Anyone have kids? How do you feed them?
hmikkola92
Posts: 169 Member
I have a 7 month old and I'm sitting here feeding him Gerber puffs. They're peach and they smell amazing btw. But I'm at a loss of what to do with food. His dad doesn't follow this WOE at all. And I feel now that sugar is basically poison. But I don't want him to never have treats. What do you do, or would you do?
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Edited because I realized I didn't answer you, lol. Sorry, long day. At 7 months old I think you sort of have to go with what they're able to eat. I'm assuming you've also started him on fruits and veggies and he still gets milk. Eventually you can steer him towards other foods. My advice for eventually, though, is to encourage him to try new foods (we had a rule that they had to try one bite, one time at a minimum) without making a major issue out of it. Twice one of my daughters tried the vegetarianism thing and didn't like it but we supported her efforts anyway.0
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I don't worry about carbs for her at dinner. Occasionally I will make a sweet potato or a rice for her, but she eats a lot of carbs during the day. She's 3 1/2 so for breakfast she always wants cereal and lunch is usually a sandwich or a pasta or sometimes something bad like breaded chicken tenders with a veggie. So for me, it seems like she's getting more than enough carbs to worry about dinner not having any. Make sense?
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I don't have littles anymore, but I would probably just feed him the same things you eat, in smaller portions, with a bit higher carb threshold (100 g at his age, maybe 150 grams - all good carbs, when older and active). I personally wouldn't ever give them traditional bread/gluten, except in extreme circumstances. I would avoid sugar added things, but fruit is reasonable in a child's diet within proportion.
If the child is old enough to grasp foods like the puffs, they are old enough to gum other foods. There is scientific research showing that buy using soft baby foods or things that dissolve like those puffs, we're actually delaying the onset of their gag reflex to form properly, as well as allowing them to develop texture aversions and such (obviously things like developmental disorders/autism/special needs are exceptions here - they don't develop those things - it is ingrained in the disorder/gut health most of the time...I'm referring to children who just get spoiled or develop a sweet tooth EARLY that becomes permanent.)
Maria Emmerich feeds both her children the way she eats, and I think her website is:
www.mariamindbodyhealth.com
and they still get fed "SAD" food sometimes when out and about, etc. The link @RalfLott posted in the other thread about how carbs affect mood and such actually in one of the other parts of her talk, she discussed how breastmilk is sweet, and our bodies are hardwired for sweet because in nature, no sweet foods are poisoned naturally. But that this was rare and intended to be occasional/in times of desperation and all that...
If I run back across the video, I'll share it back out, but I think there is a lot of data showing that now, at the age your son is, this is the best time to set him up for life-long success!1 -
I have one child left at home (15 year old daughter). She eats a fairly balanced diet - not the SAD but not low-carb/keto either. I am working on getting her to eat lower-carb with some success. She has never been a fan of potatoes or rice, but she does eat bread and pasta (as long as there is no sauce on the pasta).0
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Thanks for your input everyone. I'm just trying to figure out what's worse, eating mostly like me but also having occasional treats / carbs, or just eating the normal kid diet. Like, constantly going back and forth between low carb and not low carb can't be good. I don't want to give him bread and all that. I'm having difficulty explaining myself lol. I know I'm not going to restrict his veggies and he will have fruit too.1
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And as for the puffs, I don't really feel right giving them to him. I only give him 2 here and there in the day but they smell basically like candy and he goes after them like they are. Just trying to get him to pick them up and put them in his mouth. I didnt know that about their gag reflex! Maybe I'll try bananas or Avacado pieces0
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When mine were tiny I would give them chopped avocado, black beans or green peas as finger foods. Scrambled egg is really good too. And shredded cheese.
They're 9 and 5 now and really good eaters. We skipped cereals 100% and kept them higher fat/low sugar.2 -
Treats don't have to have sugar.
And if they are, they can be fruit. Or any of the awesome looking things Mariah Emmerich (as linked above) makes for her little adorables.
My youngest is 14. How I WISH I would've known about this when mine were babies. You have a golden opportunity to feed your baby right starting early enough that you don't have to first break his old habits.
I'd avoid all grains and processed foods if I could do it over again.
Treats would be whole fruits and grain free baked goods with minimal natural sugars. I'd probably even cut the sugar with stevia. But mostly not sweeten things very much at all so they didn't develop that need for super sweetness in the first place.
