In this episode of Healthy Family Project, we talk to Produce for Kids blog contributor and registered dietitian, Holley Grainger of HolleyGrainger.com. Holley shares tips and ideas on how to deal with a picky (selective) eater.

Holley Grainger is a nationally recognized lifestyle, culinary, and nutrition expert as well as a wife, mom, and business owner. She does her best to keep it real and have fun with her family, readers, and clients all while balancing a sink of dirty dishes, a clingy toddler, a preschooler that lives for endless games of hide-and-seek, and a glass of red wine.

Holley’s blog, Holley Grainger Nutrition, shares simple, healthy, flavor-packed meals as well as practical, doable nutrition advice.

The former nutrition editor for CookingLight.com and MyRecipes.com, she has instructed millions of accomplished and aspiring home cooks on how to make simple, healthy, family-friendly meals through online video, media appearances, speaking engagements, national news segments, online instructional guides and social media.

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Join our Healthy Family Project Facebook group! This group will serve as a safe space for parents and caregivers to talk all about raising a healthy family – from dealing with a picky eater and tips to get more fruits and veggies onto plates to exercising as a family and mental health. We welcome all of you to join in!



Get kids in the kitchen and excited about eating healthy with these YouTube videos: 

Healthy Apple Donuts with Chef Charli

Fruity Pita Quesadilla with Chef Mia


About the Healthy Family Project Podcast

Conversations covering hot topics in the world of health, food and family with a dose of fun. Helping families ease their way into a new fresh and healthy world. Brought to you by Produce for Kids.

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Transcript for Episode 2

This transcript was produced by Otter.Ai. Please forgive any misspellings and grammatical errors.

00:12
Welcome to the healthy family project by produce for kids, covering the hot topics in the world of health,
food and family with a dose of fun. Today we welcome Holly Granger mom of two registered dietitian and
founder of clever full living at Holly grainger.com. Holly has been featured on national television and
oftentimes as a contributor to Southern Living cooking light and my recipes calm. She has produced
more than 700 Yes, 700 online cooking videos. She’s an entrepreneur, a jack of all trades, but most
important role is mom. Holly contributes regularly to the produce for kids blog on produce for kids calm.
But she’s here today to talk to us about picky or as we like to call it selective eating. Hi, Holly. Welcome
to the healthy family project.
00:58
Hello, it’s great to talk to you guys. Thanks for having me on.
01:01
Wonderful. We’re glad to have you. So before we dive into tips on dealing with the selective eaters that I
know many of us have in our houses, can you tell us a little bit about you how you decided to become a
registered dietitian, where you found the inspiration for Holly Granger calm. And truly as I was going
through your about section on your website, I said, Oh my gosh, this is so true. And I read we’ve met
before and it gave me almost gave me the chills. Like this is very true. Of course I have met you before.
But it was so true. I said this could relate to so many people.
01:35
Well that that’s certainly my goal. I ended up rebranding. I went out on my own about five years ago, I
said entrepreneur, I worked for many years and publishing with what was the timing. Now Meredith at the
brands that you mentioned Southern Living, cooking, like my recipes, calm as a food nutrition editor, and
did videos and recipe development and wrote stories and articles and just love doing it. But after having
my two girls, I decided to go out on my own and start my own company. But really last year, I just started
thinking more about what I was doing and what I was offering and you know, who was my audience? And
most of the people that were following me were moms busy moms, like like us. And they were really
looking for solutions and clever solutions that made sense. And so when I was developing the about
section, it really was kind of thinking like, Alright, what’s what’s my life look like? The Good, the Bad, the
Ugly? And how does that relate to what everybody else is doing? Because, you know, really, I think
people want to learn that the days of like, oh, the pretty Pinterest perfect. Mom, project and right. Those
are always great and inspirational. But at the end of the day, people really want that authentic
relationship. And that’s what I’ve really been trying to find with my audience and saying, You know what,
here’s, here’s what we’re dealing with. And here’s what our household looks like. And here’s some
solutions that I’m trying, they may or may not work for me, hopefully they’ll work for you. And so that’s
really whether it’s in the food nutrition, lifestyle area, if it’s recipes, if it’s just trying to get your children out
the door, come up with fun ideas for what to do the summer, it’s just all about problem solving. And most
importantly, crowdsourcing because I really feel like the person that I get the most inspiration from is
another mom for how to do things. So hopefully, I can help be that mom for a lot of your listeners as well.
And certainly on the topic of that of selective eating, as you mentioned, because goodness knows we
have
03:41
I think everybody has. Yes, well, great. So it’s clear from your site and all all the content that you put out
that having healthy choices, incorporating healthy choices into your families into your girls diets as a

