Kids & Organic Food?!

When I changed to clean eating I just let the regular stock of food get used up and then would replace with healthier, clean food. The only item I had any rebellion on was Fat Free milk so I went back to 2% for the kids. They'll sometimes want somethings and I try to come up with the healthiest version possible. I limit how much I made at meal times so there isn't seconds. If your still hungry, go grab a fruit, yogurt, or veggies out of the fridge. FYI, my kids are: girl, 14, 110 lbs. and a boy, 13, 98 lbs. They don't exercise past what they get walking to and from school, about 1/3 mile one direction.

I'm on a very tight budget and can't afford to buy two sets of food for them and me. They just aren't given a choice. If they don't like what I've put on the table, they're welcome to cook for family the next day. There just isn't back up food like instant frozen dinners and pizza pockets in my freezer.

Presumably you strongly encourage your children to do many things they don't want to, prevent them from doing certain things they desire, that is part of teaching your children a moral code and discipline. You make them go to school and perhaps church, brush their teeth and take a shower, go to bed at a sensible time, do their homework or chores, say please and thank you. Don't really see how food and nutrition is any different, how do you encourage or punish other desirable or undesirable behaviours? Supernanny and similar systems have reward charts and time outs, kids getting involved in meal planning, shopping and cooking. We had small amounts of everything put on our plate and we ate it end of story it was never an option not to: just don't allow any rubbish and they will likely get hungry at some point. They won't die or even get a disease from skipping a meal, they will get sick eventually from eating junk even if it takes years for the damage to show.

Do they have any interest in helping in the kitchen?
They can help choose the fruits and or veggies you get at the store- 1 new fruit or veggie or more each trip.

help chop simple things like bananas for a fruit salad with a butter knife.
one of my daughter's fav. things to make. even better if she decides what's in it, and with yogurt.

how about smoothies or muffins for breakfast?
omelets?

I also explain to my kids in terms they can understand why we are getting this instead of that.
Like I won't even buy the little tiny 'yogurt' cups with Dora on them.
loaded with sugar
my kids hate that there's barely anything in the cup
for the price you can get so much more yogurt when you buy the adult version,
and choose your fruit/flavors

There are recipes to make your own cheese crackers. Maybe you could try making it with them?

I'm not even going to try prying the cheeze-it's from my family, but I can understand minimizing the chemicals,
and other things added to get away from processed food.
Maybe just try to find a way you can make something similar, even if it's not super healthy,
if you make it at home, there's no mystery ingredients.

here's a recipes they'll go for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ieihh8lcVg

made it with my daughter twice now. Way better than pudding cups or instant pudding from the box.
all the kids love it, and she loved helping make it. super easy and super fast to make.
also, I had better results using corn starch than flour as the thickener, but either way very tasty.

Don't tell them it's organic....just make the food and like I told my son: eat what I fix or go hungry. He ate what I fixed.

There were only a few things he absolutely didn't like and I didn't make him eat that (tomatoes, lasagna and apples)...it wasn't much, so I always gave him an alternative for it.

I transitioned the kids from mac & cheese and chicken nuggets a few years ago. Now I make one meal for everyone and everyone eats it. The first couple weeks it was a struggle, especially for my son, who was about 5 at the time. He sat at the table and pouted, until we'd had enough and sent him up to his room without dinner. I didn't make him eat it for breakfast. That lasted for two or three days, and then he started eating. Now it's not an issue. Sometimes he will grumble about what's in front of him "FISH?! I don't like fish, waaah!", but he eats it, and almost always ends up liking it after all.

I incorporate ingredients and flavors that I know they do like, along with extra vegetables. Last night we had roasted cauliflower, kale and chicken sausage, with a side of whole grain pasta with a little butter. Both kids ate without complaint. Soups are a great way to use a lot of healthy ingredients.

But just because they eat what I make doesn't mean they don't want junk food. They would still pick a cheeseburger over anything I put in front of them if it was offered. It's just not an option.

I also wanted to add - when I make plain steamed veggies, I let my kids dip them in light ranch dressing, ketchup or whatever sauce they want.

Our ped says there are 3 things you can't force your kids to do: eat, sleep, pee/poop. All you can do is set up the environment and let them at it. If you're potty training, take off the diaper and put them on the potty. If it's bedtime, turn off the light and put them to bed. If it's time for a meal, serve it, and leave them to it. It was really hard for me to accept that when it came to food. We've always done organic but they make organic food that's processed so we haven't always been on the clean eating band wagon. There have been numerous days when my now 3 year old skipped multiple meals and just snacked on fruit and veggies because she refused to try things or threw a fit b/c she wanted something else. But I just refuse to have the kid who only eats chicken strips and ketchup! I don't have a ton of advice b/c we really have just had to let her make the decision to eat or not to eat, but I've found that having her help me in the kitchen has made her more open minded. She wants to taste all of the ingredients and then is totally thrilled to try the finished product. Not a super healthy meal, but a good example. We made meatloaf and when DH got home she just screamed about how it had eggs in it and this spice and that spice and breadcrumbs and like ohmygod, can you believe it all turned into this?? I've also found that she's really picky about appearance. I can cut a carrot into lengths and quarter them and she refuses. But I hand the kid a whole carrot and she'll eat the whole thing. You'll figure it out! Congratulations on making the best choice for your family!