Parents and nannies often ask me how to get children to eat their vegetables. Here are some of the things that have worked for me:

• Just give it to them. Put vegetables on their plate along with anything else they eat, and don't make a big deal out of them. I just hand my son Ethan a slice of cucumber or put a handful of peas on his plate with the rest of his meal, and he (usually) gobbles it all up.
• Keep trying. Again, you don't need to make a big deal out of it, but keep offering and serving vegetables to your child. It can often take a child 10-15 introductions to a new food (either seeing it or tasting it) before they'll try it or decide they like it.
• Don't use bribery. If you tell the child to eat 2 bites of broccoli before he can have some ice cream, broccoli is turned into something that is less desirable because you've offered a reward for eating it. The child thinks, "Wow, it must taste really bad if they're going to give me ice cream if I eat it!"
• Watch your own reactions. If you make yucky faces while feeding a child something you don't like, it's not surprising that the child might decide she doesn't like that food either.
• Try dips! Many older toddlers and preschoolers love dipping their food. You can give them vegetables to dip into a sauce, or make the sauce/dip with vegetables. Try hummus, plain yogurt, pasta sauce, spinach dip, salad dressing, peanut butter or other nut butters (for older children), cheese sauce, ketchup, or applesauce.
• Bake some muffins. You can find a number of recipes for zucchini bread, banana bread, pumpkin bread, and carrot cake that hide vegetables well. These are great for breakfast or for a quick snack, and most of these breads freeze well.
• Smoothies are an easy favorite. Pull out your blender or food processor and toss in some frozen fruit, juices (without added sugar), maybe some yogurt, and throw in a handful of spinach or kale leaves. If your child is wary of green flecks in her smoothie, blueberries mask the color well by turning the whole smoothie purple. I buy kale and spinach, chop it up, and store it in a ziploc bag in the freezer. When I make smoothies or soups, I just pull out my freezer bag and add a bit of the frozen greens. I also blend up carrots and sweet potatoes if I have them. Freezing leftover smoothies into popsicles is fun for a hot day.
• Make it fun! Arrange their meal into a silly face with red bell pepper ears and broccoli hair. Make a meal where everything on their plate begins with the same letter: peas, peaches, purple grapes, pb&j, potatoes... Have "rainbow meals" where you serve something of each color of the rainbow: red tomatoes, orange sweet potatoes, yellow pineapple, green beans, blueberries, and purple plums.
• Let them help plan and make the meal. Children love to create, and many of them will happily eat vegetables that they helped to prepare. Even a very young child can help scrub carrots or tear lettuce, and an older child can help read and choose recipes that they think sound good.
• Pureed soups often help kids who don't want to find big chunks of veggies floating in their bowl. Once you've made your soup or stew, run some of it through your blender or food processor to make a smoother texture.

It's not the end of the world if a child isn't eating vegetables all the time. Try looking at what they eat in a whole week instead of daily or at each meal. As long as you're providing them with other healthy food options, they'll grow just fine. :)

For those of you who actually get a winter this time of year, take your kids outside for some snow painting! Fill up some squirt bottles with water and food coloring (or water + tempera paint) and decorate your yard. Bottles with a spray nozzle are great for adding color to snowmen and other snow creatures without melting too much of the snow.

If you live in a warmer climate and want to pretend you live in a place with real seasons paint a sparkly winter picture, mix up one of these "snow paint" recipes:

Sparkly Snow Paint:
Dissolve 1 cup Epsom salts in 1 cup of boiling water; let cool. Use paintbrushes to paint on dark paper or over previously-drawn pictures. When the paint dries, frosty-looking crystals will form on the paper.

Thick Snow Paint:
Mix equal parts flour, salt and water into a thick, dough-like mixture. Pour mixture into squeeze bottles for easy painting. When the paint dries, the 3D pictures will sparkle.

Graco announced yesterday that they will be recalling 100,000 highchairs because of a risk of collapse if the highchairs are not fully opened and locked into place from the storage position.

These highchairs were sold between December 2005 and December 2006 for $100 to $130 at retailers including Babies "R" Us, Target, Wal-Mart, and others.

If you have this high chair, contact Graco to order a free repair kit.

What: Just Peas and Just Corn
Website: www.justtomatoes.com
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Ethan's friend Carly introduced us to these fabulous freeze-dried vegetable snacks by Just Tomatoes, etc. They're exactly what the name states: just veggies! They have no preservatives or additives of any kind, and they're a great portable snack for kids and grown-ups alike. Although we've only tried the Organic Just Peas and Organic Just Corn, there are many other vegetables and fruits available, including tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, apples, peaches, strawberries, pineapple, and more!

I had been packing a small tub or baggie of Cheerios in the diaper bag in case Ethan gets hungry for a little snack when we're out, but Just Peas or Just Corn have quickly replaced the processed oat flour rings. I love that I can give my son some quick, healthy snacks that don't make a sticky mess and aren't devoid of nutrients and flavor like the frighteningly popular Gerber Puffs.

Just Peas and Just Corn are crispy but not hard and crunchy. They melt easily in Ethan's mouth (although he sometimes spits out the pea skins, which are a little bit tougher - he does the same thing with fresh peas.). If your child is crunching Cheerios okay, he or she will probably do just fine with these. If not, you can always drop a handful into a bowl of soup and rehydrate them for cooking.

I gave them 4 stars because of their price. A 4-ounce tub of Organic Just Peas set us back $6 at Whole Foods. I have heard rumors that you can buy Just Tomatoes, etc. products in bulk, though, so I'll have to look around for that.