Popular Search Terms
Food plays a central role in the well-being of children with celiac disease, diabetes, epilepsy, and many other chronic conditions.
The Teaching Kitchen at Boston Children’s Needham offers medical nutrition education to help patients and families manage chronic conditions and food sensitivities. We offer families practical, reliable tools to help them meet their children’s special nutrition needs.
Boston Children’s Teaching Kitchen is one of the few hospital-based teaching kitchens that gears classes and recipes specifically for children and teens. Simply put, our team knows how to prepare healthy meals that kids like to eat.
Managing childhood conditions through food
The Teaching Kitchen helps families address food sensitivities and chronic conditions such as:
- Celiac disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Diabetes
- Epilepsy
- Food allergies
- Obesity
Our classes provide families:
- Step-by-step meal preparation and cooking skills
- Nutrition education tailored to specific conditions
- Recipes tested by a registered dietitian
- Tips for preparing meals for picky eaters
Many of the families we serve are referred to us through Boston Children’s clinical programs for support. Other families are referred by outside providers or seek our services on their own.
Contributing to the community
The Teaching Kitchen aims to give families the knowledge and confidence they need to manage their child’s chronic condition through food.
Classes cover a range of topics, such as cooking on a budget, preparing healthy weeknight meals, and step-by-step meal preparation using recipes designed by our dietitians. We are proud to offer these classes online and in person to patient families and members of the community.
What is food as medicine?
Food as medicine is a clinical approach that uses nutrition to manage chronic conditions, minimize side effects, and improve children’s overall health. But if you’re a parent struggling to meet the demands of your child’s diagnosis, preparing special meals may feel unmanageable. In fact, many diet plans never get off the ground due to concerns about time, cost, and satisfying a picky eater.
The Teaching Kitchen can help families overcome such barriers with practical skills and kid-friendly recipes that make nutrition plans easier to follow.