Raising Adventurous Eaters: How Your Relationship with Food Shapes Theirs

Why eating with your kids (and modeling a balanced perspective) matters more than you think.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting around the table with a group of friends, chatting about one of the most important things we can do as parents: eat with our kids. Not just toss food on their tray and hope they like it, but really eat with them. I’m talking about modeling curiosity, balance, joy. It reminded me of a conversation I had with my mom a few years ago, and it’s been sitting in the back of my head ever since.

So today we’re taking a little pause on the baby food recipes to talk about something near and dear to my heart—our relationship with food. How we talk about it, how we serve it, how we live it. Because in a world overflowing with diet culture and toxic wellness messaging (literally I can’t seem to get away from it online), raising kids who love food, trust their bodies, and enjoy eating without guilt is an act of rebellion. And I am HERE FOR IT.

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It Starts With Balance

If you’ve been around the What’s Gaby Cooking world for a while, you know I’m all about balance. Fresh veggies and cookies. Big salads and french fries. Chicken thighs and burrata. My mom says she didn’t consciously try to teach us specific things about food—it was more about modeling. What was in the fridge, what was on the plate, what we were talking about at the dinner table.