Melanie Potock

💚The easiest way to get a hesitant eater to try greens? Make it FUN and a little magical.

🐉🍀💚This Green Dragon Smoothie, (based of a recipe we use in feeding group on the @doctoryumproject Food Adventure) is a favorite in my kitchen and in feeding therapy because kids get to add the “secret ingredient” at the end… ✨a small handful of chocolate chips✨They blend into tiny POLKA DOTS, turning this smoothie into something playful, friendly, and way less intimidating. And yes, it’s still packed with nutrition!

💚When kids feel in control and curious, their brains shift out of stress mode and into learning mode. That’s where progress happens.

👉🏼Here’s the recipe from my book, Adventures in Veggieland: Help Your Child Learn to Love Vegetables with 100 Easy Activities and Recipes.
🗣️Comment VEGGIES for the link to look inside the book sent directly to your inbox!
✨1 cup fresh baby spinach, packed
✨¾ cup fresh or frozen pineapple
✨½ cup fresh or frozen green grapes
✨Small chunk frozen or fresh banana
✨½ peeled orange (try freezing it!)
✨Small wedge of lime, rind on, seeds removed
✨Tiny (pea sized) piece of ginger or pinch powdered ginger
✨Ice if you want it extra cold
✨1/8 cup chocolate chips
👉🏼✨Blend everything except the chips until smooth. Add a splash of water if needed.

🪄MAGIC MOMENT: Kids add chocolate chips and blend briefly for polka dots!
Serves 2 adults, or 4 little kids

NOTE: Omit chocolate chips for children under age two

🥰Your kids can help by peeling fruit, adding ingredients, and sprinkling in the “magic”

✨🗣️More playful recipes like this in my latest paperback, with over 50 color photos. Comment VEGGIES for the link!

🤍Melanie

picky eater / toddler nutrition / feeding therapy / kids smoothies / green smoothie kids / hidden vegetables / picky eating help / ARFID support / pediatric feeding / sensory feeding / food play / toddler recipes / healthy kids food / feeding tips / child development / family meals / responsive feeding

I tried. Thanks for the ❤️

😉Melanie
#melaniepotock #feedingtherapy #pickyeaters #startingsolids #slpfeeding

🤔The ONE tip that helps every picky eater?
🥳Make food FUN.
When kids are laughing, playing, and being a little goofy with food, something powerful happens in the brain.

🧠 🤭Laughter releases feel good chemicals like dopamine and endorphins. These help the brain relax, stay curious, and feel safe enough to explore something new.
✨And that matters because anxiety is one of the biggest barriers to trying new foods.

When we turn food into play instead of pressure, we lower the stress for everyone at the table.
For the child.
And honestly, for the parent too.❤️

Sometimes that looks like peas launching out of their pods like tiny rockets. 🚀 In feeding therapy, I do this with toddlers, school age kids, and even tweenagers. And you know what? The older kids often laugh the hardest.😉
Because when food becomes playful instead of threatening, kids start building a relationship with it.
That’s how we make friends with food long before we ask kids to eat it.

🧐Is there more to it? Of course.
Do some kids need more strategies? Frankly yes. They ALL do.
But play is where we start.

❤️Like and save this post as a reminder that play is how all good things begin at the table.
✨ Thank you for following me for weekly feeding guidance grounded in 25+ years helping parents and therapists help kids find joy in food.

🥰Melanie

Melanie Potock / picky eating / picky eater help / feeding therapy tips / pediatric feeding therapy / kids and food / food play for kids / reduce mealtime anxiety / feeding development / sensory feeding / toddler picky eating / help kids try new foods / responsive feeding / feeding therapist advice / kids food exploration / pressure free meals / raising adventurous eaters / feeding therapy strategies / playful learning / food curiosity / child feeding support 🍽️

❤️Fear and food are closer than we think. For families managing food allergies, that fear can shape every meal.

Today I’m going LIVE with therapist, counselor, and allergy parent Tamara Hubbard @foodallergycounselor to talk about the emotional side of food allergies and how families can navigate anxiety while still helping kids build confidence and independence around food.

In our conversation we’ll cover:
✨ How Tamara’s own experience as an allergy parent shaped the way she wrote her book
✨ What Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) looks like in real life for allergy parents
✨ How to keep kids safe without letting fear run the show
✨ What parents in survival mode most need to hear right now
✨ How to help kids gradually take ownership of their allergies as they grow

✨Whether you’re a parent, feeding therapist, or educator, this conversation is about supporting children and families navigating anxiety around food.

💬Comment TAMARA and I’ll send you 3 helpful resources:
Tamara’s book, information about my ARFID Masterclass, and FREE handouts to help you introduce solids and those important allergens safely and with less fear.