huge priority. So your kids love all the fruits and vegetables, right? Oh, yes.
04:07
All the time. So. So do
04:09
you have a selective eater in your house? And what are a few easy tips on how to get the right nutrition
into their bodies? Oh, I
04:17
don’t I don’t love just one select. Yes. And so Ellie, who was six and a half and Francis who was four?
They given me some trouble literally since they first started eating uh, you know, and you always see the
babies just shoving everything in their mouth and looked at me like Yeah, right. Or the some of them
started off eating certain things. And it was like, Oh, great, you know, I’m going to be the that mom that
introduced everything one at a time and spaces it out every three days and I’m going to start with the not
sweet things first and that all sounded fine and good. At the end of the day. I just wanted my children to
eat something. So you know, we we had to make it try to work but we do have A lot of fun in our house
with the kids. And it’s really been exciting, I mean, to the point where it’s like, get my camera and take a
picture because Ellie is shoveling in the roasted broccoli that I made the other night now, that’s great, you
know, six. And it’s just like, Oh, finally, finally, we have, we have reached that point. And I’ve done it the
next time I make it, she doesn’t like it, she wants it how it was the last time I cooked it, and I have no idea
what I did. Um, so you know, we’re still dealing with with quite a bit of that. But I’m really into getting their
input and bringing them in. And I found that with the girls, they’ve had the best luck. And I’ve had the best
luck getting them to try new things when they actually have their hands on it. And they are, they’re right
there in the trenches with me. So whether it’s trying to figure out what we’re going to eat, and that may
be, you know, meal planning on a Sunday, which always sounds great, but many times it’s 530. And
we’re standing in the pantry and refrigerator trying to figure out what leftovers we can bring back to life or
what’s in the fridge that you know, we can kind of think, Alright, this is like a version of chopped, where,
what, what are we going to create? So but bringing them in is good. I mean, I’ll never forget, it’s the funny
little things that stand out with the girls that I had Francis rinsing a can of black beans in the seat for me,
just in the colander once and she stood there at the sink, and just ate black bean after Black Bean after
black bean that was like, I am not going to say a word no. Because who knows if she’ll eat them again.
But it was just that like, Oh, these are these are good enemies straight out of the camp. They weren’t
warm, they’d been rinsed off, you know some of the stuff on them. But she just did their happiest could
be and ate them. So you know, just bringing them in is good. And then we have lots of luck with things
like dip dip, ranch dressing, and guacamole are certainly vehicle foods in our family. And you know, I
don’t I don’t bat an eye at pulling out ranch dressing full fat in the bottle, whatever it is, you know if it
means that they will dip carrots into it. So that’s, that’s certainly one thing that that we tried to do as well.
And then I try to work it in and other ways we don’t really have as much trouble with fruit as we do with
vegetables, they do pretty well, with fruit. They are selective about certain things that might be a little bit
more unusual, like, you know, kiwi, or something else. But really, for me, it’s just continuing to introduce
it. And even if they don’t like it one time, not being afraid to try it again. And especially if it’s something
that my husband Britain, I like and are eating and want to eat and it goes with the menu anyways, not
giving up because sometimes it’s just that one random time that it’s gonna click or it’s seeing it in a
different light or being introduced in a new way. That is really what can be the turning point for many
children. And for some, it takes years and some, you know, think about the picky eater adults that I know
that I’m like, they say they grow out of this, right? Obviously not because I have friends that are very
selective eaters. And like, I wonder how your childhood was and what your parents went, right? But, but
they do. I mean, I think the more that children are introduced, and certainly research shows that as well
that it can take 10 to 20 times to just be exposed to a food before a child will even touch it, smell it, taste
it, lick it, you know, anything. So just having the, you know, energy, I feel like sometimes in the patients to
continue to put that out there and reduce it’s a lot for parents, but continuing to do that really is a great
way to help exposure.
08:41
Yes, it’s so true. And I in our house, I have my younger daughter is a picky eater. And she, I would say, I
will put this piece of broccoli on her plate every day. And same thing with us. She finally last year started
gobbling it up. And I thought I, I feel like like I have trophies coming for me or like this feeling I have
where she and now she eats it all the time. And, and really she’s at the point now she she’s seven and
she doesn’t want to have that plate that doesn’t look like everyone else’s. It’s more like a, you know, a

