Healthy Parenting Handbook with Katie Kimball

What if helping your picky eater started with how you connect, alongside what you serve? When family meals become a battle, it’s easy to focus on finding another recipe or getting your child to take a bite. But food also carries a powerful message: “You can count on me to take care of you.”
In this episode of the Healthy Parenting Handbook, I’m talking with Dr. Deborah MacNamara, author of Nourished, about the connection between food, attachment, and child development. We explore why being at the dinner table doesn’t always mean feeling connected, how everyday food routines can strengthen parent-child relationships, and why teaching kids to cook can be an act of care for the whole family.
If you’re raising a picky eater, juggling busy schedules, or wondering how to balance kids’ independence with their need for support, this conversation offers an encouraging perspective on feeding kids and building a healthy relationship with food. You don’t need a picture-perfect family dinner to help your children feel nourished.
Resources We Mention for Picky Eaters
Here’s the study Deborah mentions about family dinners
My TEDx talk on picky eating
Get more picky eating strategies here
Jump right in to the free No More Picky Eating Challenge
Infographics on picky eating and gathering to eat
Here are Deborah’s booksNourished: Food, Connection, and Caring for our Kids (And Everyone Else We Love)
The Sorry Plane
Rest, Play, Grow: Making Sense of Preschoolers (Or Anyone Who Acts Like One)

Check out my new book at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/pickybook!
Kitchen Stewardship
Raising Healthy Families 
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 raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast
Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

“Never require a bite.”
That’s advice I give parents of picky eaters. So what happens when I interview a psychologist whose treatment includes required bites AND rewards?
Well, I ask a lot of questions!
In part two of my conversation with Dr. Jessica Bodie, we dig into some approaches that made me pause, push back, and think more deeply. I had just finished writing The Picky Eater Playbook, so you can imagine what was going through my head: “Wait. Do I need to rethink what I just wrote?”
One distinction keeps coming up: who we’re trying to help. My work focuses on everyday picky eaters and building a healthy relationship with food. Dr. Bodie works with extreme picky eaters, including children with ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder), for whom eating unfamiliar foods can feel incredibly difficult.
We don’t agree on everything, and I’m glad we had room to explore that. We also find plenty of common ground, especially around helping kids feel capable, encouraging bravery, and making food less of a battle.
In this episode, we talk about:
Why Dr. Bodie uses several practice bites instead of a one-bite rule.
How structured food challenges differ from “You can’t leave the table until you eat.”
Where rewards fit into her treatment approach, and why I question using dessert as a reward.
Why a child might happily eat chicken nuggets but struggle with other meat.
How grazing, snack portions, and drinks can affect appetite at meals.
Why “Do you like it?” might be a harder question than we realize.
How cooking and grocery shopping can help kids become more curious about food.
When screens enter the treatment picture, and when families need professional support.
If you’re worried about your child’s eating, I hope this conversation helps you understand the options and ask better questions. And if you’ve ever wondered why picky eating experts sometimes give different advice, come listen as we work through those differences together!
Resources We Mention for Treatment for ARFID in Kids
If you register for the No More Picky Eating Challenge, there is a questionnaire to help you figure out if you have an extreme picky eater! 
Why feeding therapy can backfire with extreme picky eaters 
Simplify your schedule by scheduling your food
Teaching kids to grocery budget, shop, and cook for themselves
I always suggest finding a therapist versed in the SOS Approach to Feeding if you have an extreme picky eater
Check out my new book at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/pickybook!
Kitchen Stewardship
Raising Healthy Families 
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 raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast
Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

There is average picky eating … and then there are the more extreme cases.
Our guest today, Jessica Bodie, PhD, is a psychologist who works with these kids – including her own.
ARFID is Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, and its treatment goes way beyond what I discuss in The Picky Eater Playbook and the No More Picky Eating Challenge. I’m so glad Jessica was able to come and share more about treatment for ARFID with us.
We chatted about:
the reason doctors might look at a growth chart and ignore a parent’s concerns about eating
what Jessica has done with her own son when it comes to his restrictive eating
how ARFID is different than normal picky eating
the strategies I would suggest AGAINST for average picky eaters that Jessica uses
how being uncomfortable might have to be part of becoming more comfortable with food
Listen in now, and check out part 2 when it releases on Thursday!
Resources We Mention for ARFID in Children
If you register for the No More Picky Eating Challenge, there is a questionnaire to help you figure out if you have an extreme picky eater!
Why feeding therapy can backfire with extreme picky eaters
I always suggest finding a therapist versed in the SOS Approach to Feeding if you have an extreme picky eater
Check out my new book at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/pickybook!
Kitchen Stewardship
Raising Healthy Families 
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 raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast
Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

Sometimes we just need a little mental shift, a small piece of knowledge, an encouragement to break a habit, or a new perspective.
That’s my goal today!
I want to break into the day-to-day habits that might not be serving your kids and help you make a SHIFT – either in your thinking, your dinner routine, or your language.
I challenge you to set one tiny goal for your dinner table after listening, in one of these 3 areas:
Screens
Empathy/Understanding
Starting the Meal
Here’s to small changes making a big impact—just like we do in the No More Picky Eating Challenge!
You’ll learn new routines, pattern interruptions, and way more. And if you’re a reader or like to refer back to information time and again, grab a copy of The Picky Eater Playbook, my new book!

Resources I Mentioned for Picky Eating Habits
My free No More Picky Eating Challenge
Benefits of Family Dinners
My picky eating TEDx talk
Whole chicken in the Instant Pot
BBQ chicken recipe for the slow cooker or Instant Pot
Homemade air-fryer chicken nuggets
Other good habits for the table
Vibrant Blue Oils Parasympathetic blend
Check out my new book at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/pickybook!
Kitchen Stewardship
Raising Healthy Families 
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 raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast
Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!

I was asked a question on a podcast interview the other day that I’ve never been asked before – “WHY are there so many picky eaters these days?”
It really does feel like it’s an epidemic, far different than our childhood.
What gives? I have 4 theories as to the underpinnings, and those lend a hand to create a playbook to avoid picky eating in your own kids if they’re young enough to circumvent bad habits.
That’s GREAT news with MUCH hope!
I’m going to be unpacking a lot of habits, expectations, and attitudes that can banish picky eating power struggles from your mealtimes during the FREE 5-day No More Picky Eating Challenge. We’ve had thousands of families go through the challenge, committing to making one small change each day so that they never again have to say, “I just want my kids to eat what I make!”
Save your Seat!
It has to be said of course that there are many biological root causes to picky eating too, and we’ll dip our toe into that during the challenge as well.
Or if you’re more of a reader—or have done the challenge before and want the information at your fingertips!—you can pre-order my book The Picky Eater Playbook. Along with all the strategies from the challenge, you also get all kinds of stories and examples from my family and other families I’ve worked with.
More Resources to Tackle the Root Causes Behind Picky Eating
My FREE picky eating challenge
My new book, The Picky Eater Playbook
Redefining a “kid’s meal”
Raising successful adults with Julie Lythcott-Haimes
Understanding your highly sensitive child
Reduce stress by raising resilient kids
Solve picky eating with the tiny salad trick
The importance of letting kids play with food
Strategies for kids with sensory processing disorder
Is it picky eating or something deeper?
Picky eating solutions using all 8 senses
10 ways to get kids to eat more veggies with no tricks!
Check out my new book at raisinghealthyfamilies.com/pickybook!
Kitchen Stewardship
Raising Healthy Families 
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 raisinghealthyfamilies.com/podcast
Affiliate links used here. Thanks for supporting the Healthy Parenting Handbook!