I would only give them water and fruit infused water without sweeteners of any kind.3 -
I think the emphasis should be on real foods. I would assume at 7 months your child is not yet metabolically broken. Being keto wouldn't cause harm, and in fact regardless of what you feed him, he will be in ketosis part of the time due to how much energy is required to grow at the pace he is growing. However, there is no need for him to be VLC. If he is eating real food (and those puffs would not be real food), he should be fine.
When my daughter first started getting teeth or maybe a little after - definitely before she was a year old - she was very fond of chewing on bell pepper. That is odd because for the longest time, she wouldn't eat them because they were green. Now, at 11, she finally decided to try them again and realized they're pretty good.0 -
Real foods. Fruits, veggies etc.. I try very hard not to give them stuff with sugar, and when it does it needs to have fiber to help balance. But they do end up with sweets at parties and stuff.
My nine year old made the comment ' Doesn't fat make you fat?' I said 'nope, sugar makes you fat, and thyroid issues.'
I'm sure there has to be more 'natural' finger foods available for toddlers now a days. It just might take some searching to find things with no added sugar.2 -
I would concentrate on protein foods as primary if I knew then what I know now.
I bet he'd love some Greek yogurt! Good protein, bacteria and not sweetened so as not to develop a preference for sweet tasting foods. Can add some fruit whenever you think he's ready for that too.
And I'd look into ways to feed meats too. So many kids have an aversion to meat and I think it's mostly due to the fact that it was traditional to wait to introduce it until later and then it was aweful puréed grey crap in a jar! Protein is so important for a growing child. I'd be mindful to curate a taste for meat and proteins.0 -
hmikkola92 wrote: »I have a 7 month old and I'm sitting here feeding him Gerber puffs. They're peach and they smell amazing btw. But I'm at a loss of what to do with food. His dad doesn't follow this WOE at all. And I feel now that sugar is basically poison. But I don't want him to never have treats. What do you do, or would you do?
I feed my kids what they will eat. They won't eat what I eat. They want bonified kid food. To preserve my sanity, I let them eat what they will eat. They have their whole adult hood to worry about the food they eat.... I keep it as healthy as possible but I'm not about to impose my diet restrictions on them.
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Mine are 8; they were almost 7 when I started this woe (though I did some low carb variations before). A typical day for them looks like this:
Breakfast: Cheerios and milk, sometimes with scrambled eggs or kefir for more protein. (DH often feeds them breakfast; when it's me, I'm more about adding the protein.)
Lunch: a PB or turkey and cheese sandwich (or crackers with a cheese stick and pepperoni) plus 2 veggies/fruits, and water. Sometimes I'll add a yogurt or applesauce.
After-school snack: They get their own but I make sure they choose a protein source and a vegetable or fruit. They can also have a carb if they want one but obviously I don't require that.
Dinner: Most often it's meat with a few different veggies (e.g. tonight was steak and salad or it might be chicken or fish with roasted veggies, etc.). We all eat the same thing for dinner most of the time. I stopped making additional starchier sides for them for the most part. Sometimes I'll do pasta for them and just meat sauce w/veggies for me; or they'll have beef tacos w/a side salad while I (and now often DH, too) have a taco salad. Some nights I'll let the have a more sweet dessert; sometimes if they're still hungry I'll let them have fruit or yogurt.0 -
Treat snackies = cheese cubes or sticks, small turkey breast, chicken or tender ham pieces, peeled cucumber or raw zucchini sticks (or unpeeled, depending on age- saw an awsome video of a little kid in a grocery cart seat grabbing hold of the cucumber his mom put in the cart and just gnawing on it). Lots of little kids love pickles to suck & chew on.0
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Cheerios was another one my kids liked as babies. Easy to pick up, a lot cheaper than anything from the baby food aisle.0
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I hate to sound insensitive, and I hope no-one is offended, but - I find it kinda strange that we're all pretty well established as LCHF fans, and we generally condemn carbs as being wholly unnecessary - not to say detrimental - to general well-being, and yet we're still giving it to our kids...?
I guess I'm very lucky in that I don't have any young children now, and my daughters were absolutely never picky eaters.... and my grandson loves food in all and every guise, and his mum feeds him a hitherto 'balanced diet' but wouldn't hesitate to modify that if needed - and Grandson would be happy to eat it, too!
I think a definite thing for me would be to make sure as far as is possible that I cut carbs out for my kids, too....
But I'm sure some 'kindly soul' somewhere (Doctor? Teacher?) would condemn me as a bad mother and insist the child needs them as part of a growing plan.... even though I'm living proof you don't - and that nobody else does either....
Or am I wrong?