grown up thing. She sees all of us eating one thing. And so she’s been trying more things. And I think
part of that is her wanting to you know, fit in with the rest of us really. So
09:26
absolutely. Well, and I say bad about school lunch, too. I mean, I’ve I’ve had lunch boxes and shared
hundreds of lunch boxes over the last few years. I mean, that’s where a lot of my audience came from
originally was through the lunch boxes that I shared, especially on Instagram and on Pinterest. And this
year was sort of the year where Ellie in kindergarten told me mommy, I want hot lunch and right Wait a
minute you’re messing up my lunch. You know what the one thing I found she has opened up the door
and allowed herself to eat so many More things to share. And I mean, things that most children would
eat but that she would like a hamburger or cheeseburger right where now, before you know last summer,
if we’d made burgers, she wouldn’t have she would have had the button, you know, maybe a piece of
cheese, maybe, you know something else along with it, but she wouldn’t have had the hamburger
necessarily were now she’s asking for those. And a lot of it’s because when she was at school lunch, and
she had a hamburger with carrot sticks and celery sticks and ranch dressing, the dividend and some
fruit, you know, it’s like, okay, she thought we figured out the fruit and maybe a carrot stick isn’t going to
carry me and everybody else was eating the hamburgers and enjoying them. And so she started eating
it. And all of a sudden, it’s like, there’s certain things she still doesn’t want. But I saw and have witnessed
this whole new world of food being opened up. And you know, that’s, that’s I’m pro school lunch, I’m pro
pack your lunch, I think it’s whatever works for your family. But for us, just just that one thing where, you
know, you see it every couple of weeks, she got used to it, tried it and realize, oh, this is this is something
that and that peer pressure as well of everyone else in the class is eating it. Right. Yeah, should try it too.
And then she found this really enjoyed it.
11:13
That’s great. So moving on, kind of to our next topic. So we get this question. Often. And you mentioned
this where, you know, sometimes you’re just you’re done, you’re stressed and you just need your kid to
eat so so let me set the stage dinner is served. And then you have one kiddo staring at their plate
insisting they’re not eating what is put in front of them. So what to do this, you know, this can be stressful
and I know often ends in mom or dad caving and offering up, okay, just eat this bowl of cereal or just eat
this piece of toast. All right, just have the bread. So, you know, I know we try our best and how do we
avoid a guess? Is it okay to cave? Is it you know, is it every once in a while? And how can we really
avoid becoming a short order cook creating, you know, a different meal for that, that one child or two
different meals or just how what is your advice on dealing with all of that?
12:12
Well, I I know that very well. At the same time, we’re sitting at dinner there is there’s a plate of food in
front of them or I tried to start sir family style and allow them to be able to serve themselves. And I
practice that premise. You know, kind of what Ellen Sattar and others have preached and put out there is
to serve family style, make sure there’s something on the table that your child likes, and then encourage
your child to serve themselves get as much of whatever it is that they want. But you know that even
whether it’s milk, or it’s a bowl of fruit, there’s something there on the table that they like, you know,
however, on the on the flip side of that there are times when we do that, and it might be day after day
that I’m like, okay, Francis cannot eat rolls or hamburger buns or fruit.
13:04
And I know their other nutrition and food and child psychologist or whatever that that will say they’ll figure
it out. But at the same time, it’s hard for a mom to say oh, yeah, that sounds that sounds good. But
there’s still that inner guilt of say, You know what, that’s it, or we’re mom saying Oh, or others, an expert
might say, Let’s go to bed hungry a couple times they’ll figure it out right to eat. And it just it doesn’t
always work like that, because some children do have texture issues. And you know, there’s other
underlying things with the food. So I have really I short order cooked for a while. And that was difficult. So
I certainly do continue to try to go more with the method of putting out on the table what what we have
planned, making sure there’s always some type of a fruit, some type of a grain because the girls love rice
or pasta or potatoes. So you know, if there’s some type of grain out there, pasta, or potatoes aren’t
green, but something starchy, right, I’m a bread, whatever, that I know, they’ll eat and then trying to offer
some new things, then I usually can find that between fruit and milk like as a healthy protein source. And
then they’ll take bites of other things. And I’ll continue to encourage it that we do have luck. But there are
also times when I feel totally comfortable that if let’s say we had, you know pizza the night before and
tonight I made pot roast and they don’t want pot roast to put that pizza out because it’s not that much

