Grandma knew best

Karmynzahringer · February 2012

When I was a kid I LOVED going to my grandma and grandpas farm. Except I never understood why we had to have turkey burgers instead of hamburgers, turkey ham instead of real ham, lots of chicken, nothing was fried, always baked or pressure cooked, and rarely ever saw her eat red meat or pork (honestly maybe never).

She also had a huge garden and orchard and all of their fruits and veggies came from it (and there were lots at every meal) For dessert we always whined that it was frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, or sugar free jello with fruit in it. But NOW looking back, my grandma had the right idea, she was totally on track, and I appreciate it because some of those things I did learn to love while spending time at her house. If I did not love it she used to say "eat it often enough and you will learn to like it" So funny!

The thing is, she lived to be 97 years old and was still really healthy, took daily swims, and exercised until around 90 or so, says a lot to me!!! I finally get it, and wish she was still around so I could tell her how wonderful she did for all of those years with a healthy, natural diet, and how proud I am of her!

What I am curious about, is do you think she was just raised to eat that way? I never recall her mentioning "dieting" or anything like that, and she was born in 1913 so I am going to guess when she was growing up there were not a lot of "processed" foods, so when they did come out maybe it was easier for her to resist them?

I am hoping I can instill the same discipline into my children when it comes to food, and make it a way of life for them, but if they are like me, they will get out of the home and discover the delicious goodness of a whopper, or dairy queen. Somehow my mom grew up eating healthy, but still did not really teach me and my brother to eat right, even though her mother had taught her, but she did eat in moderation. We grew up on macaroni and cheese, and hotdogs, and microwave burritos etc (maybe it was due to lack of money) I am just worried about how to keep my children on the right track. What do you all think?

NatashaK29 · February 2012

I can relate totally. My great-grandparents had a wonderful garden that most of their meals came from. My great grandma made everything they ate, bread, jam, ect. My ggma lived to be 93 and my ggpa 98 and still physically fit. Before I gained weight I never ate pork or red meat. I still don't eat pork because it doesn't agree with my stomach or body. When my boys were young I was sort of a health freak. We ate a LOT of fruits, veggies, fish and chicken. I'm trying to get back to that. My youngest is the most excepting of this while my oldest misses pizza, burgers, moms fried chicken and junk food, but even hes come around and lost 10 lbs. I still can't get him to drink a smoothie but he will eat the fruit I cut up. Give them time and they will come around too.

Karmynzahringer · February 2012

I am having the opposite problem. My youngest son (6) is a "gag and puke" kind of kid, and he gags easily if he doesn't like the taste of something, and then gets sick. It has gotten to where he doesn't like to try new things because he doesn't want to get sick if the taste/texture doesn't agree with him, so getting him to jump onboard has been the hardest. He is doing better, and got him to try brown rice for the first time last night, although I had to bribe him to try it! My oldest-10 (the thick one) will eat anything you put in front of him except yams, and my middle boy -9 will eat anything as well. I also have a 14 year old daughter, and she is pretty picky, but I think its just because she is at that age where shes kinda "picky" about everything, her hair, her clothes, her food, she even obsesses about what her brothers are wearing when we go out to eat and insists on doing their hair (God forbid they might embarrass her!) But I think that with time and effort, like you said, they will adjust. I am not giving them any other option, we all need to be healthy, and as I tried explaining to them, just because you are not "overweight" does not mean you are healthy!

ahealthy4u · February 2012

I was blessed with two veggie and fruit eaters thank goodness I love having my garden whether it is a bucket garden or a plowed garden the tates is so much better. My grandma use have one and my mom I remember being really little and helping them it was fun.

MaximalLife · February 2012

My grandparents were the ones across the street eating bacon, eggs and beef burgers and steaks, and living well into their 90's.....

MissVCI · February 2012

My Papa would always make his famous cheesecake for every holiday, and my grandmother has her famous mac and cheese, fried chicken recipes. But that's black grandparents for you, lol. Fill you up on that good soul food.

Karmynzahringer · February 2012

Oh I would have loved that as a kid! I loved everything about going to grandmas EXCEPT the food! I remember one time getting peaches (from her peach trees) that she had frozen and were in the deep freeze so she could thaw them to put over frozen yogurt. They were dated 1981... This was 1993 or 1994... But somehow that woman had a talent, and when thawed you would swear that they were fresh off the tree that day!

danihonline · February 2012

I think the biggest difference between their lifestyles and ours was how active they were their whole lives. We spend most of ours sitting, even if we are good at getting to the gym everyday most of our hours are spent sitting at a desk, in a car or on the couch. They weren't in front of the tv, they were working most of the day, moving around. My great grandma made bacon, eggs and sausage with biscuits and gravy every morning of her life, but she worked on a farm and needed all those calories.

AvalonsUnicorn · February 2012

Oh I would have loved that as a kid! I loved everything about going to grandmas EXCEPT the food! I remember one time getting peaches (from her peach trees) that she had frozen and were in the deep freeze so she could thaw them to put over frozen yogurt. They were dated 1981... This was 1993 or 1994... But somehow that woman had a talent, and when thawed you would swear that they were fresh off the tree that day!

YUM!!!!

Grandma knew best

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