Food and Parenting

Original_Beauty wrote: »

Sarauk2sf wrote: »

Original_Beauty wrote: »

aakaakaak wrote: »

Okay piling on for cookies...
"If they want a cookie I will make them from stratch instead of buying the ones that come in a box is all I am saying."

Chocolate Chip Cookie
1 cup butter, softened - Separated, Enzyme added, pasteurized, aged, washed, salted
1 cup white sugar - Really? What isn't done to process white sugar?
1 cup packed brown sugar - white sugar with molasses...which is also a process
2 eggs - U.S. eggs are chemically washed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract - You make a chemical tincture of vanilla in pure alcohol
3 cups all-purpose flour - Yep, pure bleached flour. Nope, no chemicals here.
1 teaspoon baking soda - You mean NaHCO3? (Imagine the 3 is dropped)
2 teaspoons hot water - Tap water frequently has fluoride and either chlorine or chloramine.
1/2 teaspoon salt - The sea salt purification or salt mine purification process?
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips - First you process the cocoa powder. Then you add the processed fats and sugars to process semi-sweet chocolate chips.
1 cup chopped walnuts - Soaked, husked, dried and sprayed for pests

So what part of an unprocessed cookie are you going to feed your kid?

That is not the recipe I use, I ise this



http://www.beginwithinnutrition.com/2014/04/07/chickpea-chocolate-chip-cookies-vegan-gluten-free/


Kids have no idea when they come to my house they are made from chickpeas, and they are normally the first thing to go.

And all those ingredients are still highly processed:

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas)
½ cup all natural creamy peanut butter
⅓ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup vegan mini-chocolate chips

oh yes chickpeas are highly processed... not.
peanut butter is good for you.
i do not add salt


1/2 choc chips...you say everything on balance yet you are pulling this recipe apart.

did i say there was anything wrong with buying packaged? Gluten free biscuits are a rip off thats why we make our own and we have food allergies. I am not paying $5 for 6 biscuits!!!! Thats why we make our own.

I just...threw up...in my mouth...a little bit.

Please, for the love of all that's holy to NOT try and shovel that down your kid's throat and pass it off as a cookie. When I was a kid I had an aunt who used to try and do carob cookies and various other "healthy" methods. It was the most disgusting crap ever.

Mr_Knight wrote: »

Clay Marzo is a professional athlete with ASD. Looks pretty healthy to me...

He looks fit, but you can't tell health by looking at someone. That's why we have medical tests.

scraver2003 wrote: »

Last night, my oldest ate a bowl of vanilla-frosted mini wheats, with (organic) whole milk. That counts as healthy, right? Unprocessed?

I still want to know what is wrong with gogurts and chicken nuggets?

You know if you freeze gogurts they are far less messy, like gogurt popsicles. I'm sure the simple fact of freezing them and calling them a popsicle makes them even unhealthier and "less real" in OP's mind.

My kids are weird and also eat frozen peas, still frozen. They like when they have accumulated into big clumps of peas with ice - they call them pea popsicles. By my logic above that's probably unhealthy too...

Kruggeri wrote: »

scraver2003 wrote: »

Last night, my oldest ate a bowl of vanilla-frosted mini wheats, with (organic) whole milk. That counts as healthy, right? Unprocessed?

I still want to know what is wrong with gogurts and chicken nuggets?

You know if you freeze gogurts they are far less messy, like gogurt popsicles. I'm sure the simple fact of freezing them and calling them a popsicle makes them even unhealthier and "less real" in OP's mind.

My kids are weird and also eat frozen peas, still frozen. They like when they have accumulated into big clumps of peas with ice - they call them pea popsicles. By my logic above that's probably unhealthy too...

I still prefer frozen peas to cooked ones.

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

stealthq wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

ruqayyahsmum wrote: »

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

Mr_Knight wrote: »

The other kid maintains a list of four foods that she will actually eat. Currently those are pepperoni pizza, grilled cheese sandwich, Mr. Noodles "soup", and fried egg sandwich. Anything not on the list will not be eaten, and it is not possible to out-patient this kid.

