November 1-5, 2018 – Orlando – American Academy of Pediatrics Book Signings

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November 1-5, 2018 – Orlando – American Academy of Pediatrics Book Signings

Oct 3

🥪 If they didn’t touch the food in their school lunchbox, try this.

Before you assume they didn’t like what you packed, think about what lunchtime actually looks like at school.

⏰ Kids may have a surprisingly short amount of time to:

Walk to the cafeteria.
Find their lunch.
Open everything.
Eat.
Talk to their friends.
Clean up.
And get back to class.

And here’s the important part...

❤️ Your goal may be to make sure they eat enough to fuel their afternoon.

❤️ Their goal may be to finally get a break and talk to their friends.

Both are good goals!

So instead of only asking, “What should I pack?” I want you to also ask:

“How can I make this lunch easier and faster to eat?”

Here are a few strategies I recommend as a pediatric feeding specialist & mom:

👉🏼 Pack “grab & gab” foods. (This is the strategy have been using for over 20 years and I promise you it makes a difference!)

Cut foods into easy-to-grab pieces they can pop into their mouth while they’re chatting with friends. Think less cutting, peeling, assembling & fussing. I have observed a lot of kids in the cafeteria…and you’d be shocked, how many of them hold an entire sandwich in their hand, turn and talk to the kid next to them, and completely forgot to take a bite!🙈

👉🏼 Choose an easy-open lunchbox.
A Bento-style box can eliminate the time spent opening multiple bags and containers or waiting for an adult to help.

👉🏼 Practice with the actual lunchbox at home.
Have a “lunchbox dinner” occasionally so your child knows exactly how everything opens and where everything is.

👉🏼 Think about the cafeteria routine.
Some schools transport all the lunchboxes together, which means kids have to find theirs before they can even start eating. A bright ribbon or other easy-to-spot identifier can save precious time.

✨ Sometimes the answer isn’t packing a different lunch.

It’s making the lunch you already packed easier to eat in the time they actually have.

🥪 Want to know which lunchboxes, water bottles & lunch accessories I’ve tried, tested & truly love?

👇🏼 Comment BOX and I’ll send you the link to my favorites. (Affilia ...

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Oct 2

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⚠️An empty lunchbox coming back from school- that is NOT the goal.

I know. When your kids’ lunchbox comes home empty, it feels like a WIN. 🙌🏼

And when it comes home half-full, it’s easy to think:
🙈They barely ate! What happened?!

But here’s what I want parents to remember…

🍎 School lunch isn’t just about eating.

Kids need enough nourishment to fuel their brains & bodies through the afternoon.

But lunchtime is ALSO a chance to:
💬 Talk with friends
😌 Take a break from the demands of the classroom
❤️ Connect socially
🧠 Reset before heading back to learning

And school lunches can be SHORT.

👉🏼 FOCUS ON - Foods that are cut up, easy to pick up, easy to chew & easy to eat while your child is busy chatting with friends.

Think fewer foods that require lots of opening, assembling, peeling, cutting or managing…and more foods they can simply grab, eat & gab.

Because the goal isn’t:

❌ “Did you eat EVERYTHING I packed?”

It’s:

❤️ “Did you get enough nourishment to fuel your afternoon AND have time to enjoy lunch with your friends?”

SAVE this before you pack tomorrow’s lunch & SEND it to a parent who stresses when that lunchbox comes home with food still in it.

👇🏼 More tips on how to accomplish both next - stay tuned!

Melanie ❤️

Melanie Potock, kids lunch, school lunch, picky eater, picky eating, lunchbox ideas, feeding kids, pediatric feeding therapist, school lunch ideas, responsive feeding, kids nutrition ...

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Sep 30

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If your kid is STARVING while you’re trying to get dinner on the table…this little trick can be a lifesaver. 🙌🏼
I call it a NIBBLE TRAY.

🧊 Grab an ice cube tray and fill it with tiny morsels your child can nibble while dinner is cooking.

🤫The secret? Make several ahead of time. Choose foods that will stay fresh for 3–4 days, stack the trays in the refrigerator so they help seal each other, then cover the top tray with plastic wrap or foil.

Now, when the “I’M HUNGRY!” hits at 5 PM, you’re ready. But I have a few NIBBLE TRAY RULES:
👉🏼 Parents fill the tray.
This isn’t an open-ended snack buffet. You decide what goes in it.
👉🏼 No seconds.
The goal is to take the edge off hunger, not fill little bellies right before dinner.
👉🏼 Leave about HALF the compartments empty.

As dinner starts coming together, add a few tiny tastes of what you’re preparing.
🫑Maybe it’s ONE little piece of raw bell pepper that you’re slicing for the salad.
🩷A tiny morsel of grilled chicken.
🥔A bite of roasted potato.
And here’s why I especially love this for picky eaters:
❤️ They don’t have to eat those dinner foods.

They simply get a chance to see them and smell them BEFORE they arrive at the dinner table. That tiny preview can make the food feel a little more familiar and the experience at dinner a little less overwhelming.

And because YOU choose what goes in the tray, you can include a combination of familiar foods + little previews of what’s coming.

It’s not about sneaking in nutrition.
It’s about helping your child arrive at dinner hungry, but not HANGRY…and giving unfamiliar foods a gentle introduction along the way.
🥰 📖This is one of the practical strategies from Raising a Healthy Happy Eater, the book I wrote with pediatrician Dr. Nimali Fernando, aka Dr. Yum.
👇🏼 Would a Nibble Tray save that pre-dinner hour at your house? Tell me what you’d put in yours!
Melanie ❤️

Melanie Potock, picky eater, picky eating, kids snacks, dinner ideas for kids, family meals, responsive feeding, feeding kids, toddler meals, toddler snacks, hungry not hangry, Raising a Healthy Happy Eater ...

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