From Yuck To Yum | yucktoyum.com

From Yuck To Yum Welcome to Yuck to Yum.

I’m Nicole, an Aussie mum of two children who is passionate about food and wanted adventurous children so I could continue eating the foods I love and not have to cook separate meals and also be able to take them out for a ‘cheap and cheerful’ dinner of sushi or combination won ton soup.

This was harder than I expected as I was unaware of the stubbornness of a child who didn’t want to eat; bemused how they could eat three bites and not want anymore, in disbelief how they would eat one dinner, ask for more and when I served it a week later wouldn’t touch it; disheartened at the difficultly of trying something new and frustrated when combining two favourite foods into a meal that wouldn’t get touched.

Unprepared to do battle over food for fear of turning them off all together I came up with alternative ways that would lead to a positive association with food and dinner. This blog shares my progress.

The first couple of posts will be a bit of a backgrounder about Yuck To Yum, my philosophy, concept and about the recipes.

To give you an overview, other posts will be about;

My experiences with my kids and what worked to get them to eat better
Recipes I’m currently cooking and ones that have been successful with kids
Book reviews on kids books with a food theme and parenting resources that answer the question on getting kids to eat.
Experiences of other mums
The debate on hiding vegetables
Making food fun
Do picky eaters exist?
How to get kids into the kitchen
Silly names and kids heros
Dining out with kids
How friends encourage peers to eat
Why kids don’t like trying new foods
Latest research about kids and eating
How children’s food preferences are formed
Why kids reject food
Why hungry kids eat better
Reviews on products that help kids eat better
Baby and starting early

I will post every now and then about nutrition and types of food kids should be eating but as I have no formal training or qualifications it will only be my opinion. I will try not to bring the obesity debate into the blog as there is loads of information be found elsewhere and this blog is about helping you get your kids to eat dinner.

Whilst I will be offering you ideas, strategies, tips and advice for your own kids please know that I am not perfect and don’t always follow my own advice, have resorted to cooking two meals, lose inspiration and have resort to bribes to have dinner finished.

I think it is important to put my biases up front so you know whether you will agree or disagree with me as I don’t want to waste your time.

I love cooking and entertaining but understand not everyone does
I do believe there is such a thing as a picky eater and this is due to texture and taste sensitivity but I also believe that some parents unintentionally start cooking two meals (when you swore you never would) and then continue down this road because it is easier
I read labels and if it contains an ingredient I wouldn’t cook with I don’t buy it, ie fillers, corn syrup
I loath kids menus that offer chips with everything and are the same everywhere with chicken nuggets, spaghetti bolognese etc
I think there are too many preservative and additives in food today and this leads to behavioural changes in some children
I detest how corporations can market junk food to children and encourage kids to pester their parents for it. Don’t ever take me or my children to McDonalds, KFC etc
I try to limit the amount of junk food my children eat and also their exposure to it but I do not ban it. I like the odd hot chips with tomato sauce every now and then
I am a member of ‘The Parents Jury’. The Parents Jury is a forum for parents to collectively advocate to substantially reduce the marketing of junk foods to young children through a ban on television advertisements, no junk food sponsorship of children’s sporting activities and events and confectionary free supermarket checkouts as well as the need to promote healthy school food.
I have a sweet tooth and have a secret stash of chocolate that my husband and kids don’t know about (until now!)

If you would like to know more about me please read my about page.

I trust you will enjoy reading future posts and I look forward to hearing your views, comments and ideas.