Managing daily life with a child who has food allergies can be challenging for both your child and for you as their parent. You may feel like you have to rethink your own food choices, or navigate a complex dietary environment and the different preferences that people have.

People often use labels such as “good,” “bad,” “healthy” or “unhealthy” to describe food or their food choices. You may even hear someone label themselves as good or bad based on what or how much they ate that day.

Do you tend to ask your child to eat all of their vegetables, or to finish what’s on their dinner plate, before they can get dessert?

Sleep is extraordinarily important. It is critical for your physical health and your mental health. As nutritionists, we know that sleep can even play a role in the foods you crave, the amount of food you eat, how your gut processes food, your overall digestive health and so much more.

Are you asking your children at mealtime “what would you like for dinner?”

Are you taking orders from them as if you were running a restaurant in your own home and then preparing whatever is requested regardless of how many different meals this ends up being?

And they come in many different varieties – there are naturally sweet foods like most fruits and certain vegetables, there are foods sweetened with added sugar and there are foods that are sweet because they are entirely manufactured with a variety of refined and processed sugars or sugar derivatives.

It is a very common goal for parents to want their children to be expansive and accepting eaters. Sometimes we forget, however, that this is a skill that is developed over time, and not just immediately attained or inherently baseline for most children.

Many children live very active lives. They run around at recess. They play sports after school. They turn your house into a makeshift “Floor is Lava” studio before bouncing around in their room until the moment they fall asleep at night.

Many, if not most, children are picky eaters, or display some degree of pickiness at some point in their development. Not only have young palates not yet been exposed to certain spices and flavors, but children “like what they like” and may choose to eat or not eat foods based on seemingly arbitrary factors, like whether a food is dinosaur shaped or if it is soft to chew.

As nutrition counselors, it’s important to emphasize that there is no such thing as a universal ideal weight or body type. While society can make us feel like we need to lose weight to be healthy, as nutrition experts, we are firm believers in Health At Every Size and the idea that best practices in nourishment are what matters for long term health.  And further, that these best practices may not always lead to one’s lowest weight status.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal (GI) condition that affects the lower portions of the GI tract, leading to symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation. Individuals with IBS often have significant stomach discomfort, urgent bathroom calls, and sometimes, food intolerances or sensitivities, often in ways that disrupt their lives.

Many of us have heard of the term “eating disorder.” This is a diagnostic term used in the mental health field to describe clinical conditions such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder – where an individual struggles with severe caloric restriction, binge eating, and/or purging behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives and/or excessive exercise.

As registered dietitian nutritionists (in New York, Connecticut and Florida), we know that any and all food can fit into a healthy, balanced diet.

Summer camp is often a magical time in a child or adolescent’s development. These special summer homes foster friendships that are like sisterhoods and bonds that endure for lifetimes.

On May 21st, Appleman Nutrition Registered Dietitians Rebecca Appleman and Mara LoConte joined forces with Bloomingdales to raise awareness about the connection between nutrition and mental health for Mental Health Awareness Month

It’s hard enough to eat healthy and balanced in our regular life, but in the time of COVID, it can feel downright impossible.

If you got a chance to catch the “What is Healthy Eating?”, you’ll love the latest talk in The Persephone Project – Body Image in Quarantine!

Check out Rebecca’s conversation with @intrinpsych clinicians Dr. Camilla Mager and Emma Demar, LMSW on eating disorders, recovery and self-care during quarantine!

We’re super excited to share our involvement in The Persephone Project, a multi-pronged wellness initiative focused on philanthropy, mental health and nutrition launched by @carolineconstas.