more sweat off my back to put something out there. That is, you know, that was a leftover and so and I
listened to a lot of experts talk about it. I’ve joined in those conversations often and I watch a lot of what
other moms other mom dieticians do and everyone sort of has their own routine so I really I think what’s
most important is from find out what works for them, that doesn’t cause extra stress, but they can still feel
good about their child and the nutrition and nourishment that they’re getting. And then there’s certainly
little tricks and whatnot that you can do where, you know, it’s, it’s bringing your children into plan and you
know, letting your kids make a dinner wish list for the week, so that you have two or three children that
family in their old, nothing big six, and for my children can certainly tell me, they could tell me at an early
age, what they wanted for dinner, you know, so it might be that, that I want salmon on my night, and
Brent wants to grill out on his night and Ellie likes tortellini. And Francis really likes pizza. So if everybody
gets what they like that week, then there’s also that like, you know, your nights coming. So tonight’s
Ellie’s night or my night and we’re going to eat, this is what we’re having, there’ll be something at the
table that you like, and you know, your nights coming up. And so bringing them in and kind of like helping
them plan really does make a difference, especially when it can be tough to find, you know, something at
dinner that everyone will eat, because there’s so many barriers when it comes to family meals. And really
for me, I am so much more about just having that family meal, excuse me and sitting down together at
the table and going you know, having the conversation we have a family dinner journal where you know,
when we’re all talking about what we’re thankful for and laughing Yes, not so much food, it’s up so much
pressure put on what we’re eating, and everyone’s staring at each other. Like, is she eating the fish?
Not? So take the pressure away? I think that really helps. So, I mean, there’s lots of tips and tricks, but I
know it’s such a source. And I talked to a lot of parents about this. It’s such a source of frustration for so
many, but I but often when the parents are frustrated, that frustrated that frustration boils down to the
children because children are very in touch and in tune with what’s going on. And so, you know, I think
sometimes if if mom says they’re a picky eater, and they’re not going to eat that, well then the child says,
Oh, I’m a picky eater. So I’m not going to eat that versus, you know, changing that dialogue. So that’s
kind of a long answer to your question, but, but really, when it comes into trying to distract and
discourage and saying those discouraging disparaging things that might make a child think, will mom or
dad, just expect that I’m not going to eat it. So I’m not and taking that away and making it more about
having fun and being together and making that be special. And then really trying to let the children come
in and plants that it caters to there’s nights that cater to everyone.
17:46
Right? Well, and you know, recently, I felt like how did it take me so long to discover this, my daughter is
seven. But I realized that she will eat some of the a lot of the things that we eat if it is deconstructed. So
even like a salad, I have to do the lettuce, the cucumber, the cheese, you know, of course she likes those
croutons, the croutons. And what else? Yes. So I, I have found that I don’t actually have to make her a
different meal, I just need to deconstruct what we’re having. So
18:20
no, I do that too. And I mean, there might if I’m making a stir fry seven times, or no, I’m making
something like like an Indian dish or something and I’m talking Indian dish, very basic, you know, it’s, it’s
some chicken and some vegetables or whatnot. But I might add a sauce to it, that would be spicier than
the girls would want to eat. Simply pulling the chicken in the vegetables, yes, at homes beforehand and
serving it with the side of rice. And then what I make it for Britain, me, you know, adding the sauce in the
spices and putting it all together. And then of course, encouraging them to try it because a lot of times
children really like spices, it for others, you know, they’re more of a super taster. And their taste buds are
stronger public very often than ours. So it, it might be too spicy, but just making some small adjustments
exactly, like you said, just deconstructing it. So it’s not all together kind of scary or just not sure makes
make such a difference. And I think a lot of times when you have them in the kitchen with you and they
can see how it looks individually and then see how it all comes together. You can glean a little bit better,
what part of the process they’re happy with. And then once it’s all dumped together, if they’re like, whoa,
you know, I’m not sure about foods touching or whatever, then you can really okay, let’s make your plate
and then this is what I’m gonna do to finish it off. But yeah, I definitely agree. I think that just simple steps
like that, especially with deconstructing the salad make a really big difference, but, but at the end of the
day, they’re still getting the nutrition from those different foods. So, you know, it’s you’re still achieving
your goal.
19:49
Yes. Well, yes, we’ve we’ve come a long way. So, okay, so this is another topic. So what are your
thoughts on sneaking in Fruits and veggies through sauces, cross even Sweet Treats. I know there are a

