1.     What are the most common challenges you hear from parents  about  getting children to eat healthy snacks?  Parents of school-aged children often complain about the difficulty in finding healthy snacks that can compete with the junky snacks their kids see at school, on TV, at the store, and at friends’ homes. They often worry about repetition and wonder if it’s “bad” to let their child have the same snacks day after day.  Many parents are also concerned that their child seems to be “hungry” for snacks all the time.

2.     What are your best snacking strategies for addressing these challenges? One strategy is good role modeling. Select healthy snacks and enjoy them in front of your children. It’s also important to set boundaries with snacks. Don’t allow the child to make the selections at the grocery store, instead, give them healthy options to choose from.

To avoid over-snacking, set a snack-time just as you set meal times and then stick to it. Allowing your child to snack all the time will only ruin their appetite for meals and start a vicious cycle of filling up on snacks at the expense of healthy meals.

3.    What are your best recommendations for nutritious snack options that kids will love, and why?

• Great snack products / standbys to rely on. Fresh fruit of course – keep carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, jicama, and other vegetables sliced in a container in the refrigerator. This is especially good for after school/before dinner when kids are hungriest.

• More go-to snacks
  • Happy Squeeze smoothies (organic fruit combinations – some with vegetables, Salba® the Super chia, coconut milk or Greek yogurt – in convenient portable pouches from Happy Family)
  • Whole wheat pretzels, organic cheese sticks and slices
  • Unsweetened dry cereal, unsalted nuts and dried fruit – try combining all three to make a healthy trail-mix!
  • Homemade whole grain pancakes which can be easily kept on-hand in the freezer

• Sweet Treats. Sweets have their place, and in my opinion, many children will just get obsessed with them if over-restricted. Give your children healthy sweets such as frozen grapes and homemade fruit popsicles, as well as the occasional ice cream, all-natural or homemade cookies, fruit leathers or fruit snacks. Don’t make every evening snack a sweet, but if you have a sweet treat in the house every so often, and control the portion size, this is a healthy way to teach moderation.

• Snacks that get kids involved in the prep
  Two great snacks to make with your children are muffins and smoothies.  There are plenty of muffin recipes made with nutrient-packed ingredients like fruit purees, oats, wheat germ, whole grain flours, and dried or fresh fruit. You can even sneak in some veggies. Let young kids mix the ingredients, and older children can measure the ingredients and pour the mixture into the muffin tins. To control portion size, use mini-muffin tins instead of full size. Don’t forget to make extra – they freeze well and are a quick snack anytime!Smoothies can easily be made at home with yogurt, fresh and frozen fruit, milk and ice. Kids can get involved by choosing the ingredients, putting them in the blender, and turning it on. Another tip is to freeze smoothies in popsicle molds for a healthy frozen dessert.

• Other snacking ideas. Parents should think about “real” food as being great potential for snacks, like sandwiches, quesadillas, pancakes and pizza bagels. Turn snack-time into a mini-meal instead of relying on less nutrient dense snack foods. This is a good strategy for two types of snackers – the active tween or teen who is truly ravenous all the time and the young child who tends not to eat enough at meal times

4.     Please explain why it’s so important to get children to adopt healthy eating habits early in life and the possible future implications.
Eating habits are just that – habits. The best way to set up a child for a lifetime of healthy eating is to get them into the habit early through offering healthy foods in and out of the home. Physiologically, a key time for developing healthy food preferences is before age three, as that’s when the child’s taste buds are learning to accept and enjoy flavors.

Amy Marlow is a registered dietitian (RD) and New York State certified nutritionist. In addition to her work with Happy Family, Amy helps manage a Fortune 100 company’s employee wellness program and sits on the board of the New York State Dietetic Association. Amy is the proud mother of three.

HAPPYFAMILY is a leading premium organic food brand delivering nutritious meals and snacks for babies, toddlers and beyond.  The company supports Project Peanut Butter, a nonprofit that feeds starving children Africa.  Since its launch Happy Family has underwritten more than 1 million meals through PPB.  For more information, visit www.happyfamilybrands.com

My husband does an incredible job of making me feel appreciated on a day to day basis, but there was something different about Mother’s Day and the lack of guilt I felt over having him cook me dinner and do the dishes!  I felt like I “deserved” to be put my feet up on the couch, and to drink that extra glass of wine.  Now some may say that it should not take a holiday to feel this way, and that our children should make us crafts, tell us how much they love us and offer to make us breakfast in bed more than just one day a year.  But for me, after my first official Mother’s Day I am ready to rank this holiday right under Christmas!

-Samantha is a former BFC sitter, event planner, and elementary school teacher. She and her husband live in New York and are first time parents!

