 When we make a meal for our children, of course we want to make it balanced and There's been a lot of talk about how much Carbohydrate how much protein how many vegetable servings every day We should give to our children and that is important But we can't lose sight of the fact that a meal is so much more than nutrients A meal shows our children that we care for them that we love them And that's not to say that parents who are too busy to cook for their children Can't find other ways of showing them love and showing them care But the fact is that from the minute our children are born they're dependent on us for food So if we do have even half an hour or 20 minutes in the day to make a fresh meal for them It's really so much more than providing them with nutrients. We want to compose a meal That's fresh that's attractive and then we want to sit down with them and share it with them This is a standard dinner plate and Michael Pollan's advice is great I think he says eat food not too much mostly plans So he suggests making vegetables or fruits take up the biggest part of your plate I think that's absolutely right and one other thing I have to add to that is that Children do not need to eat off of a plate this size. In fact neither do we in most cases If we go back to smaller size dishes a plate like this that's Covered in food is just as satisfying looks just as appetizing and appealing to a child as a plate this size and A child served on a plate this size will definitely eat more than a child served on a plate this size Drinks are the same I like to feed my children water for most meals because it's really the best Liquid that they can drink but if you want to feed your children fresh juice once in a while That's great. Just choose a cup this size. I'll show you Say I'm gonna give my child a cup of juice and I say here you go Here's a cup of juice this a child will accept. What if you handed him this and You said here's your juice. I Can almost guarantee you he'd say wait a minute. That's not full I want a full cup of juice. So think about the sizes of your dishes and Even for the adults in the family This is probably a good-sized dinner plate except when you're having company over and they might think you're a little bit Weird to have such small plates. So When we put together a meal Let's start by thinking what am I gonna serve for my vegetables for this meal? Don't start with the protein start by thinking am I gonna make a stir fry or am I gonna make steamed vegetables? With a white sauce on top or am I gonna make a salad as my vegetable and then ask yourself? What would go well with that? Could I make a quick fish in the oven? Could I make some chicken homemade chicken nuggets on the stove for the kids tonight and after that? Think about what the starch is gonna be and of course the more whole grain the starch is the better It is for your children So if you can use brown rice Instead of white rice or if you can choose quinoa pasta instead of plain white pasta Or even whole wheat pasta if your children can eat wheat then that's much better for them than the processed version Go unprocessed as much as possible with children You will set them up for success And I think the last thing to say about meals is that if even one of the parents can find the time to sit with the Children it is amazing what kinds of stories come out during mealtime And there's also been a lot of research about the importance of family meals and how children who have family meals Do better in school. They do better socially. They have an outlet for Their thoughts and for their problems and they have a partner in their dialogue. So let's try and sit down Let's remember that we're serving our children more than just nutrients We're serving them love and care and let's try and sit together and talk with them