lot of avocado brownies black bean brownies out there. I know, there’s some mixed reviews. We know
this from our social media platforms that you know, we’ve had feedback, well, they need to be eating, you
know, they need to see what they’re eating. But when it comes down to it, is this mixing it in blending? Is
this better than not eating at all? What do you think about all of that?
20:25
I go back and forth. I have a recipe on my website for chocolate chip blondies that have chickpeas in
them. And the girls have helped me make them many times. And they’re so good. And I It wasn’t so
much my girls as my father in law who go out hummus and things. And they’re kind of, you know, he’s
like, Oh, no, thank you or, you know, not not so into beans and rice. And, but he loves sweets. And so I
served him those ones and he just showered. And finally, like, Tom, do you know what’s in gets this look
that he probably thought it was like cricket flour or something just crazy. And I was like chickpeas and it’s
the way you know, it’s like, okay, look, yeah, you didn’t even know you’re eating something a little healthy.
So I, you know, you can certainly breed like black bean brownies. Like he said, different. There’s, I mean,
there’s so many different ways to work in avocado and beans. And I love it. I mean, I think if you can
boost the nutrition of something that tastes good, like the sweet treat, then then why not do it, especially
if it you know if it can work a little bit more nutrition into it. But at the same time, I don’t think it has to be a
secret. I mean, I think helping children or adults to understand that there are ways to blend in different
types of food to to give it a boost to make it more healthful, then I’m all about it. I mean, very often when I
make mac and cheese, and I’m talking boxed mac and cheese for the girls, I will, you know, take zucchini
and chop it up really fine. And when they were smaller than they know now, but I would take the peel off.
So I didn’t see the green. But I would finally chop in the Add in the zucchini with the noodles and mix it
with the cheese and they would they would eat it. And we’re just as happy. And I was like if I put zucchini
on the side, maybe not as much. And as they got older and they would help me prepare, they started to
understand it was like, oh, that’s you know, so I don’t think being completely sneaky and secret tip is
absolutely necessary. But I do think if there are ways to blend other types of produce, like I add shredded
carrots to my spaghetti sauce almost every single time, you know, like that just helped to boost the
nutrition then then certainly do it because children are really all Americans are not getting the
recommended fruits and vegetables that that are required that and so they’re missing out on so many
important nutrients. So if there’s ways to work in a healthy food to even something like a brownie, then
I’m all about it.
22:59
Well, that’s great feedback on that we do we do have a lot of back and forth on our on our social
platforms on that.
23:05
Oh, it’s definitely a hot topic. Or wait, you know, I think it’s like you’re gonna make them a smoothie, but
it’s packed with spinach. Do you tell them the spinach is in there or not? And to me, it’s like, well make
them the smoothie, let them try it. They like it. Let them make a smoothie with you the next day. And then
they learn because you want to learn what the different foods are and how they can all come together to
taste delicious.
23:27
I like that strategy. In a perfect world. We’d all have our kids, you know, eating healthy at age one. So I
know that life happens and we get off track and what do you think about someone who’s trying to bring
their family back around? Do you have tips for getting older kiddos to take the plunge to kind of get back
into that healthy eating realms? I know it’s definitely not easy to pull those Doritos away after they’ve
been come become commonplace in the household.
23:55
Absolutely. And I don’t think you have to take things like that away completely. I mean, I really have the
mantra that there’s no good food, no bad food, you know all foods can fit and work and I think people
hear that sometimes and they’re like, sure that sounds good. But at the end of the day, my child would
rather eat a greater than a carrot stick and I get that but I think having some rules around snack time
anyways, whether that saying you know, after after dinner, you know serving maybe you serve your
dessert or something sweet whether it’s fruit or ice cream or whatever, after your meal or with your meal
and then saying the kitchens closed or kitchens closed on the other and and just putting some rules and
regulations around it and helping especially the older kids understand you know what, you have soccer
practice if you eat those Doritos before soccer practice, you’re probably going to get tired a lot faster than