Mama Bell

Day 1) Mini food tour adventure: NYC is full of great spots. Take one morning morning to go sample hot chocolate all over the village, or decide who has the best waffles in Manhattan. If kids are picky, have them make a list of their favorite places and splurge by adventuring to a few of them in one day. (*Note* the best part of this adventure is some full, happy, and worn out kiddies by time you get home. Naptime, anyone?).

Day 2) Craft Day: St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and that means green everything! Make sure to cover your work space with newspaper in case of spills or accidents. We love:

• Construction paper rainbows. Directions: attach rainbow paper to a “cloud” made of cotton  or cut out of white paper.
•  Pots of gold. Directions: terra cotta flower pots can be painted on and filled with chocolate that looks like gold coins.
• Try-on leprechaun mask mirrors. Directions found here.
• Green garlands to decorate. Directions: cut strips of green paper, roll and stapling into a circle, repeat to make a chain.
• Shamrock decorations. Directions: cut out of construction paper or just colored onto regular paper.
• Dye Easter Eggs. Directions: Hard boil a dozen eggs, purchase a dye kit, dip eggs into colors as desired. 
• Make an Easter Bunny. Directions: cut out two almond shaped white pieces and have lil’ ones color the inside pink leaving an inch or so border. Staple or glue these on to a paper plate. Attach two googley eyes. Use a foam shape or color in a nose. For whiskers, take pipe cleaners cut in half and glue them coming out from the nose. 

Day 3) Museum Hopping: Luckily, NYC has plenty of fun museums to take lil’ ones to. Check out this great guide of museums for kids based on how old they are. Most museums let lil’ ones in for free or deeply discounted rates, making this fun and affordable!

Day 4) Spring Cleaning: This may not be the most fun activity on the list, but it’s sure to keep lil’ ones occupied. Take a day out of the week and have lil’ ones clean out their room or pick one chore to help with around the house. Getting lil’ ones in the habit of helping clean will help you and them in the long run! This is also an opportunity to share stories, memories, and crafts that turn up (and scrapbook them if you’re into that). If lil’ ones are looking for change rearrange the furniture in their room or add a new decoration as a reward for a job well done.

Day 5) Playdates: One of the best resources moms have is other moms! Get together with a few friends and have a playdate party. Keep lil’ ones entertained with Wii games, puzzles, a dance party/contest, homemade pizza making, or movies while having the chance to chat with other adults.

Day 6) Scavenger Hunt: This one can take as much or little planning as needed. Kids (supervised by an adult) can find things throughout the city, or can stay inside the home and find things. Scavenger hunts can also include mundane things such as “eating lunch” or “checking the mail” as well as wacky and ridiculous like “do a headstand and take a picture” or “find someone wearing a pink hat.”

Day 7) Relax: With school the next day, take this day to unwind. Pop some easy homemade cinnamon buns in the oven with lil’ ones, put your feet up, and enjoy a movie. Finish up any homework, pick out outfits for the next day, catch up on some reading and enjoy family dinner.

Our enthusiastic sitters are always happy to help out and take kids on adventures all over the city or help entertain them in the home! Enjoy break!

-Lauren has been babysitting for years and works in-house at LLD. Her favorite part of spring break is curling up with a book, hot chocolate, and fuzzy slippers!

It takes a village….

It’s true!  Now, that village does not have to be family, but if you’ve got it close by, lucky you!  We moved to be closer to ours and it is wonderful, but I’ve also discovered the power of moms’ groups.  As soon as we got here, I joined the neighborhood MOMs club and searched Meet Up for every mom’s group in the area with similarly aged children.  A new parent thinks their child’s sleep, eat and poop habits are fascinating, but your friends without children will not.  I’m not saying dump your friends, just expand your circle.  Believe me, you NEED someone to talk with about these things because it’s helpful to see what’s working or not for others.  It’s also good for your sanity!  Finding parents of similarly aged children is key because when it comes time to get together, a 15 month old naps very differently than a four month old (do four month olds even nap?!) and if your kids can enjoy similar activities, it makes a nicer get together for parents too!

Let something go….

To make space for something new, we must let something go.  It’s a rule I’ve never been able to follow with shoes, but I have whole heartedly adopted with parenthood!

So that I may be the type of parent I want to be, there are simply not enough hours in the day to do all of the things I did before Parker was born.  This is not just because I was in perpetual motion before she came with a to-do list that was always a mile long. This is simply reality.  It’s also true that I would RATHER play with her, teach her, nourish her, love her than do certain other things I filled my day with before she was born.  Parenthood forces you to prioritize and that’s a good thing.

Write it down NOW….

I always heard to write down your birth experience as soon as possible even if you’re tired, because you will forget it quickly and you’re not going to get more rest anytime soon.  So true!  What I hadn’t read about was quickly recording Parker’s experiences.

