003: Why We Must Change (or Eradicate) the Idea of “Kid Food” with Bettina Elias Siegel

Chicken nuggets.

Pizza.

Burgers and fries.

Mac and cheese.

What do all those foods have in common?

They're identified as "kid food" by children and adults alike.

What else? They're often served in a highly processed, low-nutrient fashion, and I don't see many veggies on the list.

My guest today, Bettina Elias Siegel, has been an advocate for school food reform for over 10 years, and her first book Kid Food broadens that mission by pushing for societal change in all the places people feed our kids, market "food" to them, and set our standards of what kids will eat.

If you believe the bar should be raised for kids wayyyyyy beyond and beige and bland, you're in the right place today.

We dig into some of the more surprising facts Bettina uncovered while researching for Kid Food, such as:

• The history of kids' menus and why they were created in the first place
• The role of obesity in kids' health (spoiler: NOT as influential as you might think!)
• Recent research about ultra-processed food and how it affects children in particular
• How young kids start shifting their diets away from veggies and nourishment  (and the disastrous role of one particular "food" we eat way too much of)
• A few unique "wins" that the pandemic has offered us in our schools and in our homes
• How marketing food to kids shapes their thoughts (and why we need to reclaim their palates!)
• The importance of kids being involved in the process, both talking about food and creating it

...And so much more! You'll be inspired by this conversation and ready to change the world, starting in your own home.

Get the free knife skills class here!

See all the show notes as well as time-stamped skim notes at kidscookrealfood.com/003.

Resources We Mention About Kid Food

• You can dig deep into 10 years of Bettina's writing here
• Follow Bettina on social media:  Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
• Buy the book on Amazon or at Bookshop.org
• Bettina's video about marketing
• Join the Kids Meal Revolution today!
• Some tips for teaching kids about marketing
• Teaching kids to be "marketing-proof"

• Kitchen Stewardship
• Kids Cook Real Food
• follow Katie on Instagram or Facebook
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get weekly updates
• YouTube shorts channel for HPH
• Find the Healthy Parenting Handbook at kidscookrealfood.com/podcast

Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!