cooked, slice into small pieces.
5. Add tomatoes, oregano and minced garlic to zucchini.
6. Simmer for a few minutes, then stir in the sausage.
7. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Add garlic toast by turning the oven to 350°, spread butter on whole wheat bread and sprinkle each slice with garlic salt.  Put in oven for about 8 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Rachael Amarante is a certified fitness trainer and nutrition enthusiast. For more tips on organic living, creative workout ideas and healthy recipes for you and your family, check out her blog, Orange Cabbage

Dealing With a Picky Eater

Registered dietitian Bridget Swinney brings her expertise to the table.

Do you ever wonder how you, eater of almost everything, wound up with a child who is picky when it comes to food? Experts disagree if finicky eaters are born or made, but most likely, it’s a combination of the two. Whatever the case, it’s how you deal with the problem that can make matters better — or worse.

• As the parent, you're responsible for offering your child healthy meals and snacks — and for respecting her appetite. Your child’s job is to decide how much to eat. (In other words, you should not become your child's personal chef!) While it’s sometimes tough to follow this rule, it will make life at the kitchen table much easier.
• When your child refuses to eat something, it’s best not to make a big deal about it. Although it’s incredibly tempting to bribe her with dessert or a toy, this practice will backfire in the long run. On the other hand, don't give up on the food she doesn’t want — sometimes it may take between 10 to 15 tries of a food before your child actually likes it! Keep offering it in different ways, such as raw instead of cooked, or with ketchup on the side for dipping.
• Get your child involved in meal planning by giving her simple choices. Should we eat peas or carrots tonight? Do you want strawberries or apples for your snack? Take her to the grocery store with you and encourage her to pick out foods he wants to try. Letting your child make these decisions can help her express her growing independence.
• When your child asks for mac ’n’ cheese for the fourth night in a row, should you give in? Probably not. Try “running out” of the food or making something similar. “Sorry, Sally, but we’re all out of macaroni. Instead we're having spaghetti!” You can also fix the requested food in a slightly different way. For instance, try mac ’n’ cheese with peas or tuna mixed in.
• Many parents worry about their finicky child’s nutrient intake. A child will consume the energy her body needs, but to ease your mind, know that there is always a substitute food that has similar nutrient content — fruits instead of vegetables, yogurt instead of milk. Also, always have one or two standby foods on the table that your child does like — bread, tortillas, fruit, etc. Giving your child a multi-vitamin mineral supplement is another good way to fill in the nutrient gaps until she broadens her diet.

About the author: Bridget Swinney is a registered dietitian, mom of two former picky eaters and author of Baby Bites, Healthy Food for Healthy Kids and Eating Expectantly.

Making Life Better provides tips and smart strategies to help you feel good, look good, and get more out of life.