1. Cook One Meal
"My son never had a jar of baby food. I just gave him what we were eating. I recommend sticking to basics—and make it tasty. Start with good chicken breasts. Use Mark Bittman's book How to Cook Everything, or the one that taught me how to cook, The Way to Cook, by Julia Child."—Anna Klinger of Al di La, mother of Sasha Coppa, 4
"Do I pander to them? No—I expect them to eat like human beings."—Saul Bolton of Restaurant Saul, father of Miles, 12, and Theo, 8
2. Remember: Butter Is Your Friend
"I cook superfast, because I'm a busy woman. I'm not ever going to, like, simmer. I sear meats and sauté vegetables. It never takes more than 20 minutes. I use a lot of butter, because that's the way we do it. And good butter is good for you, and it makes everything taste better."—Catherine Saillard of iCi, mother of Lucas, 4 and Theo, 6
3. Show, Don't Yell
"It's not so much that we sit down and talk to them about eating well. It's just the course of conversation. They watch us and see what's in our snack jar and what isn't."—Laura Shea of Applewood, mother of Sophie, 5, and Tatum, 2
4. Expose Them
"[In our restaurant], everything comes with a vegetable, and I refuse to not put one on the plate. Even when the parents say not to, I say, 'Come on, just have it there so they can see it.'"—Chelsi Meyerson of Picket Fence, mother of Olivia, 3, and Mason, 8 months
5. All in Moderation
"I think it's very important to not just say no over and over. Because you grow up and you rebel, and you're going to eat all the candy you want. I was not allowed to have sugar cereals, and since I couldn't have them, of course I wanted them."—Laura Shea
6. Try and Try Again
"If they won't eat something, we keep reintroducing. If they don't like it the first time, they're not going to eat it, because they already said no. But next time they might."—Chelsi Meyerson
7. Make Restaurant Night a Special Occasion
"If you're going to take a kid out to dinner, it should be a special occasion for her. The kid should be like, 'Hey, I'm excited! I get to sit at the big table!' It's not just any other night."—Andrew Tarlow of Marlow & Sons, father of Elijah, 5, and Beatrice, 10 months
8. Shop Smart
"You just have to make good choices and look at ingredient lists. If you don't know what the word is, don't buy it. If you've never heard of it, it's a preservative or something else you don't need to be eating. That's how I juggle the organic/nonorganic thing."—Chelsi Meyerson
