offshoot of the nutella thread-Kids and healthy food

TrishJimenez

I have never added chocolate or any sugar to my kids milk to get them to drink it. They just drink it. My kids dont drink soda unless we go out to eat. I dont buy it. We dont buy candy, chips, cookies, baked goods, white bread, sugary cereal. And they dont mind. Instead they have eaten peices of 100% whole wheat bread since they were old enough to pick it up with their tiny fingers off their high chair tray. That is what they ate as babies for a snack. They even ask for water at restaurants when we go out when they could order soda. They like water. Their favorite breakfast is oatmeal. They dont mind the chips and cookies because my rule in the house is all you can eat fruit and veggies in between meals. You dont have to ask. They go crazy with glee when I buy fruit in season like nectarines, peaches, cantaloupes and melons. They BEG me for asparagus and artichokes, Instead of chips my kids will sit down with raw broccoli and baby carrots with ranch or peanut butter. We dont buy baked goods because a few days ago my daughters got out the flour and brown sugar and made home made monkey bread and last week it was coconut macaroons. Now dont get me wrong they all have things they dont like. My oldest HATES tomatoes unless it is in salsa, spaghetti, or ketchup. But she still has to eat them. My younger daughter hates canned spinach *yea I serve my kids canned spinach and beets once a week at least, they have a hard life * But she discovered she likes raw spinach in salads. Bagged salads are a bit pricy and I do have a limited budget so I dont buy that so often but when I do the kids will finish their dinner to have a salad for desert. I dont do this purely for health reasons, it is party financial. I figure I save 200-300 a month on my grocery bill by not buying soda, chips, cookies, candy, fruit drinks etc. And I started these habits young, since birth with them and that was because my mom raised me and my sisters this way. She did it because obesity runs in her family. My mom weighed I am thinking over 400lbs when she had her gastric bypas 8 years ago. She wont tell me so I am only guessing. And her sisters are obese also. Her mother died when I was 13 and she was 56 from kidney failure related to diabetes. And my mother battled her weight all the years I was growing up. I have cousins who are obese (most of them) My mother told us she was determined to break the cycle. We were never forced to clean our plates but we were told to serve ourselves small portions, there was always more if we were still hungry. And you know what? It worked, of my three sisters only one of us become really heavy. And that can be attributed to I think her meth addiction messing up her metabolism. I consider my weight loss the 20 vanity lbs. And all 3 of my kids are lean and strong and healthy. Kids will eat what you teach them to eat, and what you expect them to eat and what you make available to them. I make my kids try new things all the time. And if they say they dont like it they still have to eat 3 bites off their plate. And a few months later I will serve it again (beets are still a work in progress) and continue. Now if one of them likes something, like the canned spinach, my son loves it. Has since he was a toddler then his sisters are out of luck. They are going to eat 3 bites of it once a week at least. Eventually you get used to something. I used to hate mushrooms, now I dont mind them so much so I know it works. I just wanted to share this story since so many parents were talking about how hard it is to get kids to eat healthy food. I dont tell my kids this is HEALTHY food. To us it is just food. And they know I wont buy something if it doesnt have some kind of nutritional value

mmstgr

That's awesome. It can be difficult to get kids to start eating better choices. But to get it going right from the start as you have has got to be the way.
Good for you for starting your children out healthy

TrishJimenez

And hopefully they pass this on to their children and so on. Since I know this gene is not going to go away any time soon. Could take 4-5 generations to become dormant. But they are educated and I just wanted people to know this is possible. And I am not one of those organic whole foods moms. I cant afford it and dont have time. My kids ate this way from birth because this is how I ate. I didnt buy jar baby food, they ate off my plate as babies just cup up smaller or cooked a little longer and mashed with a fork. The pieces of wheat bread was to keep them happy while I cooked or cleaned the kitchen because that is what I had in the cupboard so I gave it to them. I dont forbid them any food. When they are at school they make their own choices just like they will have to do when they grown up. But it is possible.

dolldreams

I don't have kids but I came from a large family so I have some experience with them. Kids basically eat what their parents provide them with. Sadly, parents are often clueless as to what is a nutrient dense diet for a human being.

I grew up on a very inconsistent diet of both whole foods and fast food. There were no distinctions made between healthy and unhealthy. I kind of wish my parents had educated me on which foods were best for me to be eating though because as I got older I thought it was totally okay to eat a diet of mainly processed foods.

Who's to say that your kids will be able to make that distinction later in life. What is going to happen when they go off to college and the foods closest to them are pizzas and chips? Will they chose to eat those not even thinking about it or will they go out of their way to find healthy foods?

I think nutrition education is important because one day they WILL have to chose which foods are best for them to eat and sometimes forsake that which is provided for them by friends or a spouse or whatever.

