Secret weapon foods to feed your super kids
Clinical nutritionist, founder of Norish, and powerhouse mama of four, Gina Urlich shares her top superfoods for super kids: …
Here are some strategies to help your picky eater
Meal times becoming a battle ground? Nutritional therapist Judith Yeabsley from The Confident Eater is here to help take you from chicken nuggets to chicken curry. Tell us a little about what you do: My goal is to ensure that all children can …
Tips for choosing healthy snacks for your kids
Anyone who has been around small children knows you never leave the house without snacks. While home-made is ideal, some days just call for convenience! Jenny Douglas of Jumpstart Nutrition shares how to make the healthiest choice. Making …
Tips for coping with a picky eater
Is your toddler a picky eater? Do they refuse food, turn their nose up at anything even remotely healthy, or generally drive you crazy by not seeming to eat anything at all for days on end? Nutritionist, Leanne Cooper of Cadence Health is a mum of …
10 high-performing foods kids can eat every day
OHbaby! nutritionist Anna Hansen explains the nutritional benefits of 10 high-performing foods kids can eat every day! As a nutritionist and a mum, I love looking at ways to incorporate nourishing food into kids’ lives. Giving children a taste …
Vegetable hacks for parents with fussy little eaters
As parents, we want our kids to be eating the healthiest food possible, but getting vegetables into them is often easier said than done. Check out our hacks for encouraging fussy little eaters to branch out and eat the rainbow. ● Serve a vege …
Great tips for making cooking with your kids enjoyable and educational!
Does the thought of letting your little one in the kitchen send shudders down your spine? The mess, the danger, the clean-up afterward... The fact is, children love helping their parents in the kitchen, and there are heaps of ways you can get them …
Food additives: be your kids' food detective
Kids, food and behaviour - what's the link? Nutritionist Leanne Cooper goes sleuthing. Where once we blamed sugar for the wayward behaviour of children, we now know that the culprit is far more likely to be a chemical of some sort. There is …
Superfoods for future Superheroes
OHbaby! nutritionist Hannah Gentile gives us the lowdown on her favourite superfoods and shares some fresh ideas for integrating them into kids’ everyday diets. Poor diet variation and under-nutrition are two very common issues with under-fives. …
More kale please: tips for raising vege loving kids
Dying to hear your kids say ‘more please’ when you serve them fruit and veges? OHbaby! nutritionist Hannah Gentile shares her advice on making fruit and vegetables an attractive food choice. I recently spent a year in the United States – home of …
Eight things to say to kids at mealtimes
The etiquette differs from family to family, but there are ways we can all encourage our kids to have a positive attitude to mealtimes, writes Christine Stride. You don't have to eat if you're not hungry When kids are engrossed in play and it's …
Raising your baby to love food in all its forms
When raising a child, nurturing a positive relationship with food is understandably one of your priorities. When your child grows up and begins to make their own eating decisions, you want to know that they’ve developed healthy habits and an …
Healthy lunchbox ideas your child will actually eat
There’s something so satisfying about preparing a nutritionally balanced lunchbox, but regularity can make it a chore. Hannah Gentile presents the facts amongst a smorgasbord of fresh ideas. Remember the enthusiasm you had in that first week your …
What's the difference between a food allergy and an intolerance?
In the first part of our series on allergies, naturopath Natasha Berman explains the difference between a food allergy and an intolerance. Do you feel queasy after eating cake, bloated after bagels, or rashy after ratatouille? Maybe you have …
Analysing additives
While sugar may not be the "bad guy" when it comes to children and hyperactivity, the same can't be said for a number of food additives, especially artificial preservatives and colours. Feeding children a healthy, balanced meal isn't always simple, …
Is sugar REALLY that bad?