Are you suggesting that if you didn't provide these 4 foods, this child would not eat anything at home, ever?

i know a mum whos teen son is severly autistic. he will only eat chicken dippers and ketchup. nothing else at all anywhere passes his lips. his mum has to provide them to his special school and to his respite centre. Hes seen specialists and theyve tried stratagies but other foods really are a no go, he would rather go hungry. some kids and adults really do have severe issues around food

Seems like this child's issues are more than just with food. I assumed the poster to which I replied was talking about a healthy child.

It happens with kids that have no other apparent issues other than food. I was one. Went months at one point on just apple juice and chicken nuggets. And before you ask, yes, my parents tried everything they could think of to get me to 1) eat more, because I was already a 'failure to thrive' kid and 2) eat something other than chicken nuggets.

That includes trying to wait me out, which is a problem when you have a kid that just doesn't really care if they eat, you know? I'm sure I've have eaten something else if I'd gotten to the point where I was literally starving to death, but what decent parent is going to let their kid get to that state? Plus, I'd have been taken away by CPS for neglect (as should happen). Bit of a catch-22.

The good news is that in a kid that doesn't have altered sensory perception or other outstanding issues, it's usually a temporary phase and the kid grows out of it. I did, though it took me years to not be ridiculously picky.

I'll have to take your word for it since it's all I have to go on. One must wonder what would have happened if you'd never tasted a chicken nugget.

Most likely, I'd have fixated on some other texturally-bland and taste-neutral food. Might have been baked chicken breast, that'd always been a staple in our house. That actually would have been worse. Fewer calories in the same volume of food. Less fat, too.

Sarauk2sf wrote: »

Kruggeri wrote: »

scraver2003 wrote: »

Last night, my oldest ate a bowl of vanilla-frosted mini wheats, with (organic) whole milk. That counts as healthy, right? Unprocessed?

I still want to know what is wrong with gogurts and chicken nuggets?

You know if you freeze gogurts they are far less messy, like gogurt popsicles. I'm sure the simple fact of freezing them and calling them a popsicle makes them even unhealthier and "less real" in OP's mind.

My kids are weird and also eat frozen peas, still frozen. They like when they have accumulated into big clumps of peas with ice - they call them pea popsicles. By my logic above that's probably unhealthy too...

I still prefer frozen peas to cooked ones.

I love frozen peas. They're sweet!

I'm guilty of buying "junk food" for my kids. However, there are also "defined limits". My oldest daughter loves Paradise Bakery chocolate chip cookies. She can have 1 per day. She saves it for her evening snack.

We keep applesauce, fruit, yogurt, cheese, and other healthy snacks in the house. My youngest daughter (I only have two - the older and the younger - LOL) I swear is going to be a dietician. We came home with spaghetti from Fazoli's one night, and it comes with 2 breadsticks. Megan said, "I'm not eating the breadsticks because they aren't healthy." I explained to her that it's not necessarily that it's unhealthy, but the amount of it may be questionable. It's okay to have a bite or two, but two breadsticks may not be the best choice. And we talk about what other choices could be made instead.

We do this as a family. It's called responsible parenting. Nobody is immune from wanting to have stuff that is not "food journal friendly", but sometimes you can't hide from it. I don't know if you want to call it moderation or perspective or whatever. It's all about making smarter choices, and realizing what those smarter choices are. Teach the kids early enough about healthier options, about not turning to food to deal with emotions, and about keeping active - that goes a long way.

However, it's not my job (or anyone else's) to be the food police of the world.

veganbettie wrote: »

there is just so much omg in this thread it's unbelievable. well, not really considering it's MFP...but...

I had no idea that being Autistic meant that you were unhealthy....my word....

It's really really hard not to judge someone else parenting, and in all reality i don't mind if people judge mine, because i'm doing the best i can....that said...I want my son to have treats. I don't want him to view certain food as bad (for reasons other than ethics...) I want him to grow up with a healthy understanding of what food is, and learn moderation....I didn't. and I got fat, and insecure, and now i can barely eat in front of people.

