Most parents tell us their kid eats a vegetable two or three times a week. That’s not enough, and it’s usually why we end up talking about constipation.

In this episode, Jen and Danielle get into fiber: what it actually does for your kid’s gut, immune system, and appetite, and how much they really need. Hint: you don’t need to count grams.

We cover:

• The simple daily target: a fist-sized serving of vegetables at lunch, snack, and dinner
• Why fruit alone doesn’t cut it (and why fries and corn don’t count)
• What to check before adding fiber: fluids and movement
• The foods we recommend for constipation
• When a psyllium husk supplement makes sense
• Why bananas might be working against you
• A quick math trick for fiber needs: your kid’s age plus 5
• When fiber should not be your priority

Part two on whole grains is coming next month. Subscribe so you don’t miss it, and send this to a parent whose kid is stuck.

School's back, and so are the lunchbox questions. Pediatric dietitians Jen and Danielle go through what they see go wrong with school lunches, based on real stories from parents in their practice, and what to do instead.

They start with packaged snacks: why one per lunch is the general limit, which brands actually hold up (Siete, Jones Bar, Kai's Bars, Firehook, One Mighty Mill), and why a vegetable, even one that comes back untouched, still belongs in the box every day.

Then two patterns that come up more than parents expect: kids eating both a packed lunch and a second lunch from school (including the share bin), and kids who barely touch lunch because they'd rather be with their friends. Jen and Danielle cover how to plan around both without turning it into a fight, and why a drive-through stop after a skipped lunch backfires.

Also covered: building a better sandwich (what to look for in bread, peanut butter, and jelly), safe tuna frequency and mercury guidance, a preheated thermos trick that actually keeps hot lunches hot, and why two solid, rotating lunch options beat reinventing the wheel every day.

Summer throws every routine out the window — camps, trips, grandma's house, gas station snack runs. In this episode, Jen and Danielle break down how to keep your kid's eating habits on track without turning summer into a battle.

We're covering:

→ Why telling your kid the plan BEFORE the moment (not during) prevents most meltdowns

→ The "bowling bumpers" approach to giving kids choices within limits

→ How to handle grandparents who won't get on board with your rules

→ Why boredom snacking happens and what to do about it

→ Using summer to practice new meals before the school year hits

If your kid negotiates every treat, melts down at the ice cream counter, or comes back from grandma's on a sugar high — this one's for you.

🎧 New episodes every month on nutrition for kids of all ages.

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