Expert Kristen Yarker Suggests Parents Use Farmers’ Market to Promote Kids’ Healthy Eating Habits
(PRWEB) July 08, 2014 -- Child-feeding expert Kristen Yarker, MSc, RD has recently released her recommendations for how parents can use a Farmers' Market to encourage their picky eaters to try new foods on their own, no nagging required. As a speaker, author, and dietitian specializing in child nutrition, Mrs. Yarker provides moms and dads with helpful strategies on developing a child’s long-lasting love of healthy foods.
Most parents will attest that picky eating is a common phase that the majority of toddlers and preschoolers go through at one point or another. Kristen provides the parents of picky eaters with strategic ways to help kids be more open to new foods, without having to resort to exhausting negotiations or forcing their children to sit at the table until they’ve cleaned their plate.
More recently, Kristen has released her expert advice on how parents can use a Farmers’ Market to encourage children to try new foods and learn healthy eating habits. Mrs. Yarker suggests, “Even amongst the crowd at a Farmers’ Market, parents are the most influential role model for their children’s eating. Be excited about finding and trying new veggies and fruit – bring an explorer’s attitude!”
Here are Kristen Yarker’s key points supporting a Farmers’ Market as an effective resource for promoting positive eating habits in children:
1) Veggie Eating is the Norm
Kristen suggests that since children are a product of their environment and a Farmers’ Market is an environment filled with healthy veggies, parents should bring their kids there to teach them that eating vegetables is normal. Kristen adds, “It is also a great way to counteract all of the advertising for high-processed junk foods that kids are exposed to on a regular basis.”
2) Enthusiasm is Infectious
Trips to the Farmers Market can teach kids positive associations that often go hand in hand with the assortment of healthy foods, including: warm, sunny afternoons; friendly crowds; colorful tents and produce stands; and at select marketplaces, even live music and face painting. Since all of these things serve to celebrate locally grown vegetables and fruits, the associations that are learned help promote a positive attitude towards eating healthy.
3) The Scarcity Effect
People are naturally drawn to things that are limited in accessibility, whether constrained by time or quantity available. Since the foods that can be found at a Farmers’ Market are often constrained by both, i.e. an item grown during specific months out of the year with a limited stock available for sale, children will learn naturally to desire these items.
4) Removing Fear of the Unknown
Picky eaters are often little conspiracy theorists, highly suspicious of the food that suddenly appears on the plate in front of them. In contrast, at a Farmers’ Market, all the food is (literally) out in the open. Not only are people able to see each vegetable in its raw form, but they’re encouraged to touch and smell, as well as meet the farmer who grew them. Yarker, RD, states, “I’ve seen many a mini conspiracy theorist transform into an intrepid food explorer by removing the unknown.”
Sign-up for Kristen Yarker’s monthly newsletter to receive more tips and ideas to help children develop healthy eating habits at http://kristenyarker.com/learn-more/. For more information about Kristen Yarker and her child-feeding services, please visit: KristenYarker.com.
About Kristen Yarker
Kristen Yarker, MSc, Dietitian, is known as the dietitian who transforms picky eaters into food-confident kids. As a registered dietitian for ten years, Yarker has developed an approach to children’s nutrition that’s honest, practical, loving and evidence-based. As a dietitian with the British Columbia Ministry of Health, Yarker developed numerous province-wide nutritional resources, including the Healthy Eating chapter in Toddlers First Steps. After helping friends overcome their children’s picky eating habits, in 2008, Yarker decided to open her own business to support even more families. Yarker now offers workshops online, an e-book, blog and additional resources to help families worldwide. For more information, visit KristenYarker.com.
Kristen Yarker, Vitamin K Nutrition Consulting, http://www.vitaminkconsulting.com, +1 604-506-0399, [email protected]
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