The Italian approach to life has been well-chronicled in bestsellers such as Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun, but we shouldn't overlook the valuable lessons the Italian approach to food can teach our children.

The ways the food industry now targets kids are so pervasive and the tactics so deceitful that even the most diligent parent cannot prevent their kids from being inundated at the most impressionable stages in their development.

Is your child a picky eater? Does he or she claim they hate fruits and/or vegetables? Gardens and arboretums around the country are giving children new perspective through hands-on learning programs.

Is it really cheaper to buy boxed frozen foods than to buy ingredients in bulk and prepare meals for the freezer yourself? You may pay a little more initially, but you will get more meals out of your purchase in the long run.

A few seconds of cutting and shaping food might just be the trick you need to get your kids to try new things.

People used to smile -- or even snicker -- when they saw our daughter, Chloe, eat halibut and avocado at age 3.

The snack aisle at the health food store is full of products loaded with sugar, salt and white flour -- really not health food at all!

Here are 3 simple steps to creating a healthy lunch box for your kids.

Organic produce is more expensive, often harder to find and a new study suggests it's not notably better for you. So, what's the point?

What makes it more likely that an overweight or obese 5th grader won't remain obese by the 8th grade? Location, location, location!

There's so much to enjoy about wonderful meals -- from eating well to learning the art of telling a great story -- that I consider it another important part of parenting.

If the whole family eats healthy, it's easier for kids to develop a taste for foods that truly feed their bodies. This is coming from a fairly serious chocoholic married to a Doritos fan, so we're no saints.

I've tried everything I tell parents to do. I started early with healthy foods and have offered them consistently. But nothing has worked. Like I said: embarrassing.

With Valentine's Day fast approaching and our youngest daughter's first birthday coming even sooner, we're in the mood for sweet treats in Rome. But here's what we'd like to avoid: a giant family-wide sugar crash.

Some parents focus on emotional parenting, others on sports or art or music. For me it's food. Maybe it's my hippy upbringing or my undying devotion to Ina Garten.

For so many reasons, one of the best things you can do for your kids is to teach them a healthy relationship with food. They will follow your example.