Welcome to the Climate Kitchen newsletter, a new content universe for climate-curious parents.

What Does It Mean To Raise a Healthy Eater?

By Sonalie Figueiras

Note on this Series — “How To Raise a Climate-Smart Eater”: All of these thoughts below are meant to be suggestions and openings, not hard and fast rules. They come from me processing how I want to raise my kids on the topic of eating. They are not meant to cause any stress or anxiety, or hold folks up to an unreachable ideal. There are days when my kid will only eat cereal. There are days when my baby refuses all pureed veggies. It’s a journey and it’s messy. We do the best we can, and we celebrate that.

This is part of two of “How to Raise a Healthy Eater.” In the first part, I wrote about food culture. Today, I’m tackling diet and nutrition.

Beyond how to define healthy food, what’s a healthy eater? I like to think about where I want to end up and work backwards. When I think about my kids leaving home as healthy eaters, this is how I would like them to be. Someone who:

• Enjoys eating without being addicted to food or obsessed with food.

• Likes to try new ingredients and dishes while having an idea of their likes and dislikes (basically, the idea is to try not to end up with a picky eater if possible).

• Knows the basics of cooking and can make at least 2-3 dishes if they have to— not everyone will enjoy cooking, and that‘s ok, but everyone should know how to feed themselves (and a loved one) and master a couple of go-to dishes.

• Understands what healthy food is versus unhealthy food.

• Knows the basics of healthy macro nutrition: knows they need to include protein, complex carbs, healthy fats, and lots of fruits and veggies at most meals. 

Tackle the basics

To help raise such a person, it’s important to focus on some basics: serve balanced meals with all major macronutrient food groups represented (protein, healthy fats, carbs (whole starches and grains)), include fiber, aim for variety in colors, textures and tastes, limit overly processed and unhealthy foods, get your kids into the habit of setting aside time in the day to eat a meal, sitting around a table (away from screens), and eating without rushing. 

Limit, but don’t ban unhealthy stuff

The world is full of temptation, especially when it comes to food. Candy, chips, soda, fast food, fried foods, snacks…the list is endless. Frankly, no matter how hard we all try, your kids will be exposed to more unhealthy foods than healthy ones. Banning these things is unlikely to be successful and may result in them hiding what they eat from you. It’s ok to allow for indulgence on certain occasions. Limit candy/cake to birthdays and ice cream to summer holidays, for instance. If they want cupcakes, bake them together, once in a while. What’s key is that your kids know the difference between what’s healthy and what’s not. Talk to them about why some foods are healthier than others and offer better-for-you versions of favorite treats. Get them to appreciate options like fruit salad, homemade cookies, or a few dark chocolate squares after dinner on the weekends.

Impart discipline around how much and how often

Teach your kids about the health risks of overeating. Talk to them about frequency and quantity when it comes to food. Help them understand that it’s ok to have dessert or sweets once in a while but it has to be part of a broader, well-balanced diet that includes all the other food groups. The idea is to allow for treats without normalizing the overconsumption of sugary, fatty foods.

Our Favorite Reads

Curated by Sophie Egan

In every issue, we share 3-5 good reads— think: the best climate-smart shopping/eating/nutrition advice and thought-provoking essays.

• “The Conscious Cafeteria: A National Pilot Study on Reusable Foodware for Healthier, More Sustainable Schools.” In addition to the expected environmental benefits, the report shares some very interesting cost savings, equity implications, and human health impacts: “Reusable stainless steel food-ware reduces exposure to harmful chemicals while offering cost savings that enable schools to invest in healthier lunch programs.” While you likely don’t have time to read the full report, check out the Executive Summary and infographics on the first few pages, which may pique your interest enough to strike up some conversations at your own school.

• “Is Fake Meat Better For You Than Real Meat?” This is a question on many families’ minds, so it’s no surprise it’s one of The New York Times’ most popular stories of the past week. It offers some welcome nuance, and the tl/dr is summed up in the article’s “bottom line”: “If you enjoy the tastes and textures of meat but want to eat less of it, fake-meat products can be a helpful ‘steppingstone to a more plant-forward diet,’ Dr. Hu said. They may have some benefits for health, he said, and major benefits for the environment. Even better, all of the experts agreed, is to shift your diet away from red meat and processed meat and toward more whole food or less processed sources of plant protein like beans, lentils, tofu, and tempeh.” Lest you think that means an expensive, elite, esoteric way of eating, they reassure us: Plant-forward eating is actually cheaper than a more carnivorous diet.

• “Feeding Kids an Understanding of Why Food Matters.” As Climate Kitchen readers, in your home you likely care about cooking, growing food, shopping conscientiously, and talking to your kids about food that nourishes their bodies and the planet. But what about the countless hours they’re out of the house, in school, at community centers, in after-school programs, etc? This article is a roundup of 26 organizations working to educate, inspire, and provide access to healthy food for children around the world, in all of those settings and more. From school gardens to cooking classes, mobile kitchens to classroom curricula, see if any of these programs work in your kid’s school or local community. Warning: It’s nearly impossible not to be inspired to get involved with at least one of them!

Non-Toxic Kitchen Special — A Roundup of the Best Guides & Lists

By Sonalie Figueiras

Lately, I’ve noticed a rise in content and media headlines around non-toxic kitchens, which is gratifying since I have been worrying about PFAS on my pans and plastic in my food since at least 2007, and have often found it incredibly difficult to find solutions that passed my strict toxin-free and fossil-fuel-free materials test. The good news is a mix of awareness, anti-plastic campaigning by NGOs, and regulations have created a market for solutions. So today, almost twenty years after I attempted to quit plastic in my kitchen, there are some great options. Below I share some excellent guides and lists that I have been using.

• Caro Chambers, the uber-relatable mom and brains behind What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, put together one of the best non-toxic/clean kitchen guides we have ever come across, which she calls “The Clean Kitchen Reset.” As always with anything she does, the guide is accessible, thoughtful, and incredibly helpful. I had to stop myself from ordering everything. This is one to bookmark for sure.

• Popular with the cooking-obsessed, Food52 is a much-loved resource for well-tested, winning recipes. But did you know they also have their own line of kitchenware and cookware? Their team spends months creating the perfect mixing bowl/baking tin/frying pan. Now, they’ve curated an entire selection of their best non-toxic kitchen must-haves (and I want it all!)

• Trust The Guardian to always be ahead of the curve. Way back in 2022 (feels like a lifetime ago!), Tom Perkins put together this guide to a PFAS-free and plastic-free kitchen (after years of reporting on the issues). I must have sent this link to friends and loved ones over 100 times. The Guardian also put out this "Detox your kitchen: three things you can do to avoid toxic chemicals” piece earlier this month, which is excellent.