Also.....kids will eat, what kids will eat. Their taste buds are super sensitive which is why we have a lot of picky eaters out there. When they don't like something they REALLY don't like it, and to try to force a kid to eat something is wrong, it just is. I remember that....and then i remember promptly puking up my dinner on the table. I didn't like veggies as a child, but i devour them as an adult.

Personally for me, I give my child access to all the foods, and give him what we are eating, he will take a few bites of something, and then decide if he likes it or not and move on to the next thing. I always make sure there is something on his plate that he will eat, and a few things to try. It's important for them to keep tasting new foods in my opinion. Tastes change obviously. but i won't force feed my kid, i don't want to give him food issues later on, lead by example, eat the foods that you want your kid to eat.

but for crying out loud man, cookies are freaking vital to childhood!!!!!

very well written.

If you hadn't told us, it would have been obvious that you have no children. I try very hard to make sure that my kids eat balanced meals, but when your kid will either eat a Vienna sausage or nothing, you'll give them the damn sausage and you'll be happy about it.

BrownEyedBetty wrote: »

I hear this so much and it really boggles my mind. When I hear a parent who is trying to have a more active and heathy life say well I buy those special treats for my kids. So it's ok for your children to eat that crap that is so called food and not you? Don't you want your children to grow up and have a healthy relationship with real food? Gogurt is not a food, little debbie cakes are not food, sugary fruit snack are not food. I want my future kids to love eating vegetables and fruits and have a diverse food palate.

Any thoughts?

I don't buy those treats just for my kid... I buy them for myself too... why? Because I'm teaching my children to enjoy "treats" in moderation and to not to have an unhealthy relationship with food. My child is just as likely to eat green beans, broccoli, apples, and oranges as she is to gravitate towards fruit snacks and little debbies. We go to a little neighborhood market that sells all kinds of dairy products, produce and meat (we go there multiple times a week for milk)... there are cases of ice cream... where does she go to? Where the apples are... that doesn't mean she doesn't enjoy ice cream... because she does... she is always asking for it from the front counter... but she knows it's a treat... and she is only 3.

SideSteel wrote: »

What differentiates a Quest Bar (something you ate today) from GoGurt?

Would you let your child eat a Quest Bar or would you be concerned with chemicals?

Exactly: Maybe she should be more aware of the food in her OWN food:


Quoted from :http://blog.fooducate.com/2013/12/30/are-quest-bars-really-as-nutritious-as-claimed/
Quest promotes itself as the “#1 Protein Bar” and at first impression the nutrition numbers look very impressive. Take, for example, the Vanilla Almond Crunch Protein Bar. It’s a 200-calorie bar, but only has half a gram of saturated fat. It’s got 20 grams of protein, which is 40% of the recommended daily intake. The fiber count is super high at 18 grams, almost three fourths of the daily requirement. Most Americans lack woefully in fiber intake; here an individual can erase her deficit with a single bar. Quest sells itself as a low sugar, low carb solution, claiming only 2-6 “net carbs”. Indeed, only 22 grams of carbs, of which 18 are fiber, and just 1 gram of sugars. Amazing.

But then you take a look at the ingredient list, and the house of cards comes crumbling down. This product has “gamed” the nutrition facts panel by using food-like ingredients to compose the bar. Let’s have a look at the Ingredient list:

Protein blend (whey protein isolate, milk protein isolate), isomalto-oligosaccharides, almonds, water, natural flavors, sea salt, lo han guo, sucralose.

First the pros: It is a short list.

Now for the problems. The protein sources are not something you can make at home or buy from a farmer. Whey protein isolate milk protein isolates are a byproduct of cheese production. Body builders buy them in powdered form to add to food and drink. In some cases, they may cause digestive problems such as bloating, cramps, and gas.

