As a chef and father-of-three, Tyler Florence knows firsthand that avoiding picky eating habits means starting early.

“If you’re not introduced to a food by the time you’re 3-years-old, you’re literally afraid of it as if it will hurt you,” he tells PEOPLE.

“The best thing you can possibly do is when they’re like 6-months of age, 8-months of age, go for the healthiest, most nutrition-dense, flavorful product you possibly can.”

To that end, Florence created Sprout baby food, a line of organic meals for your little one, that was inspired by an experience he had during a photo shoot taking place at his apartment.

“One of our friends had brought her toddler son over and she was feeding him baby food and he just absolutely hated it,” he says. “So I just grabbed a couple of carrots out of my fridge, I steamed them and pureed them and I gave it to him and he licked the bowl clean. A friend of mine, who turned out to be my cofounder, he and I looked at each other and thought, ‘This is a really good idea.’”

Four years later, Sprout came to fruition, though only after passing the taste test of his own children, 15-year-old Miles, 4-year-old Hayden and 3-year-old Dorothy.

“All of our Sprout recipes are tested on my own children,” he says. “If you taste apple, mango and carrot pureed together, it’s a sensational flavor combination that babies won’t forget, and moms love it too.”

Simple preparatory tricks have also made the difference between convincing his kids to try new foods and losing their interest.

“There’s not a vegetable that my children won’t eat if it’s roasted,” says Florence, who also works with Alexia Foods. “Take vegetables, cut them into small pieces, add extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Now you’ve got a vegetable that your children are absolutely going to love.”

– Kiran Hefa

Whipping up meals for a picky eater is hard enough, let alone making sure it includes healthy ingredients.

So what if you could serve up a yummy entrée that includes everything from whole grains and beans to veggies without all the hassle?

Thankfully, you can because one of our fave baby food lines, Sprout, has just launched a collection of organic toddler meals that will leave your tots asking for more.

Free from preservatives and additives, each recipe was created by celeb chef (and dad-of-three) Tyler Florence so you can introduce your little ones to nutritional foods early without feeling guilty if you don’t always have the time to cook.

Even better: Each meal is packaged in microwaveable, BPA-free pouches that you can recycle.

For more information on these homemade-worthy dishes (including where to buy), go to sproutbabyfood.com.

The Sprout Pouch holds delicious ingredient combinations, and it is made of incredible stuff as well!  The wholesome, organic ingredients are sustainably farmed to preserve wildlife habitat and minimize use of fossil fuels and water.  Sprout’s pouch protects all of these ingredients and weighs drastically less than glass, so it uses less energy to create and less fuel to ship than your standard baby food jar.

Because of this advanced packaging, the Sprout pouch cannot be easily recycled.  After it arrives in a home and delivers its precious contents to a little mouth, it can end up in the garbage can, the garbage truck and eventually, the landfill.  But we don’t want our pouch’s life to end there, spending the rest of its life in a landfill with no purpose.

So we have partnered with TerraCycle to collect and repurpose used Sprout pouches.  Anyone can send in empty pouches for free to earn points toward charity gifts or make donations.  TerraCycle works with Recycled Plastic Factory to recycle the pouches into picnic tables, benches, chairs and other outdoor furniture.  Now, instead of rotting away in a landfill for countless years, Sprout pouches live on and serve a purpose in the backyard, providing years of enjoyment for families. Take a look at this example!

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Lots of tots don’t eat enough healthy foods which is why we are thrilled to hear that Sprout has launched a collection of organic toddler meals that are healthy as well as delicious!!!

Each and every recipe is a special creation of celeb chef Tyler Florence that allows parents to feed their loved ones foods that are nutritious and that they’ll actually like!

Hey, listen, we’re all for kids to eat healthy and we think this is a super fantastic product…

…But they ARE kids!

Let’s make sure to also give ‘em a cookie every now and then.

Just sayin’!

When the Bug started solid foods, it was a no-brainer for me that we would make our own baby food. We were already cooking fresh veggies every night — it wasn’t a stretch to add some fruit into the mix and blend.

But the reality? Our lives are busy. Cooking doesn’t always happen in an – err – timely fashion (hello, evening bewitching hour!). And I had a baby that wasn’t always willing to wait.

So my back-up was Sprout Organic Baby Food. I was drawn by founder Chef Tyler Florence’s philosophy: “Cooking for my children means more than just getting dinner on the table. It’s about forging the foundation for a healthy relationship with food that will last for the rest of their lives.” The packaging was uber convenient. Toss in the diaper bag and go. And the company is Eco-conscious. Three checks on my ‘mommy approved’ list. Sweet.

Sprout, who frequently partners with (cool) progeny for our family events, contacted me last month to let me know that they were growing up — and releasing a new line of organic toddler table ready meals. Heat and serve. Fab nutrients, no artificial anything and perfect in a pinch. {And who doesn’t feel the 6 o’clock dinner pinch every now and then?}

They shipped a package of flavors to try out. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety this new line offers: everything from butternut squash mac ‘n cheese to vegetable and barley stew with chicken to veggie risotto. Grown up meal concepts with pint-size appetites in mind. Brilliant.

I bet you can guess which meal the Bug wanted to dig into first?

Honestly, it’s not the creamy kind of down home mac ‘n cheese; but it’s a great option for mixing things up every once in a while and the Bug was 100% into trying a ‘new pasta.’ Plus it was quick to heat and came in a convenient microwavable package. No boiling of water for pasta and mixing in powdered cheese.

We’re still working our way through the rest of the flavors. Risotto is coming up tomorrow night if anyone wants to join us. Want to try it out yourself? Pick up your own box at area Giant Food Stores or order online.
Disclaimer: We received a a package of several toddler meals to sample, free of charge from Sprout. There was no obligation to share but after trying the mac, we definitely wanted to make sure you knew about these meals. Who wouldn’t want this healthy mom sanity saver trick in their back pocket?

Courtesy of Parenting.com

Say goodbye to separate meals! Tyler Florence’s chicken and rice recipe is sure to be a dinner table pleaser for kids and adults alike.

Photo by John Lee. Reprinted Start Fresh by Tyler Florence. Copyright (c) 2011 by Tyler Florence. By permission of Rodale, Inc.

Tyler Florence’s rice pudding is sure to satisfy your family’s sweet tooth!

Photo by John Lee. Reprinted Start Fresh by Tyler Florence. Copyright (c) 2011 by Tyler Florence. By permission of Rodale, Inc.