One of the best gifts my mom gave us was a calendar to keep in Parker’s room so that as she did things liked smile for the first time, roll over, eat solids, sit up, etc. we would have an easy place to quickly record it.  Every day she does something I want to remember and if I waited to put it neatly in her baby book, it would never happen! She is learning things so quickly and changing so fast, that I don’t want to miss a moment.

Be flexible….

I love a good list and a well constructed plan, but babies could care less about those things!  Can I just tell you about my thorough birth plan?!  However, my daughter had her own idea about how and when things would go down, and that is pretty much the story of my life now.  I plan activities all the time for us, but I don’t get too attached to them because I know that a nap or lack thereof or a mood or an explosive diaper could change everything.  Guess what?  I’m ok with that because I chose this life!

Relax and enjoy…

BEST. ADVICE. EVER!!

-Jolynn Baca Jaekel has been a fitness professional for more than a decade. Her first child, Parker,  just turned a year old this January. Jolynn, her husband Rob, and Parker recently relocated from NYC to Washington D.C.

2 cups shredded chicken breast

1 2/3  cups chicken broth

1/2 cup pesto sauce

10 oz. box fettuccine

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 cup pine or other nut

1 tbsp. olive oil

Fry chicken in olive oil until tender, add broth, pesto to skillet. .Cook pasta, drain and add to skillet. Add lemon juice. Stir a few minutes. Top with toasted nuts and serve.

So easy! So good!

-Mama Bell

Congrats with love,

Mama Bell

Appetizers: Ditch the heavy cheese dips and chips before the big Thanksgiving meal. Creating this adorable veggie platter will give lil’ ones something to do while you cook, and will also interest them more in eating it since they were part of making it. Healthy snacks like veggies are often quite filling, and will help curb your appetite before the big dinner.

The Turkey: Almost everyone has family recipes and traditions on how to cook their own turkey. As for us, we have a few suggestions on how to keep that healthy. Try to avoid deep-frying your turkey, but rather roast it in the oven. Flavorful herb recipes like this one from Food Network reduce the need to cover the turkey in butter or gravy without sacrificing great flavor:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/herb-roasted-turkey-breast-recipe/index.html

Sweet Potatoes: Ditch any recipes with a lot of brown sugar or marshmallows in favor of healthier (just as good!) sweet potato recipes. Simple baked (sweet) potatoes is one option, as they are easy to cook and healthy! If you want a more traditional casserole, try this healthier version of the sweet potato and marshmallow casserole: http://recipes.womenshealthmag.com/Recipe/marshmallow-whipped-sweet-potatoes.aspx

Green Beans: A quick and easy way to enjoy green beans without butter or cheese, is to just steam them in a double boiler. Take a sauce pan with a little bit of olive oil, and brown some sliced almonds. Toss these together for a much healthier (and still delicious) version of green bean casserole.

Stuffing: In exchange for fat and carb-loaded bread stuffings, try these healthier, non-traditional versions of the Thanksgiving favorite.

• Celery stuffing: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Celery-Stuffing/Detail.aspx
• Wild rice stuffing: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/wild_rice_stuffing.html
• Wild mushroom stuffing: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/wild_mushroom_stuffing.html
• Quinoa stuffing: http://www.fitsugar.com/Quinoa-Stuffing-Recipe-Thanksgiving-25897153

Cranberry Sauce: Cranberry sauce is often loaded with sugar in order to make up for the tart-ness of the Cranberries. Unfortunately, so much sugar can be a diet buster for many. Enjoy recipes that are low-sugar or sugar free, like this one: http://wellnessmama.com/3392/slightly-sweet-cranberry-sauce-recipe/

Bread: To help with portion control, try baking cornbread muffins. The pre-portioned muffin serving will keep you from overdoing it, but the cornbread will let you enjoy the spirit of Thanksgiving. If you still want a loaf of bread, go for the whole-wheat option.

Drinks: Skip on the alcoholic beverages or juices at the table this year in favor of water. If you want to spice this up and make your table look fancier, use sparkling water with a lemon wedge on the rim of the glass. This will save you the empty calories, and leave space for dessert… yum!

Dessert: Feel free to indulge in a little healthy dessert… remember everything in moderation! A main downfall of us dessert lovers is having to try a little bit of EVERYTHING. To prevent this, try to only offer a few dessert staples. After all, you’re just cooking for a few, not an army! Don’t underestimate the power of a bowl of fresh fruit or homemade fruit salad as a great dessert option as well.

• Low-Cal Pumpkin Pie: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/low-cal-pumpkin-pie
• Healthy Fruit Pizza (feel free to add in kiwi, mangos, oranges, or any other fruit of your choice on top: http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/post/51247006634
• Mom’s Apple Squares: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/moms_apple_squares.html

We hope you like these recipes; feel free to try them out this week before the big day and leave comments below! Overall, the biggest helpful hint we can give you is: moderation! There are always Thanksgiving leftovers, so don’t worry about eating it all in one sitting! Gobble Gobble!