Next are the isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMO), the source of fiber in the bar. It is a syrupy goop that tastes slightly sweet but is not considered a sugar because it is a long chain molecule. Although it is found naturally in fermented foods, it is much cheaper to manufacture it in factories by applying enzymes to various starch sources. The problem with ingesting 18 grams of this IMO, is that it feeds only a small subset of our gut bacteria.

A balanced diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains will provide a much better fiber profile for your digestive system. In our book, IMO is a fake fiber. Incidentally, Quest is being sued now, with the plaintiffs claiming that the actual fiber count is lower than stated in the package.

But we digress.

Whenever we see natural flavors added to a product, we try to imagine what it would taste like without them. Added flavors are made in labs and serve to mask the lack of flavor of the other ingredients in the product. Ask yourself this – do you need to add natural flavors to food you prepare at home?

On to sweeteners.

Lo han guo, also known as monk fruit, is the Chinese equivalent of stevia. Instead of a leaf, this is a fruit. Monk fruit extracts, called mogrosides, can be processed to manufacture a powdered sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar.

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that may or may not cause cancer, bowel disease, and DNA alterations in mice. We understand that despite no added sugars, this bar is rather sweet due to the addition of processed and artificial sweeteners.

Bottom line:

This product is engineered to taste good and look like a nutrition powerhouse. In fact, it is a highly processed food-like product that we would not eat.

shiybaby wrote: »

SideSteel wrote: »

What differentiates a Quest Bar (something you ate today) from GoGurt?

Would you let your child eat a Quest Bar or would you be concerned with chemicals?

Exactly: Maybe she should be more aware of the food in her OWN food:


Quoted from :http://blog.fooducate.com/2013/12/30/are-quest-bars-really-as-nutritious-as-claimed/
Quest promotes itself as the “#1 Protein Bar” and at first impression the nutrition numbers look very impressive. Take, for example, the Vanilla Almond Crunch Protein Bar. It’s a 200-calorie bar, but only has half a gram of saturated fat. It’s got 20 grams of protein, which is 40% of the recommended daily intake. The fiber count is super high at 18 grams, almost three fourths of the daily requirement. Most Americans lack woefully in fiber intake; here an individual can erase her deficit with a single bar. Quest sells itself as a low sugar, low carb solution, claiming only 2-6 “net carbs”. Indeed, only 22 grams of carbs, of which 18 are fiber, and just 1 gram of sugars. Amazing.

But then you take a look at the ingredient list, and the house of cards comes crumbling down. This product has “gamed” the nutrition facts panel by using food-like ingredients to compose the bar. Let’s have a look at the Ingredient list:

Protein blend (whey protein isolate, milk protein isolate), isomalto-oligosaccharides, almonds, water, natural flavors, sea salt, lo han guo, sucralose.

First the pros: It is a short list.

Now for the problems. The protein sources are not something you can make at home or buy from a farmer. Whey protein isolate milk protein isolates are a byproduct of cheese production. Body builders buy them in powdered form to add to food and drink. In some cases, they may cause digestive problems such as bloating, cramps, and gas.

Next are the isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMO), the source of fiber in the bar. It is a syrupy goop that tastes slightly sweet but is not considered a sugar because it is a long chain molecule. Although it is found naturally in fermented foods, it is much cheaper to manufacture it in factories by applying enzymes to various starch sources. The problem with ingesting 18 grams of this IMO, is that it feeds only a small subset of our gut bacteria.

A balanced diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains will provide a much better fiber profile for your digestive system. In our book, IMO is a fake fiber. Incidentally, Quest is being sued now, with the plaintiffs claiming that the actual fiber count is lower than stated in the package.

But we digress.

Whenever we see natural flavors added to a product, we try to imagine what it would taste like without them. Added flavors are made in labs and serve to mask the lack of flavor of the other ingredients in the product. Ask yourself this – do you need to add natural flavors to food you prepare at home?

On to sweeteners.

Lo han guo, also known as monk fruit, is the Chinese equivalent of stevia. Instead of a leaf, this is a fruit. Monk fruit extracts, called mogrosides, can be processed to manufacture a powdered sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar.