Does sugar seem to make your kids act up, misbehave, or bounce off the walls? Guess what research says that the 'sugar high' is actually a myth. How often have you heard another parent, or even yourself, say the words, "Oh, no, he can't have …
Fussy eaters
Struggling with a fussy eater? Hurry up and scroll down - mum and nutritionist Leanne Cooper offers realistic advice on how to cope. Why is my child a fussy eater? That's a question many parents struggle with, especially during daily …
Healthy eating for toddlers
We've all seen the statistics: childhood obesity is on the rise in New Zealand, and around the world. Some children are genetically predisposed to be overweight, whilst for others it is an indication of our less active, convenience-driven …
Feeding toddlers: it's tricky when they're picky
Most kids have their quirks when it comes to eating, but some are particularly hard to please. Hannah Gentile shares 10 tips for managing fussy eating in toddlers. Chicken nuggets, oven chips and a couple of carrot sticks on the menu in your house …
Do away with the Food Fight
Fussy eating is a phase common to toddlerhood. The following tips, coupled with parental patience, are designed to make mealtimes a positive experience —as opposed to a food fight. Some days your toddler seems to live on fresh air alone but try not …
Would you like sprouts with that?
The 'eat your greens' message must be getting through because according to recent statistics, Kiwis rate among the highest in the world when it comes to awareness of the health benefits and the consumption of fruit and vegetables. Nearly 90% of …
Anna Hansen talks kids & snacks
Watch OHbaby! nutritionist Anna Hansen talk with former OHbaby! editor Ellie Gwilliam and share her tips for encouraging kids to snack well. …
Feeding the family with Nadia Lim
In this live chat, celebrity chef and mother of one Nadia Lim, tells us how life has changed since she became a mum, and shares her tips on navigating meal prep with a toddler in tow. …
10 signs your child may need feeding therapy
You’ve slipped sprouts onto their pizza, blended spinach into ‘alien mash' and held the ice cream hostage. But you're still baffled: what is it about certain foods that some kids just don't like? Statistics show that one in three children under …
Time to top up? The benefits of toddler milk
With an expanding range of toddler milks available, paediatric nutritionist Cherry Barker explains why busy little bodies may need topping up with a glass of extra goodness. Toddlerhood is busy. Your little one is discovering the world around them, …
Mission: nutrition
Nutritionist Katie Harding is on a mission to improve early childhood nutrition. When nutritionist and naturopath Katie Harding took up a job as cook in her daughter’s childcare centre, she was shocked at what the kids were being fed: pasta, …
Kids' cereals still too high in sugar
Cereal manufacturers aren’t getting the message their kids’ products are too high in sugar. A Consumer NZ report has found sugar levels have changed little since it last looked at these products in 2013. Six cereals had even more than they used to, …
Food additive habbit
Neon-orange peaches in fuschia-coloured strawberry jelly. Chartreuse banana-flavoured "dairy food". Green ketchup. Purple sausages. Blue fruit juice. Biscuits with shocking-pink icing and hundreds-and-thousands sprinkled over them. A quick scan of …
What's really in our food? Deciphering food labels
Consumer NZ Belinda Castles exposes nine tricks of the trade that can mask the not-so-good things in the food we buy. Last week a friend (who is a registered dietitian) and I gave a talk about healthy eating and reading food labels to our local …
Is your child a fussy eater or a problem feeder?
We have all heard of or know at least one toddler or young child who won’t eat their vegies or who suddenly decides they won’t eat a food they loved only the day before! As parents it can be really stressful trying to get healthy foods or a range …
Eight common food myths you don't have to worry about
Sometimes it seems as if we dare not put a mouthful of food near our lips for fear of cancer, heart disease or diabetes. We live in an information age where you can Google almost any food item and find both good and bad comments about it. Take …
Are you a five-plus a day family?
Did you know, according ot the Heart Foundation, five-plus servings of fruit and vegies a day is not enough for the average grown-up? Our diets should be nearly half fruit and vegies every day. That’s the latest recommendation from the Heart …
What to drink - Milk, Juice or Water?
Being a kid is thirsty work but, as nutritionist Leanne Cooper explains, you need to be careful about what you give your child to drink. You have done your homework, had the solids talk from your Plunket nurse, compared notes with friends and feel …
Vitamins
We all know children need vitamins and minerals but just how much do they need? And if they're not eating enough are over-the-counter supplements the answer? Nutritionist Leanne Cooper writes. Anyone who's tried to decipher the gobbledegook on the …