if you maybe had some carrot sticks with hummus or even pita chips were common, you know something
where you are getting a more well rounded, balanced that that will help keep you full. And I think if you,
you know, encouraging parents to say great, try these beforehand. And then let’s talk about how you feel
try this afterwards. Is this keeping you satisfied, but really helping introduce the the mechanisms of, hey,
let’s pay attention to how your body feels after you eat certain things, and help them understand and then
saying, You know what, you can definitely still have the Doritos, but maybe let’s dial back a little bit. We
don’t need the giant grab bag. Yes, so for a smaller size, or, sure have the Doritos but let’s pair that
listen, apple slices, as well and offering other snacks. So that it’s not just about that one thing. And I
mean, my children have the world’s biggest sweet tooth and all they want days is candy. And so I really
well, I’m I try not to say what candy is bad or whatever. But I have to say, You know what, we’ve had our
sweet treat for the day, or if they start asking for it at 9am like they do on most days. You know, that’s
fine. You can have your sweet trade, or you can have this do you want it right now? Because you usually
want it also after lunch? Would you rather wait? So kind of just helping them understand? I’m not
restricting, but I’m just helping you make better informed choices about when do you want it and just not
eating it mindlessly. But paying more attention and giving it not necessarily giving it the over attention.
But just saying okay, yes, you can have this. But let’s also think about what else we can have. Because I
know you’re going to be asking for another snack at another time of day. So if you want the Doritos now
great at the next snack time, let’s go for this instead. And kind of helping plan ahead and know what’s
coming up. Because children, they like the Predict they like to schedule, they like things that are
predictable, even older ones, so that they know, you know, between here and here, we have snack
between here and here. This is when we have dinner when you can help them understand and make
those choices a little bit better than that helps them say, Okay, well, I’m going to have this now and this at
another time. So I think there’s ways to work it in without having to take it away completely.
27:04
So it’s all about balance, really just helping them understand, you know, like you said, This food is not
bad. It’s just that, you know, you need to balance it with this.
27:14
Yes, because I mean, it’s not necessarily bad, but it doesn’t give you the nutrition that you need to be
able to have the endurance to play that entire game or, you know, whatever that might be, and helping
them understand the role of food and it plays in your body, then that way, they’d have a better
appreciation. And it might be that some parents maybe have to, you know, dial it back a little bit and help
them understand that, you know, okay, this is why this isn’t this good. Or that cookie? Well, what else
could we add to it? Or what could we do to it? Or what could we serve with it? That will help you? You
know, feel fuller longer? Because Are you really going to eat just one are you going to eat six? You
know? So just kind of helping them understand that?
27:56
Yes, well, I have. And I think many children love goldfish. So much. my seven year old, you know, she
comes home from school. And it’s, you know, we I tried to have something set up so that when she gets
home, it’s easy. Grab and Go. Ready? You know, I’m still getting some work done. But we have
developed a plan in our house where you cannot just take the goldfish bag, you must put the goldfish
into this bowl. This is why no you have to you may have this bowl because I feel like you know as you
grow and as you get older and are on your own out there, it’s so easy to just have that bag of chips and
open it and all before you know it, the whole bag is gone. And so I think just looking at okay, I had one
bowl that I guess portion control is what you’re teaching there. But we went again seven years later, I’m
like, No, you can’t have it back. We have to do
28:49
well, because I mean, I think it’s I think it helps to teach mindful eating where it just helps slow them
down. You know, I mean, yes, I think about myself, there are times I could stand in the pantry. And
mindlessly put down an entire bag of popcorn for I can stop, get the popcorn, open it up, put same thing
you know, put it in a bowl, go sit down, eat it have some water or some you know something else to drink
with it. And it just slows the whole process down versus just mindlessly shoveling them down my throat
and then thinking, Oh, I’m hungry. I wonder what I can have for a snack not even realizing I just did an
entire bag of you know, whatever it is right? Goldfish. I mean, I could stand in the pantry and eat a whole
thing of goldfish all they’re so good, you know, that salty and you just keep popping them. And before you
know it, you just think oh my goodness, how many goldfish that just eat. So I love that plan. And I mean,
I know there are a lot of parents that have already talked to me about being worried you know about

