Kids and Vegetables

There is a story every day and numerous blog posts about getting kids to eat veggies.  I am struck by the number of suggestions, the blame game and the blatant naïveté about getting kids to eat veggies.   As an example, some suggest offering them repeatedly until they try it, or adding purees to common meals, or having the kids watch you eat them, or playing games with veggies.  Fine.  Others suggest the reason the kids don’t eat their veggies is because of bad parenting or laziness.  Still others have no clue about a child’s taste buds being different than that of an adult. 

 

As a parent of a child with autism, the suggestions and the blame game rub me wrong.   A lot of kids with autism have increased sensitivity to taste, smell, texture and even color. Veggies pretty much cover all of these senses!  For awhile there, my son wouldn’t go near veggies, no matter what I tried.   (That doesn’t make me a bad parent or lacking in creativity.)    Over time, his sensory diet increased and we were able to introduce veggies.  Just wish Full Tank was around during the early days!

Full Tank- Helping Parents Fuel Healthy Kids!

Why is it so hard to get kids to eat a healthy meal?This was a question John and Dr. Whitney Anderson asked themselves when their two children abandoned their healthy eating habits when they became toddlers. As a pediatrician, Dr. Anderson meets with thousands of parents whose kids won’t eat vegetables or drink enough water. For a variety of reasons, kids in our society learn to prefer unhealthy convenience foods.

 

The Andersons asked why? As a Six Sigma operations engineer, John outlined the probable root causes. Obviously taste is a major issue for kids. He knew how bitter tastes work and that it is possible to use chemistry to mask bitter tastes in many foods. Visual cues are also important, leading the Andersons to develop ways to enrich foods with vegetables without changing their color. Over time, they developed a library of techniques to address the various’ chemical, biological, social, and behavioral reasons why kids don’t like healthy foods. In fact, they have a whole library of patents to show for their early work in the field.

After a few years of research, the Andersons launched a line of healthy and practical frozen foods for kids. Their flagship product was a pasta that contained a large amount of carrot pureed into the red sauce. This proved to be a hit with parents and kids and they started selling to local elementary schools. After 2 years of refining recipes in the schools, the Andersons took the product retail at Whole Foods stores in the Pacific Northwest in late 2007.

In early 2008, Full Tank’s products will be available in most major metropolitan areas in the United States.

Full Tank’s mission is to help parents fuel healthy kids. Please check back often to find out about new products