Kiddos in the Kitchen

Thanksgiving is a special holiday, especially if you love family and food. In this bonus episode, we share thoughts on Thanksgiving cooking from Toria Frederick of The Step Stool Chef as well as a funny story about turkey from Margie Saidel, a registered dietitian and VP of Nutrition and Sustainability at Chartwells K12.

We might think a parent's main responsibility in the kitchen is to offer healthy foods. But Melanie Potock, a certified speech language pathologist who specializes in feeding children, offers a different view. Our job is more fundamental than that — our job is joy. And if you're too tense or distracted to find the joy, our next guest has some strategies you might appreciate. Amisha Klawonn, of the Centered Mama, offers various techniques to help you be more centered and present.

In this episode, registered dietitian nutritionist and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Malina Malkani shares her thoughts on the importance of helping kids develop a healthier relationship with food — and how parents can make a difference. (Spoiler alert: Part of it involves bringing kiddos into the kitchen.) We also talk about the value of family meals — in all their forms. And in our second segment, Melanie Potock, a certified speech language pathologist who specializes in feeding children, gives us her top strategies to proactively tackle picky eating.

In this episode, Toria and Julian Frederick of the Step Stool Chef share what it's like when the kiddo is the head chef (and the parent is the sous chef). We also talk about the role that cooking plays in building independent, self-sufficient kids. And in our second segment, Wendy McGowan, a baker and baking instructor in Gilbert, Ariz., tells us the proper way to crack an egg, how to check that it's safe and how to remove the bits of shell that inevitably get in the bowl.

In this episode, Kiddos in the Kitchen host Stephanie Conner shares her personal story with cooking with her son and how that experience has led her to this podcast. But first, she'll share what you can expect from this podcast each month.