what they’re going to do and how they’re going to handle snacking over the summer and that’s
something that even for me, I’m trying to come up with what’s our snack solution because this morning
first thing Francis ate a bowl of cereal play brushed your teeth ran around a little bit. And then it was like
Bobby’s lesson. But yeah, it’s next time. Yeah. It’s like, it’s not sad. Have you ate less than an hour?
more full? Let’s, what do we need to add some fruit? Because you just had cereal and milk? Do you want
to add some fruit to it? Or what else can we do, so that we’re not spending every waking minute of our
summer, trying to figure out what she’s going to eat, because that it wears on you. And you know, it gets
frustrating. And parents, but at some point are just gonna be like, whatever, just go find something, you
know, that’s where it opens the doors to create an unhealthy eating habits versus taking just a little bit of
time to have a plan and thinking, Okay, here’s how we’re gonna handle this.
30:41
And we kind of talked a little bit about this earlier, I think we touched on this, but in case you have
anything else to share, so you spend time in the kitchen with your family, you feel like involving the kids
creating a meal or meal prep helps them eat new and different foods outside their comfort zone. So
really, what I’m asking is, is it worth the extra mess that we have to clean up? And and you know, all of
the fun things that bringing kids into the kitchen also bring?
31:06
Yes, yes or no. I mean, I will say on a night when it’s six o’clock, and they’re starving, and they’re fussing,
and I’m not prepared and trying to throw something together to say, let’s have this kumbaya experience,
right? Because they are still small. Once they get older, it will be better to say, Ellie throw salad together,
you know, and get the lettuce wash it? Or maybe we’ve already watched it, you know, put all this in a
bowl? Or can you help me set the table? Or, you know, whatever else that is? So there are those times
when it’s like, no, you know, no, everyone just get out of the kitchen, leave me alone, I need 10 minutes
apiece to you know, create a masterpiece. But I definitely think bringing them in, especially when you
have more time. And even if that just means that Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon, you know, if
you just have one planned time where they can help with prepping some of their snacks, you know, start
small, and let them get more comfortable. Like my girls love to peel carrots, like that’s if we do something
with carrots, that’s their thing, we have two pillars, they love to peel. So there’s some that, you know,
even if I was crazy and trying to throw something together to say, hey here, peel these carrots, they’re
not going to be underfoot, they’re not gonna be my way, they’re not gonna be making a mess because
they know how to do it. So right, you know, as you’re slowly starting to get them more equipped and train
them a little bit more, as to some of their different roles in the kitchen and how they can help, then it
definitely becomes easier, but it is the mess. I mean, I do a lot of Facebook Lives with the girls and the
comments cracked me up sometimes because people are like, I’m getting anxiety watching this, you
know, as something dumps on the floor to handle the mess and it’s like it their kids, it’s a mess. You just
You just do it and have fun with it. And and you consider it an experience in the same way you go to the
zoo, you know, I mean, it’s, it’s doing something together, whether that’s outside the house or in the
house. This is just something that ends up also being able to help you down the road because you’ve
also not just made made dinner run. But yeah, but I definitely think it, it’s worth it. And it just opens up
more opportunities for them. And I mean, my goal, my friend Katie Morford, who has mom’s kitchen
handbook, she started out I followed her for a long time when her girls were small, letting them cook and
be involved. And now she shares pictures all the times of you know, her children are in high school and
starting to graduate. Look what my children made for me, you know, look at the dinner they created or
they’re jealous. And it’s like, Oh, Mom goals, you know, exactly do this for just a few years, like making
lunchboxes. So I’m slowly helping to teach them how to make their own lunch boxes. Then before I know
it, you know, time flies and they’ll be doing it themselves. So if I can equip them with the tools on how to
do it, how do you put these different foods together to make something balanced? Then I’m just
equipping them for knowing how to do those things down the road for themselves. And then and for me
as well. So yes, a little bit self. Yes. So yeah, my definite mom goals when the first time they make me
dinner, I’ll be like, Alright, I’m checking back here. And it was worth it
34:05
was it was so well, I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to talk with me today and being part of
our new healthy family project podcast, and for all of your contributions to the produce for kids audience
on our blog and beyond. So besides finding you on the producer kids blog, can you tell listeners where
they can find you?
34:25

