Real Mom Nutrition
A no-judgments zone about feeding a family.
I spent my entire childhood afraid to eat rhubarb. My dad grew a big patch of it in the garden, and my mom made strawberry rhubarb jam. To me, it looked like gigantic wild celery–and I certainly wasn’t spreading that on my toast. When I finally tasted rhubarb and strawberries together as an adult, it …
Something happened on the soccer fields last weekend that made cupcakes seem tame by comparison: A rep from 7 Up worked the crowd, offering free diet soda to parents and kids. When I found out about this through some friends–and confirmed it with a call to our rec center–I felt my blood pressure rise about …
Lately I’ve gotten a lot of success stories from parents who have joined the ranks of “That Mom”. They’ve spoken up and changed the snack culture in their child’s class or sports team (read “Change the Snack Culture: 3 Steps to Take Now” and “Be Bold. Take Action. Make Change.“). But occasionally, I hear from …
Two years ago, I had a “light bulb moment” about snacking when I saw a mom and her child on the playground one day (read: “Snacking Insanity“). Since that moment, I’ve become much more aware of the snacks my kids are getting–and what I see isn’t good. It’s a problem, and not just in my …
Right now, in many communities around the country, kids are trying on cleats and shin guards and parents are busting out camp chairs and coolers from storage. Soccer season is upon us. And so are soccer snacks. If you’re fed up with soccer snacks (or baseball, swimming , or basketball snacks), if you’re done with frosted …
It’s not for the obvious reasons. Though I get passionate about junk at school parties and junk at school breakfasts (read: “I Have No Love for Candy Valentines” and “The Trouble with School Breakfast“), I haven’t gotten fired up about chocolate milk. I know lots of people disagree–and I totally get why they do. I’d love …
I’m proud to join a group of bloggers today to mark Donna Day, a campaign to raise funds to fight pediatric cancer. Donna is the daughter of my friend Sheila (also known as Mary Tyler Mom). Donna died in 2009 after 31 months of treatment for an aggressive brain tumor. During her treatment, Sheila wrote updates for …
When I talk to people about soccer snacks or class parties or more recently, candy Valentines (read: “I Have No Love for Candy Valentines“), the discussion invariably turns to how how things were when we were kids: “But we had class parties, ate candy, and washed down birthday cupcakes with cherry Kool-Aid. And we turned …
Seven words I never thought I’d hear my 8-year-old son say: “Mommy, I’m getting sick of Cocoa Puffs.” I don’t buy Cocoa Puffs. My son has been eating them at school as part of the free breakfast program. I am not happy about this. For months, I have wrestled with what to do about school …
I organized the Valentine’s Day party in my son’s classroom this year. We have a lot of food allergies among the third graders–and I’m always looking for ways to reduce junk anyway–so we planned a buffet of red fruits and vegetables: red pepper strips, dried cherries, red raspberries, pomegranate seeds, strawberries, and all-fruit smoothies. My …
My mom tells a story about eating lunch at school as a little girl—and being embarrassed by the homemade cookies my grandma had packed for her. The rest of the kids had store-bought cookies. And even though my grandma’s cookies probably tasted 100 times better than those packaged treats, she wanted theirs instead. I think …
I meet a lot of parents who are angry about how their kids are being fed. They’re mad about school lunches and cookie dough fundraisers, about sugary snacks at preschool, about doughnuts on the soccer sidelines. But only a few of these parents act on their anger. Some don’t want to rock the boat or …