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that may or may not cause cancer, bowel disease, and DNA alterations in mice. We understand that despite no added sugars, this bar is rather sweet due to the addition of processed and artificial sweeteners.

Bottom line:

This product is engineered to taste good and look like a nutrition powerhouse. In fact, it is a highly processed food-like product that we would not eat.

If it tastes good and fulfills my nutritional goals... then hell yeah I'm gonna eat it...

TheVirgoddess wrote: »

I Quest bars.

I would like them better if I didn't have to pay $2+ a bar for them...

shiybaby wrote: »

SideSteel wrote: »

What differentiates a Quest Bar (something you ate today) from GoGurt?

Would you let your child eat a Quest Bar or would you be concerned with chemicals?

Exactly: Maybe she should be more aware of the food in her OWN food:


Quoted from :http://blog.fooducate.com/2013/12/30/are-quest-bars-really-as-nutritious-as-claimed/
Quest promotes itself as the “#1 Protein Bar” and at first impression the nutrition numbers look very impressive. Take, for example, the Vanilla Almond Crunch Protein Bar. It’s a 200-calorie bar, but only has half a gram of saturated fat. It’s got 20 grams of protein, which is 40% of the recommended daily intake. The fiber count is super high at 18 grams, almost three fourths of the daily requirement. Most Americans lack woefully in fiber intake; here an individual can erase her deficit with a single bar. Quest sells itself as a low sugar, low carb solution, claiming only 2-6 “net carbs”. Indeed, only 22 grams of carbs, of which 18 are fiber, and just 1 gram of sugars. Amazing.

But then you take a look at the ingredient list, and the house of cards comes crumbling down. This product has “gamed” the nutrition facts panel by using food-like ingredients to compose the bar. Let’s have a look at the Ingredient list:

Protein blend (whey protein isolate, milk protein isolate), isomalto-oligosaccharides, almonds, water, natural flavors, sea salt, lo han guo, sucralose.

First the pros: It is a short list.

Now for the problems. The protein sources are not something you can make at home or buy from a farmer. Whey protein isolate milk protein isolates are a byproduct of cheese production. Body builders buy them in powdered form to add to food and drink. In some cases, they may cause digestive problems such as bloating, cramps, and gas.

Next are the isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMO), the source of fiber in the bar. It is a syrupy goop that tastes slightly sweet but is not considered a sugar because it is a long chain molecule. Although it is found naturally in fermented foods, it is much cheaper to manufacture it in factories by applying enzymes to various starch sources. The problem with ingesting 18 grams of this IMO, is that it feeds only a small subset of our gut bacteria.

A balanced diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains will provide a much better fiber profile for your digestive system. In our book, IMO is a fake fiber. Incidentally, Quest is being sued now, with the plaintiffs claiming that the actual fiber count is lower than stated in the package.

But we digress.

Whenever we see natural flavors added to a product, we try to imagine what it would taste like without them. Added flavors are made in labs and serve to mask the lack of flavor of the other ingredients in the product. Ask yourself this – do you need to add natural flavors to food you prepare at home?

On to sweeteners.

Lo han guo, also known as monk fruit, is the Chinese equivalent of stevia. Instead of a leaf, this is a fruit. Monk fruit extracts, called mogrosides, can be processed to manufacture a powdered sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar.

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that may or may not cause cancer, bowel disease, and DNA alterations in mice. We understand that despite no added sugars, this bar is rather sweet due to the addition of processed and artificial sweeteners.

Bottom line:

This product is engineered to taste good and look like a nutrition powerhouse. In fact, it is a highly processed food-like product that we would not eat.

Sorry, but I am actually lolling. This is totally the opposite of what he thinks.

melimomTARDIS wrote: »

All right I admit it. I let my son (who has extreme sensory issues) eat 1/2 a cookies and cream questbar as a "protien" choice sometimes. Bring out the pitchforks.

I wouldn't sweat that, my mom used to let me have tastes of her slimfast shakes and nutrisystem food when that was "the thing" for weight loss. The chocolate pudding was icky