Healthy Eating, Healthy Life

Although I try not to post on it too much, I have small sized children who aren't great eaters. They aren't picky in the sense that they will only consume junk food or a specific brand of something. They just don't ever eat much. If they fill up on non nutritive items first, the healthy stuff will get skipped. I've worked with my friend Chew Chew Mama and have seen nutritionists and dietitians with our local children's hospitals because along with their eating habits they are very small. We now know some tips for better success at meals and work on getting each bite to matter calorie and nutrition wise.

I recently saw Fresh Baby products and thought they might be a fun tool in our arsenal of feeding gadgets, toys, and equipment. Fresh Baby has a line of toddler/preschooler eating plates and utensils that highlight proper nutrition and help engage your child in the meal process. Their 4-piece set  comes with a partitioned plate, sturdy plastic meal guide, bowl, and big kid cup with nice lid.

I have to say the big kid cup turned out to be one of our favorite pieces. My kids usually have sippy cups at the table, yes even my 6 year old, because they aren't careful and knock over their cup 4.7-million times each meal. This cup doesn't have a spout or anything "babyish" but stops full spills while still teaching them to drink with normal mouth movements. Win win!!

The plastic guide that comes with the set has been a fun teaching tool. At our weekly TotSchool last week and at home afterwards we talked about nutrition. The kids learned different food groups and while looking at the divider plate and food guide picked out their favorite foods from each category. Then they drew pictures of their favorite foods. Lunch that day, Carter picked many of his favorites too!

The guide and plate support the USDA My Plate program and give serving size examples. 

We also use the Fresh Baby cutlery set with travel case. It has preschool appropriately sized fork, spoon, and knife in a cute neoprene like zip container to take with you on the go. The knife is child safe and was a huge hit. Even my 6 year old was jealous his brother has a new knife to use. Carter spent time cutting up items (and then eating them) he normal wouldn't touch or eat just to get to use the knife. 

I love adding new tools and fun instruments that make meal time easier for us. I tried Fresh Baby through a promotional program that sent me the items in exchange for a blog post detailing our usage. No compensation was received and all opinions and ideas are all my own! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. You can find your own sets of this BPA free meal time fun on Amazon.