Several months ago I was hired as the dietitian for the Merage JCC in Irvine, California to provide adult and pediatric nutritional care. The experience has been wonderful. Here is an excerpt of an article published in Orange County Jewish Life this month. _____________________________________________________ Recently, Melanie Silverman, MS, RD, IBCLC, was hired as the JCC’s dietitian and began working with the 75 participants of the J’s popular and successful Largest Loser program. Jason Meyers, the JCC health and wellness director, said that, “Melanie is now working with our members because diet is one of the most important components to living a vibrant lifestyle. We want to have an environment where […]
I made oatmeal, roasted almonds and white raisins and a little kale smoothie on the side for breakfast this morning. One kid ate it. One kid didn’t. The one that didn’t politely asked for something else. I lovingly said no and explained this was breakfast. The kid chose not to eat and went to school. I didn’t say a thing. This is the division of responsibility in action; you provide the food, the child decides whether they eat…or not. Please don’t become a short order cook.
May 21, 2012 Dear Parents of Picky Eaters, I am sorry for your troubles. I know how sick and tired you are of… 1.) making alternate meals like macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets or pizza because your picky eater won’t eat the BBQ chicken, sweet potatoes and asparagus you made for the family. 2.) avoiding restaurants you love like Indian, Thai and Sushi because your picky eater will not eat a thing on the menu. 3.) putting on a Broadway show with all the singing, dancing and toys to get your picky eater to taste one little bite of steamed broccoli. 4.) bringing food with you to your […]
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Peas Pointers Peas Pointers by Melanie Silverman We have teamed up with a pediatric registered dietitian who thinks we are doing a great job getting veggies into your kids! Melanie R. Silverman MS, RD, IBCLC, is not only a pediatric registered dietitian and board certified lactation consultant, she is also the owner of Feeding Philosophies (www.feedingphilosophies.com) and has loads of tips and tricks to help your kids eat the way they should, from infancy through their adolescent years. Melanie’s tips will now be called Peas Pointers and she plans to guest write for our blog every month. Here is her first: If you have a picky […]
By now, I think the vast majority of Americans have seen the cover of Time magazine with the breastfeeding three year old. I am not going to comment on attachment parenting or the ridiculous picture Time chose portraying attachment parenting. I will comment on breastfeeding a three year old though. My comment: MOMS, BREASTFEED AS LONG AS YOU AND THE KIDS WANT!*** ***But make sure kids are introduced to solid food strategically and when they are over a year old, food must take priority over breastfeeding. I have seen older breastfed kids who are not gaining good weight because they are nursing too much. Older breastfed kids, when given […]
Can sugar be as addictive as cocaine? Food addiction was never something I learned in school, but now I think I’m a believer. The Nutrition Action Health Letter recently had their lead article devoted to food addiction and I just received an email entitled “Sugar Is A Drug”. They introduce their email showing Jamie Oliver’s TED award speech and for good reason. The wheel barrel scene where he pours the sugar onto the stage shows the horrifying amount of sugar our children ingest. It’s worse now than in the 1970s. Watch the video. http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html Sugar shows up everywhere: Baked beans, dried cranberries, ketchup, cream substitutes, BBQ Sauce, reduced fat salad dressings, […]
I have teamed up with Peas of Mind (Healthy Food For Kids) to provide monthly tips and tricks to get kids eating right. Jill, the Founder and CEO is an absolute delight and is a mom herself who understands why nutrition is so important for growing kids.http://thepeasperspective.blogspot.com/2012/04/peas-pointers-by-melanie-silverman.htmlI’ll make sure to post the tips on my blog. And that first tip will address the issue of kids eating way too many of those prehistoric animal shaped chicken pieces for lunches and dinners. Here is the Peas of Mind website for more information: http://www.peasofmind.com/ Thank you Jill Litwin
I was having a quick lunch with my food savvy pediatrician friend who loves to cook, but doesn’t have loads of time to grocery shop. She tells me she uses www.spud.com. I had never heard of SPUD, but after reviewing their website, I was completely hooked. I had to tweet:@SpudLosAngeles Sustainable produce delivered! Spud needs to be all over the country. I placed my first order. They delivered. My second tweet was: @SpudLosAngeles Received first delivery 2day. Beautiful cilantro! More orders to follow for sure. Thanks for all you do. Cyberspace can be so much fun. The company contacted me to tell me how grateful they were for my tweets. They […]
Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to 2012! I suspect many of you have made New Year’s resolutions. I have two resolutions for 2012…one personal and one professional. My personal one is to slow down. I am always rushing. Rushing my kids to get to school. Rushing to pack lunches. Rushing my dog to finish the walk. Rushing to clean up the house. Even my handwriting is rushed. When I worked at The University of Chicago Medical Center my reviews stated my clinical judgment and recommendations were right on, but my handwriting in the charts was “difficult to read.” Perhaps this was because I managed 300 patients a day and my […]
Have you seen the Sensodyne toothpaste commercials where a ‘real dentist’ endorses the toothpaste? When I saw the commercial and the initials D.D.S. after person’s name, I paid closer attention. This marketing strategy worked on me. I have teeth sensitivity. I bought the Sensodyne.I was recently approached by a supplement company specializing in high calorie, high protein drinks. They were looking for a dietitian to be part of a commercial to promote their product. Here are a few of the supplement ingredients that I would be promoting, in no particular order: soy protein isolate corn syrup vegetable oil natural and artificial flavorI respectfully declined because I cannot endorse any packaged […]
