Help for Picky Eaters: My Food Notebook is here!

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A tasty alternative to the dinnertime battle

I’m so excited to announce my newest title is now available – feast your eyes on My Food Notebook! Again inspired by the challenges we faced as parents, this handy workbook gives kids a place to journal about food they try and consider whether they liked it, didn’t like, or were curious to try it again. It also encourages kids to try foods more than once and consider what seasonings or sides they like with a food.

I sent a few lucky parents some samples pages to try out on their children. Here’s a review from Heather and her daughter Maggie:

“Ok – first experience was GREAT!  I had Maggie (6 1/2) try a slice of canned peaches.  She’s had them 2 or 3 times before in the past year or so, never liked them much.  I had explained about the food journal before she sat down to lunch.  As she was eating the first bite of peach, she said “Hmm, it’s kind of ……” making a “so-so” motion with her hand.  Then after lunch, I said ok! It’s time to write in your food journal.  She was excited to do it – pulled out a “peach colored pencil” and went to work.  At first she said she was going to check the middle box, but after thinking about it a few seconds she said, “you know, I think I liked them.  I’m going to check the like box.”  Then, she said the most amazing thing: “Can I have another?”

VICTORY!

I’m so curious to see how this plays out but I was really amazed at how the process of the journaling affected her thoughts about the food.”

Do you have a picky eater who could use some help from My Food Notebook?

Is it your job to get kids to eat?

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Do a quick search of “picky eater” and you will discover parents are constantly stressing about picky eaters. But what if we didn’t? What if we served meals and let our children choose whether to eat it – or not? Is it ok, as a parent, to not make my kids eat?

I wish I could do that, but it just annoys me when he doesn’t eat. It bothers me that I (or my husband) cooked food and he refuses to even taste it. It gets under my skin that he claims he doesn’t like “anything.”

Providing nutritious food to my children feels like one of my main objectives as a parent, and because I am intrinsically motivated to complete objectives, I work hard to get them to eat.

Not interested.

I’ve tried these strategies:

1. One bite of each food based on your age. Simple math.

2. If there are 3 things on the plate you must finish two in order to do X activity after dinner. (Fractions are fun!)

3. You don’t have to eat what I cooked but I’m not cooking anything else. (The theory here is he’ll eat a better breakfast).

4. You don’t have to eat what I cooked and there is no dessert or “bedtime snack.” (Motivation. Or bribe.)

5. Reverse psychology! “I’m leaving the table, when I come back, all that food better be there!”

6. When you’re hungry later, I’ll re-heat this dinner for you.

Sometimes I just give up. Even though I feel like it’s my job to get him to eat, I know there is no end-of-the-year review of my performance.

Do you ever give up?

What’s Your Obstacle?

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Make each minute count.

Make each minute count.

We’ve made our New Year’s Resolutions. Mine is: Finish, polish and publish that young adult novel you’re writing. I’ve got the desire to achieve this and the support of my family. This is the “Year of the Book.”

But it’s not going to be easy. There are obstacles.

How will I reach my goal? By identifying and eliminating obstacles.

I used to think my obstacle was “not enough time.” But it’s not. It’s “bad use of time.” There are lots of things that can distract me, use up my time and waste my time. Some I can control, some I can’t.

Do you know your obstacles? If you want to reach your goals or resolutions, you need to know what obstacles you will confront so you can be prepared to face them…and knock ’em down.

Be honest. Be specific. Be brave.

What are YOUR obstacles?

Ideas for Picky Eaters

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Last weekend, Marty’s Market hosted the official launch of My Food Notebook. Lots of kids and families stopped by to try new foods and used pages from My Food Notebook to record their opinions. While not too many were eager to try to the almond-pine-nut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches, the grilled cheese on sourdough and chocolate meringue cupcakes went fast!

Kids who tried a food and journaled about the food could enter to win free copies of My Food Notebook or gift certificates to Marty’s Market. The agave gummy bears were a big hit at the market. Special thanks to Porter Loves Photography for these excellent photographs of the event!