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my son is 8 and skinny, I feed him whole foods with carbs and I make my own food. I have enough will power to pass up the carb items he eats. Not an issue for me. He is not insulin resistant so no need for him to be on a LCHF diet like me.1
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AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »I hate to sound insensitive, and I hope no-one is offended, but - I find it kinda strange that we're all pretty well established as LCHF fans, and we generally condemn carbs as being wholly unnecessary - not to say detrimental - to general well-being, and yet we're still giving it to our kids...?
I guess I'm very lucky in that I don't have any young children now, and my daughters were absolutely never picky eaters.... and my grandson loves food in all and every guise, and his mum feeds him a hitherto 'balanced diet' but wouldn't hesitate to modify that if needed - and Grandson would be happy to eat it, too!
I think a definite thing for me would be to make sure as far as is possible that I cut carbs out for my kids, too....
But I'm sure some 'kindly soul' somewhere (Doctor? Teacher?) would condemn me as a bad mother and insist the child needs them as part of a growing plan.... even though I'm living proof you don't - and that nobody else does either....
Or am I wrong?
Your not wrong, just because we choose to live LCHF doesnt mean our family needs too as well. We can all co-exist in the same household.2 -
AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »I hate to sound insensitive, and I hope no-one is offended, but - I find it kinda strange that we're all pretty well established as LCHF fans, and we generally condemn carbs as being wholly unnecessary - not to say detrimental - to general well-being, and yet we're still giving it to our kids...?
I guess I'm very lucky in that I don't have any young children now, and my daughters were absolutely never picky eaters.... and my grandson loves food in all and every guise, and his mum feeds him a hitherto 'balanced diet' but wouldn't hesitate to modify that if needed - and Grandson would be happy to eat it, too!
I think a definite thing for me would be to make sure as far as is possible that I cut carbs out for my kids, too....
But I'm sure some 'kindly soul' somewhere (Doctor? Teacher?) would condemn me as a bad mother and insist the child needs them as part of a growing plan.... even though I'm living proof you don't - and that nobody else does either....
Or am I wrong?
I would not say you are "wrong" necessarily. Although I am keto, I am also paleo except for the fact I don't have any desire or need to give up dairy.
I firmly believe that if everyone started day 1 of their life eating real food, which is basically what paleo is, very few people would end up metabolically damaged and need to cut carbs to the level many here do.
A typical paleo diet will be between 25-35% carbs, but all of those will be from real foods where the carbs have a cell wall. Those will not damage someone with a healthy metabolism. And the overall carb load is half of the SAD.
That combo of carbs being half of the SAD and the carbs being eaten are lower GI and higher fiber will ALMOST guarantee the child will grow up without becoming IR, obese, developing T2D, etc.
Is there harm in cutting all carbs from the diet? No. Is it necessary to cut all carbs? No. Therefore, IMHO, restrict what needs to be restricted and nothing more. It will make long term compliance easier. Also, why make it harder than it has to be?1 -
AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »I hate to sound insensitive, and I hope no-one is offended, but - I find it kinda strange that we're all pretty well established as LCHF fans, and we generally condemn carbs as being wholly unnecessary - not to say detrimental - to general well-being, and yet we're still giving it to our kids...?
I guess I'm very lucky in that I don't have any young children now, and my daughters were absolutely never picky eaters.... and my grandson loves food in all and every guise, and his mum feeds him a hitherto 'balanced diet' but wouldn't hesitate to modify that if needed - and Grandson would be happy to eat it, too!
I think a definite thing for me would be to make sure as far as is possible that I cut carbs out for my kids, too....
But I'm sure some 'kindly soul' somewhere (Doctor? Teacher?) would condemn me as a bad mother and insist the child needs them as part of a growing plan.... even though I'm living proof you don't - and that nobody else does either....
Or am I wrong?
Kids have different needs than adults do. They are growing so fast. I think that it is more appropriate for them to be on a moderate carb diet, with no added sugar and avoid the foods that are a high glycemic impact. But if you don't start them that way, it is hard to switch it especially if the other parent doesn't eat LCHF. For kids that do strict keto for medical reasons, they have to me monitored to make sure they get all the nutrition they need.
Keto Mom is someone I follow on facebook and is what I would ideally for my kids.1 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Treats don't have to have sugar.
And if they are, they can be fruit. Or any of the awesome looking things Mariah Emmerich (as linked above) makes for her little adorables.
My youngest is 14. How I WISH I would've known about this when mine were babies. You have a golden opportunity to feed your baby right starting early enough that you don't have to first break his old habits.