🥰Melanie (and Tamara too!)

food allergies / parenting anxiety / food allergy parenting / kids with allergies / pediatric feeding / feeding therapy / anxiety around food / ACT therapy / parenting support / child anxiety / feeding specialist / food safety / raising confident eaters

You made soup for the family… and you already know your picky eater probably won’t touch it. 🍲
Before you give up, try these three feeding therapy tricks:
1️⃣ Always add fun tools.
A short straw and a tiny spoon instantly make soup more playful and approachable for kids.
2️⃣ Keep the serving underwhelming.
Serve just a little bit of soup in a small cup or tiny bowl.
✨Deconstruct a little too. Pull out AND pat (almost) dry a few noodles, veggies, or pieces of meat so your child can explore the ingredients separately.
⭐️Bonus tip: a tiny espresso cup of broth for sipping is often a big hit.
3️⃣ Freeze the leftovers.
Defrost and offer it again next week.
Because if a child is going to make friends with a new food, that food must keep showing up for play dates. 😊

❤️Melanie
✨ Thank you for following me for weekly feeding guidance grounded in 25+ years helping parents and therapists help kids find joy in food.

picky eater / picky eating / feeding therapy / pediatric feeding therapist / feeding therapist / picky eater tips / toddler eating / kids and food / kids refusing dinner / kids nutrition / raising adventurous eaters / family meals / parenting tips / mom life / dad life / feeding kids / toddler picky eating / kids refusing food / mealtime struggles / feeding therapy strategies

I grew up surrounded by four big brothers. Strong, supportive, protective… yet…

What I didn’t know then was how much my life and career would be shaped by extraordinary women.
💕Women who collaborated with me.
💕Women who mentored me.
💕Women who invited me to speak, learn, and grow.
💕Women who showed up in conference rooms, classrooms, clinics, and kitchens to help families and children thrive.

✨From co-writing Raising a Healthy Happy Eater and co-creating the Dr. Yum Food Adventure with Dr. Yum and an extraordinary team of women…
to learning alongside thousands of brilliant therapists, dietitians, and educators around the world… to being represented by an agency that focuses on influencers that are doing good❤️ and show up on social media with purpose, thus allowing me to align with brands that operate with integrity and truly care about kids…
I’m constantly reminded how powerful it is when women support other women.

And today, I get to watch my two daughters become strong, compassionate women in their own right. That might be the greatest gift of all.🫶🏼

✨Happy International Women’s Day✨ to the women who collaborate, mentor, teach, support, and lift others along the way.

Here’s to women who lift other women…you know who you are, and I’m so grateful for you.💕

🥰Melanie

✨ Thank you for following me for weekly feeding guidance grounded in 25+ years helping parents and therapists help kids find joy in food.

International women’s day / SLP feeding / picky eaters / raising a healthy, happy eater / responsive feeding

5 foods toddlers (and kids) can choke on… unless you prepare them safely.
🤔But there is at least one I want you to skip till age four.

I always tell parents and professionals:
Choking is usually silent.🤐😳
You often won’t hear coughing or gagging. You’ll see distress, but there may be no sound at all.
That’s why preparation matters.

✨Prep these foods up till age 4…yep, age 4. (Some 3 year olds can bite into smaller pieces, but they have the attention span of a , well, a three-year-old, so…)
1. 🥜Whole nuts
Chop very finely. Not chunky pieces like you saw me doing in this video. Tiny pieces are safest.
2. 🍅Round fruits and vegetables
Foods like grapes, cherry tomatoes, and blueberries should be smashed or quartered so they’re no longer round.
3. 🌭Hot dogs
One of the #1 choking hazards for kids.
Cut into long skinny strips first, then finely chop for younger toddlers.
Around age three, thin strips may be appropriate depending on the child.
4. 🌽Corn chips
They break into sharp pieces that are difficult for toddlers to manage.
You could crush them into crumbs… but honestly, it’s easier to skip them until about age four. Oh and corn kernels! Check out my highlights on “corn” for safe prep for 🌽.
5. 🍿Popcorn
Save popcorn for age four and older.
And the first time? Not in a dark movie theater.
😳Remember: choking is silent.
You need to see your child when they are eating.

✨ Thank you for following me for weekly feeding guidance grounded in 25+ years helping parents and therapists help kids find joy in food.
❤️Melanie

Melanie Potock picky eater help, toddler choking hazards, baby led feeding safety, toddler food safety tips, feeding therapy tips, safe foods for toddlers, pediatric feeding therapist, toddler mealtime safety