Look for a giveaway for more Marty’s Market gift certificates in January – I love celebrating great local businesses!

 

Even my selective eater tried something new!

First try at My Food Notebook

A delicious spread thanks to Marty’s Market!

Recipe for Success: Self-Publishing

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Jennifer Bright Reich is the author of six books – all self-published- including the very popular Mommy MD Guides and owner of Momosa Publishing Company. Here she offers her recipe for success and reminds us that it takes time to bring any big project to life.

Is self-publishing right for you?

Why did you choose to self-publish? My coauthor, Rallie McAllister, MD, MPH, and I decided to start our own publishing company so we would have creative control over our books and so that we could create a team of talented writers, editors, designers, and indexers and help to support their businesses as well.

How long did you work on this project from idea conception to print reality? It took us nine months to create The Mommy MD Guide to Pregnancy and Birth from start to receiving printed books—just like a “real” baby.” We stretched our schedule to 11 months for The Mommy MD Guide to Your Baby’s First Year, The Mommy MD Guide to the Toddler Years, and The Mommy MD Guide to Losing Weight and Feeling Great, which is “due” September 2013, to give us a bit more wriggle room.

Was there a mistake you made/almost made that taught you something significant about self-publishing?  Our nine-month schedule for The Mommy MD Guide to Pregnancy and Birth was achievable, but challenging. So that’s why we gave ourselves more time for our other books.

 

Best Billboards

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Here are two of the best Pittsburgh billboards I’ve seen lately. One’s silly and one’s clever.

This billboard for Fodi Jewelers cracks me up every time I drive by it.  It’s not the use of the word ‘chicks’ that got me, it’s the fact that they put baby chicks on the billboard.

Too many puns!

Yes, we get the pun that studs is either diamond studs or studly men. And both of those meanings of the word “stud” make sense in this context. I’m just glad they didn’t put some pieces of lumber on the billboard, too. I have to say the image of the baby chickens is just silly and makes me laugh every day.

 

Awesome play on words

This billboard created by Marcus Thomas for just the Pittsburgh market makes perfect wordplay sense. It’s the 40th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception and Pittsburghers will totally get this reference. Makes me wanna buy some chips right now!

Zagat Rates Pittsburgh Food?

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Zagat will be rating Pittsburgh restaurants in 2013. According to the Pittsburgh Business Times, “Currently, the only reviews for the Pittsburgh-area on Zagat.com are for chain restaurants that were taken from their recent National Chain Restaurant Survey.”

Why is Zagat so popular? I think it’s because people like to hear what others think is good, go try it themselves, and get in a big huff when they don’t agree.

People have a lot of opinions. And people have a lot of opinions about food.

A close friend of mine recently shared how he was having lunch at a popular new spot and the chef asked his group how they enjoyed a new menu item. Even though these people had no experience owning or running a restaurant, everyone felt they were qualified to give an opinion.

Restaurants are businesses that serve people and thrive on loyal customers. Want to build a loyal customer base that loves your services? Listen to the opinions of your customers, your audience. Show them you respect their input. You don’t have to promise to deliver everything they ask you for, but you have to at least give some time to listen.

That’s why I created My Food Notebook for my most important “business” – my family. I don’t run a restaurant, I’m not even that great in the kitchen, but I know how to build strong relationships! My Food Notebook lets my kids to give feedback on the food we prepare and serve. It helps me learn what they like so I can offer a variety of foods that are similar to their favorites. They get the comfort of familiarity and I help them learn how to tackle new things in life.

I’m launching My Food Notebook at Marty’s Market on December 8, 2012 at 12 Noon. All are welcome! We’ll be encouraging kids and adults to try some new foods and give their opinions. We’ll have some prizes, too!

Try it in your own life. No one like to have their opinions ignored. What might be easier in your life if you simply gave people a chance to express themselves?