When I was pregnant and breastfeeding I tried to eat a balanced diet, full of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean proteins, and healthy fats. When my girls starting eating solids, I focused on the blander vegetables and fruits. My one rule with my family is that everyone has to sit down for dinner, (which may be really early or really late depending on schedules). The goal: for our girls to see mom and dad eat healthy and for the girls to role model the behavior. I recently read a great research article, forgive me for not citing I do not remember the source, that moms have an effect on their son's eating behaviors, and fathers have effect on their daughters eating behavior. I often remind my husband this, as he eats his broccoli while trying to smile and not gag. The pay off is the picture above. Two happy little toddlers who fought over a piece of broccoli in the fridge. To stop the fight, my husband had to make sure that had each a "BIG broccoli" ("no little ones Daddy" my 2 year demanded). So parents, work hard at fitting in healthy foods and being a good role model, it does work (however I am quite aware that tomorrow might be a challenge in our food struggle since we are dealing with little cave people!).
Cheers,
The Dieting Dietitian
