Episode 48: How to feed our children healthy foods-what’s on our kids plate? With Kristy Richardson of “On My Kids Plate”
Episode Description
How many of us mamas can attest to having very little time for meal prep, or for wanting to feed our kids wholesome meals, but then we get so busy they end up snacking all day? Today’s guest Kristy Richardson of the successful online space for kids meal planning “On my kids plate” is here to tell us why a little tweak here and there can help kids get interested in food they were once turning away. If you simply scroll through Kristy’s account, you will see fun, colorful and creative meals for little ones that could probably be made with what you already have in your fridge.
Kristy’s humor, honesty and accessibility is what personally drew me to her and why many thousands of others have followed her lead and are dedicated followers of her blog.You can also innately see that she’s been an educator most of her life. “On My Kids Plate” started as a diary for her daughter’s meals and is now a platform that helps kids have fun with food and gets parents involved in the fun! She always leans towards natural/clean foods in her recipes but never pretends to be perfect and sprinkles in creative treats so kids don’t feel a “lack” when it comes to their food.
After her daughter went through a huge picky phase she decided she needed to create fun and inventive meals for her. Some examples include; smoothie popsicles and Dr. Suess Skewers (with bananas and strawberries), and green pancakes with some secret spinach thrown in.
Kristy is an admitted coffee addict and leans towards sarcasm and humor whenever possible. Today she’s going to share with us recipes, advice on being a mom-preneur (what to do and what NOT to do), the power of positive parenting, and why we shouldn’t take ourselves too darn seriously!
Take-Aways:
(07:38) How Kristy’s own online project started organically through Instagram and as a journal for her daughter’s meals.
(08:20) The project stemmed from her daughters “picky phase” and how she wanted to maintain a balanced diet in the U.S. where food is fast and cheap.
(10:31) There are lots of opportunities to doubt ourselves as entrepreneurs especially when we are always working alone.
(11:07) Kristy suggests finding like-minded friends or accountability groups to help boost your confidence and business.
(18:59)
Compare despair. Always worrying what other people are doing can weaken our own mission.
(22:55) Kristy reflects on how On my Kids Plate’s mission is to help parents get creative with food. Especially if their kids just “won’t eat.”
(29:35)
The idea behind her recipes is to make food creative, easy and affordable for kids. For instance, curling carrots instead of serving them as carrot sticks. Also she suggests offering fruits and veggies with every meal, even if they have rejected that same food in the past.
(35:54)
Kristy reflects on why we don’t actually have to reject treats in our kids diets to keep them healthy.
Memorable Quotes:
“JUST START. I know I’ve held myself back sometimes from starting parts of my project and I think that’s some of the things that I’ve regretted the most was when I just didn’t start.”
“Yes, It’s hard to take that leap. It’s sometimes hard to trust our gut. Putting yourself out to the world is scary, but so worth it.”
“It’s easy to compare ourselves (to everyone else), but you can’t lose the core of why you started, and whatever you have the mission of your project is.”
“I’m not really making a separate meal for my child. I’m taking the food that we’re already eating and then just making it look more fun for her.”
“When it comes to treats, you have to figure out your own parenting groove with that. But like remembering that treats don’t have to be huge either.”
“As they get to be a little bit older and they start to have a little bit more of that object permanence, it helps to say, ‘we’re not going to eat this now, but why don’t we save it for later'”?