I'd avoid all grains and processed foods if I could do it over again.
Treats would be whole fruits and grain free baked goods with minimal natural sugars. I'd probably even cut the sugar with stevia. But mostly not sweeten things very much at all so they didn't develop that need for super sweetness in the first place.
I would only give them water and fruit infused water without sweeteners of any kind.
I feel the same. My son is 10 and it is a struggle. I wish I would have started when he was younger. There are a lot of fruits, veggies, cheeses, meats he enjoys and lately he likes trying new seafood and 'different' meats. He tried lamb the other day and he wants to try duck and bison. He ate oysters with us a couple weeks ago too. So not my son but I am happy! He however still loves his Cheetos, Doritos, cookies, chicken nuggets, Pizza Rolls, frozen pizzas, mac n cheese etc...I try to seriously limit his sugar. And he does drink a lot of water and very limited juices and soda. But I don't for example make him eat spaghetti squash as his pasta like I do if it's spaghetti night. It's hit or miss on what he'll try and I won't force him to eat something he doesn't want to try or I know he doesn't like.
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I have a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 1 year old. My husband is paleo and I am just a healthy eater in general.
My kids eat 90% whole foods. Eggs from our chickens and banana/spinach smoothies for breakfast, turkey or homemade peanut butter on sprouted bread for lunch, whatever protein and veggie we are eating for dinner. Fruit for snacks. They think plain air popped popcorn or a banana with homemade peanut butter is a treat. That said, i do not restrict them when they go to a friend's house or have a party, so they do get kid food once a week or so. i am not trying to create an eating disorder here.
It helps if you have time to cook. Look on pinterest for kids recipes with no sugar. There are all kinds of yummy spinach, carrot and pumpkin muffins and "cookies" out there. Mostly we sweeten them with over ripe banana.
Good luck, food and kids is HARD. My kids have gone through stages when they refused to eat dinner or healthy foods. I just said, if you dont eat our healthy dinner, you will be very hungry in the morning. Usually, they give up and eat our healthy food because they are hungry. When they don't, they eat a big breakfast. They certainly are not starving even when they go through their picky stages.
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AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »
I think a definite thing for me would be to make sure as far as is possible that I cut carbs out for my kids, too....
Or am I wrong?
Are you talking about processed carbs? I do think that carbs from whole foods like sweet potatoes, quinoa, fruit, berries, beans... can benefit very active growing kids.
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They're kids! They have way different dietary needs than us. And I bet they are WAY more active than the average person condemning a normal kids diet. Mine are 5&8. They're picky as hell, and most nights it's a victory to say I got them to eat a spoonful of peas with the pound of tater tots they inhaled. I personally make two dishes every night...."take it" or "leave it". That said, it has to be something reasonable they should eat. (Unless I get the super Dad award and let them eat cereal for dinner). Between soccer, hockey, running with me and their normal never-stop-moving lives they've somehow managed to turn out healthy so far.1
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AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »I hate to sound insensitive, and I hope no-one is offended, but - I find it kinda strange that we're all pretty well established as LCHF fans, and we generally condemn carbs as being wholly unnecessary - not to say detrimental - to general well-being, and yet we're still giving it to our kids...?
I guess I'm very lucky in that I don't have any young children now, and my daughters were absolutely never picky eaters.... and my grandson loves food in all and every guise, and his mum feeds him a hitherto 'balanced diet' but wouldn't hesitate to modify that if needed - and Grandson would be happy to eat it, too!
I think a definite thing for me would be to make sure as far as is possible that I cut carbs out for my kids, too....
But I'm sure some 'kindly soul' somewhere (Doctor? Teacher?) would condemn me as a bad mother and insist the child needs them as part of a growing plan.... even though I'm living proof you don't - and that nobody else does either....
Or am I wrong?
At 7 months I wonder what one could physically eat that wasn't carbs of some sort. Plus, I'm not one to give my kids obscene amounts of junk food (and yes, I consider some food junk), but I'm also a believer that if you demonize anything to kids, especially teenagers, they'll just want it more. We all heard about that kid who used to eat junk at a friend's house because it was forbidden at theirs. I'm also not completely convinced that all grain-y carbs are necessarily unhealthy. There are people who react better to grains than others. Grains are horrible on me, not so much either of my kids. I've been lucky, too, though, because both of my kids have always been good eaters.1 -
food_lover16 wrote: »AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »I hate to sound insensitive, and I hope no-one is offended, but - I find it kinda strange that we're all pretty well established as LCHF fans, and we generally condemn carbs as being wholly unnecessary - not to say detrimental - to general well-being, and yet we're still giving it to our kids...?
