Starting from the time they start solids, feeding our children can be a minefield for many parents. However, there are resources to which we can all turn. And, that’s why we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Anderson of Kids Eat in Color for this Best of the Web. You’ll find Anderson provides loads of practical insight. She teaches us how to help our kids learn to enjoy their vegetables.
Anderson has an abundance of experience regarding healthy nutrition and families. She has a masters of science in public health, international health and human nutrition from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She’s also a registered dietician. However, her background isn’t just academic. Anderson also studied policy and organizational management. Her studies have taken her to India where she studied poverty. And after that, she worked at food banks. Her biggest takeaway was that kids need vegetables.
On top of all that hands-on work experience, she has two young boys. So, she has personally confronted the struggle of feeding her own kids. She’s upfront about her first son falling “off the growth chart.” So, you know she isn’t going to suggest something impractical that only works in theory from her ivory tower. One of our favorite posts involves her better, real food version of a popular kids’ nutritional supplement drink.
Where to find her
On her website Kids Eat in Color, Anderson discusses a gamut of nutrition-related topics. For example, she covers whether we should panic over the news of heavy metals in infant rice cereals and how to talk to kids about candy. However, her discussions are also more complex in nature as well. Anderson talks about how under-representation of Blacks in images of baby-led weaning have caused it to seem elitist. She also points out the downside of organic food. First, they can lead to a “fear of eating conventionally grown foods” resulting in less fresh produce consumption overall. Also, they can cause people to judge others who do not eat organic foods.
When you look at her Instagram @KidsEatInColor, you’ll see her approach considers nutritional content, financial cost and encouraging a positive relationship with food for your kids. It’s not merely about getting macronutrients and vitamins. Anderson wants to help our kids enjoy vegetables and food in general, but more importantly, enjoy nourishing their bodies. But best of all, she wants to make it “simple” and “stress-free” for us parents.