Absolutely. Well, I’m, I’m across the board on social media. So my The best way is to go to Holly Granger
COMM And you can link out to all my social sites from there. And so the only funny thing I always say is
it’s Holly with an E and Granger with an AI because the spelling is is not as usual, as most people would
expect. But Holly Granger comm has my blog, it has videos. It has links to all the social sites that I’m on
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. So just by searching my name in any of those
places, you can find me and definitely connect And the thing that I really love is feedback from those that
have either made a recipe that I shared or they tried something or they have a tip because often I asked,
like I said, I love to crowdsource. So I’m asking for tips. And then there’s some exciting things rolling out,
I have some Facebook groups that I’ll be rolling out that later this summer that I really think are going to
be helpful especially to moms with those looking for solutions and great ideas to make life a lot easier.
So if you like my my page clever for living with Holly Granger, then certainly you’ll be on the list as well as
in signing up for my newsletter. I’ll be sending out more throughout the summer as well with some some
fun and exciting new initiatives. So I love contributing to produce for kids and have some fun blog posts
coming up with you guys this summer. So it’ll be fun to stay in touch with your audience and hopefully
share in both places.
35:53
Yes. Wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Holly. Absolutely. It
35:57
was so fun.
35:58
Thanks for listening in today. If you’re interested in learning more about dealing with your very own
selective eater, visit the produce for kids blog on produce for kids calm and click on the picky eaters
category. We also have easy ideas to get your kids in the kitchen on our YouTube page starring our own
kids chefs, who were the little ones that belong to our produce for kids team. In our next episode we’ll be
talking with Dr. Stephanie Smith produce for kids blog contributors psychologist mom of three and
founder of Dr. Stephanie smith.com. Dr. Stephanie will be offering tips and ideas on how to healthfully
manage screentime in your household. Visit our website produce for kids.com for more than 400,
registered dietitian family approved recipes, tips and more. We also generate regular content on our
social media outlets Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram as well as YouTube. Find us on iTunes
Spotify, Google Play and your favorite podcasting site. You can also visit healthy family project
podcast.com to leave a comment Be sure to subscribe Talk soon