8 Quick Tips for Raising an Adventurous Eater Virtually every young child goes through some level of Picky Eating at one time or another. Parents who have the kids who turn out to be "good eaters" will tell you that the key to successfully navigating these stages is to put firm and healthful eating habits in place from the beginning, and then stick to them, even when the going gets rough. So if you want to raise children who don't put up a fight every time a new dish or a vegetable is set before them, start thinking now, in the early eating days, about your food and dining choices. It's not too early to put these eight quick tips in place.   Do You Have Nugget Fatigue? Homemade Meal Idea For children age 6 and under, mealtime is a revolving door of the same ol' same ol'. There's PBJ, mac n' cheese, pizza and the almighty chicken nugget, which comes in a value meal of 4 or 6 pieces at the drive-thru, in a big plastic bag that sits in your freezer, or on the children's menu at nearly every restaurant on earth. If even the kids are getting tired of chicken with frostbite, it's "thyme" for a fresher, better recipe! Cookbook author Jorj Morgan shares great tips for homemade chicken fingers. Read on ... Slow cooker makes cooking easy ROYGBIV: The color of health I debuted my new slow cooker during the Super Bowl last year. I’ve really got to hand it to my slow cooker—it turned out my recipe for fiery beef and black bean chili so well that the crock pot was scraped clean before half-time! Read on... Why is it important to eat lots of different-colored fruits and vegetables? Because each colored vegetable and fruit has unique properties, and there is strong evidence of interactions between the colors that are beneficial to your health. Read on...   Tip of the Week Keep a running list. "Schedule time on weekends (when dad takes the kids for a walk) to plan a menu of five dinners for the coming week. Write down the ingredients you need to pick up at the store," recommends Liz Weiss, MS, RD, co-author of The Mom's Guide to Meal Makeovers. Go out and buy everything in one big shopping spree. The alternative is running out for one or two items, and that's not an efficient way to budget your time.