I guess I'm very lucky in that I don't have any young children now, and my daughters were absolutely never picky eaters.... and my grandson loves food in all and every guise, and his mum feeds him a hitherto 'balanced diet' but wouldn't hesitate to modify that if needed - and Grandson would be happy to eat it, too!
I think a definite thing for me would be to make sure as far as is possible that I cut carbs out for my kids, too....
But I'm sure some 'kindly soul' somewhere (Doctor? Teacher?) would condemn me as a bad mother and insist the child needs them as part of a growing plan.... even though I'm living proof you don't - and that nobody else does either....
Or am I wrong?
Kids have different needs than adults do. They are growing so fast. I think that it is more appropriate for them to be on a moderate carb diet, with no added sugar and avoid the foods that are a high glycemic impact. But if you don't start them that way, it is hard to switch it especially if the other parent doesn't eat LCHF. For kids that do strict keto for medical reasons, they have to me monitored to make sure they get all the nutrition they need.
Keto Mom is someone I follow on facebook and is what I would ideally for my kids.
I agree.
I eat LCHF not because I think carbs are evil or because I think everyone should eat LCHF; I do it because I have PCOS (which my boys do not), am most likely insulin resistant, formerly had prediabetes, and I also have MS and it was recommended for that as well. I initially tried keto just b/c I was struggling so much to lose 20 lbs but I decided to keep eating this way because it also helped with my acid reflux, GI issues and joint pain. My boys don't have any of the health conditions I'm doing it for. And like pp said, I think kids may have a little higher need for carbs than adults do.
They definitely eat low*er* carb (and just generally more healthy) than the SAD though, especially our dinners.0 -
First of all, I want to thank everyone for responding in such a civil manner. I'm still quietly smarting, perhaps (?), from some fairly harsh responses elsewhere, so it's refreshing to have people reply in comprehensively patient and gracious terms.
So thank you all very much for that.
@cstehansen , very good points, I appreciate the expansion....
@food_lover16 , yes you're quite right about that, kids do have different needs. I think I inwardly "aaargh!" when I see mothers buying their kids low-fat yoghurts, all the while giving them sweets/snacks/biscuits/lollies high-sweetener sugary sodas..... I mean, really...?
@laurenj915 , your kids eat pretty smart! I wouldn't mind that kind of food on a regular basis myself. You've given me some ideas, even!
and the carbs I'm talking about are yes, the typically so-called 'bad' carbs, like white bread, chips, crisps, doughnuts, sweet snacks, white pasta/ rice, that kind.....0 -
@AlexandraCarlyle well to be fair, if you are higher carb, lower fat is better since it's high carb plus high fat that's bad (re the parents who give their kids sweets but low fat yogurts and such).1
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my son is 8 and skinny, I feed him whole foods with carbs and I make my own food. I have enough will power to pass up the carb items he eats. Not an issue for me. He is not insulin resistant so no need for him to be on a LCHF diet like me.
I have 8-year-old twin boys. One of them is skinny and seems to be in a growth spurt. He has never eaten as much as he's been eating lately! He'll eat a whole dinner of meat and vegetables and keep asking for more food. So he might get fruit, more veggies, still hungry, so I finally give him some bread with peanut butter or whatnot.1 -
AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »First of all, I want to thank everyone for responding in such a civil manner. I'm still quietly smarting, perhaps (?), from some fairly harsh responses elsewhere, so it's refreshing to have people reply in comprehensively patient and gracious terms.
So thank you all very much for that.
@cstehansen , very good points, I appreciate the expansion....
@food_lover16 , yes you're quite right about that, kids do have different needs. I think I inwardly "aaargh!" when I see mothers buying their kids low-fat yoghurts, all the while giving them sweets/snacks/biscuits/lollies high-sweetener sugary sodas..... I mean, really...?
@laurenj915 , your kids eat pretty smart! I wouldn't mind that kind of food on a regular basis myself. You've given me some ideas, even!
and the carbs I'm talking about are yes, the typically so-called 'bad' carbs, like white bread, chips, crisps, doughnuts, sweet snacks, white pasta/ rice, that kind.....
I am not a social media or even online forum type person. This is really the only place I check or contribute. I get in trouble with family because, although I have a FB account, I might spend 5 minutes a month on it.
The reason I do spend some time here is because I have found valuable information from civil people who genuinely want to help others. I would like to help others also.3