Just something to consider.

dolldreams

And hopefully they pass this on to their children and so on. Since I know this gene is not going to go away any time soon. Could take 4-5 generations to become dormant. But they are educated and I just wanted people to know this is possible. And I am not one of those organic whole foods moms. I cant afford it and dont have time. My kids ate this way from birth because this is how I ate. I didnt buy jar baby food, they ate off my plate as babies just cup up smaller or cooked a little longer and mashed with a fork. The pieces of wheat bread was to keep them happy while I cooked or cleaned the kitchen because that is what I had in the cupboard so I gave it to them. I dont forbid them any food. When they are at school they make their own choices just like they will have to do when they grown up. But it is possible.

Ha! You posted that right as I was typing up my response. You said they are educated so that's great!

Wait a minute, do you mean educated on the gene thing or educated about foods?

ElizabethRoad

Wow, wall of text. What jumped out at me is that you're forcing your kids to eat disgusting crap like canned spinach. Well that is why a lot of kids grow up hating vegetables. I did too. Luckily I was open to trying fresh vegetables when I got older, but a lot of people just refuse to eat vegetables at all because they were forced to eat so many awful-tasting, ill-prepared vegetables when they were kids. Fresh spinach doesn't take any longer to prepare and it is a hell of a lot better tasting. The same goes for a lot of other fresh veggies too.

Kooraloo

It sounds like you and your children have a wonderful lifestyle! My parents did their best for me... but unfortunately school, school food, and those "running out the door" snacks have ruined me. I've rediscovered my love of vegetables and healthy food, but unfortunately it's hard for me to kick the junk food habit. I'm fine without chips and stuff, but cookies and sweets? The cravings are unbearable! And it reaally doesn't help that my parents have ice cream cupcakes (left over from my birthday), ice cream, and low-fat/low-sugar ice cream in the fridge and chocolate in the pantry!
Doing my best to cut back, but sugar is highly addictive so it's hard, especially when surrounded by it!

papastu

common sense really , we dont have any sweets or crisps in the house, if my kids want a snack they have fruit , my misses does us proud with fresh veg, not really getting this thread

but hey ho

dolldreams

Wow, wall of text. What jumped out at me is that you're forcing your kids to eat disgusting crap like canned spinach. Well that is why a lot of kids grow up hating vegetables. I did too. Luckily I was open to trying fresh vegetables when I got older, but a lot of people just refuse to eat vegetables at all because they were forced to eat so many awful-tasting, ill-prepared vegetables when they were kids. Fresh spinach doesn't take any longer to prepare and it is a hell of a lot better tasting. The same goes for a lot of other fresh veggies too.

You just brought back memories of my mother's awful, and I mean god-awful, stuffed bell peppers. We threw them behind the piano where they rotted...well, mummified is more acurate.

TrishJimenez

And hopefully they pass this on to their children and so on. Since I know this gene is not going to go away any time soon. Could take 4-5 generations to become dormant. But they are educated and I just wanted people to know this is possible. And I am not one of those organic whole foods moms. I cant afford it and dont have time. My kids ate this way from birth because this is how I ate. I didnt buy jar baby food, they ate off my plate as babies just cup up smaller or cooked a little longer and mashed with a fork. The pieces of wheat bread was to keep them happy while I cooked or cleaned the kitchen because that is what I had in the cupboard so I gave it to them. I dont forbid them any food. When they are at school they make their own choices just like they will have to do when they grown up. But it is possible.

Ha! You posted that right as I was typing up my response. You said they are educated so that's great!

Wait a minute, do you mean educated on the gene thing or educated about foods?

Both, They know their grandma (my mom) and her health problems and they know that obesity and addiction (my grandfather was an alcoholic) runs in my family. So we have to be more careful then most people. And they know how to read nutrition labels and are educated about foods. That all sugar and treats are ok in moderation. And that fruits and veggies make great snacks.

dolldreams

And hopefully they pass this on to their children and so on. Since I know this gene is not going to go away any time soon. Could take 4-5 generations to become dormant. But they are educated and I just wanted people to know this is possible. And I am not one of those organic whole foods moms. I cant afford it and dont have time. My kids ate this way from birth because this is how I ate. I didnt buy jar baby food, they ate off my plate as babies just cup up smaller or cooked a little longer and mashed with a fork. The pieces of wheat bread was to keep them happy while I cooked or cleaned the kitchen because that is what I had in the cupboard so I gave it to them. I dont forbid them any food. When they are at school they make their own choices just like they will have to do when they grown up. But it is possible.

Ha! You posted that right as I was typing up my response. You said they are educated so that's great!

Wait a minute, do you mean educated on the gene thing or educated about foods?

Both, They know their grandma (my mom) and her health problems and they know that obesity and addiction (my grandfather was an alcoholic) runs in my family. So we have to be more careful then most people. And they know how to read nutrition labels and are educated about foods. That all sugar and treats are ok in moderation. And that fruits and veggies make great snacks.

:flowerforyou: Awesome. I wish more parents would do that.

70davis

bump