Fruit salad, yummy yummy!

Fruit salad is the best snack for a hot summer day. Its so easy. The kids can do all the cutting. You can pretty much throw any type of fruit together, the kids don't care. Melons, berries, citris, apples, tropical....whatever fruit is in season. The best way is to go to a local U PICK farm with the kids and let them help with the picking. There is not anything better than a beautiful, colorful, yummy fruit salad!

kids in the kitchen!

Lets get our kids in the kitchen! Let's stop trying to hide veggies in their food (lets face it, they usually figure it out...they're smarter than we think sometimes!). I was a preschool teacher for 10 years and I know first hand that if children help prepare food it gives them a sense of pride and they are more apt to eat it. Even veggies! No matter what type of food you are cooking, children can help in some way. Washing veggies, slicing green onions, measuring flour. Yes it takes longer so you'll need to add a little extra time to your plan but they CAN do it! And they are so proud of themselves for their acomplishments. It's a win win situation :)

Smoothies!

Smoothies are a great way to get lots of fruit in the diet. I make one with a cup of vanilla almond milk, half cup frozen mango, half cup frozen blueberries, tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate, and a tablespoon flax seed oil. Full of antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids, and tastes yummy! My son loves it :)

Healthy food!

I have to keep healthy food in the house. It's my job to have lots of choices of for my son to snack on when he's hungry. He's 10. Growing boy and hungry all the time! If I bring juuk food in the house, that is what he will eat. If I have the cabinets and refrigerator stocked with nutritious food, that is what he will eat! I have found with him that as long as he has choices there are no complaints. When there are few choices then "there is nothing to eat" and "you don't buy anything good" Now I just have to keep up with the grocery shopping!

Cheeseburgers

Sometimes we have to give in. I've learned quite well in my life that if something is forbidden, you will crave it more than anything else! The other night I was with a friend, it was 9:00 at night and we had not eaten dinner. We were driving away from the University of Washington and what did we see? Dicks hamburgers! It had been years since I had eaten there. She dared suggest, and to my surprise, I said yes without even thinking about it! I imagined it would be a moment of bliss for me. We ordered and took it to her house. I took the first bite, it was kind of ok. Another bite....just ok. No, it wasn't bliss. I ate it all because that was our dinner. I couldn't help but think how much better a homeade fresh burger would taste. I'm glad I ate the Dicks hamburger that night. I don't think that I will ever crave one again. I didn't feel vey well the next day. Sometimes we need to give in! We learn! This lesson has taught me that when I'm having a hard time with my son, sometimes I need to give a little. Not all the time, just occasionally. I think he's capable of feeling how his body reacts to food. It will help him learn just the way I did.

Stories from the preschool classroom

I was a preschool teacher for 10 years. Meal times brought out such creativity in the children. Whether it was snack or lunch, they always seemed to amuse me.
Sydney was 5. Very smart little girl. One day at snack we were having brocholi with ranch dip. Sydney sat down at the snack table and declared "I'm allergic to brocholi." "I didn't know that. Your mom didn't tell me", I responded. Sydney proceeded, "She told me that I'm allergic to brocholi. You should put me on the list. And my mom said not to call her, she has a busy day at work." (Sydney was referring to the list of children who have allergic reactions to certain foods.) Sydney had everything planned out! She made a very convincing argument for not eating brocholi for what it's worth!
Alyssa was 5 1/2 (The 1/2 is very important to her!) Alyssa pulled carrots out of her lunch that she had brought from home. "Carrots give me headaches, I can't eat these" she said. I responded, "I think your mom wants you to eat them, that's why she packed them in your lunch box." "My mom forgot that I get headaches when I eat carrots. Maybe she thought it was my brothers' lunch. Yea, she was supposed to put them in his lunch. Can I take them to him?" (Her brother was in another classroom at our school. He was 2!)
Why do children go to any lengths to not eat vegetables? Is it just the law of childhood that we don't like veggies? I don't think so. I do think however that our tastes for certain foods go all the way back to infancy and even to our time in the womb. It's amazing actually. "We are what we eat", and we might as well say, "Our children are what we eat!" "Monkey see, monkey do!"

Cod Liver Oil!

I just discovered a lemon smoothie flavored cod liver oil. To my surprise, it tastes great! Like a smoothie. This might be the greatest invention ever. Completely kid proof. My son reminds me if I have forgotten to give it to him. It's the easiest way to give omega 3 fatty acids to children!

Jordan

The other day, a friend asked if I could watch her kids for a few hours. (Ages 9 and 2 ½) It would be in the evening so she told me that her 2 ½ year old is very picky about eating and pretty much all he eats is spaghetti O’s or pizza. “I’ll send over a can of spaghetti O’s with him” The first thing that came to mind (and I kept it in my head) was Gross!......there will be no spaghetti O’s in my house! I can work with pizza though. “Don’t worry about it….we’ll make pizza” I told her. So that’s what we did. The kids helped me make the pizza with whole wheat dough and Jordan (2 ½ year old) counted the uncured nitrate free pepperoni as we placed it on top. We also made a salad. Jordan helped tear the green lettuce leaves and I cut up carrot and red bell pepper sticks. I always make sure to make plain salads for kids and keep the veggies on the side. I’ve learned that children like things separated. We put lettuce into bowls and topped them with a slightly sweet, yummy, poppy seed dressing and displayed the colorful carrot and pepper sticks on a big plate which we set in the middle of the table. Jordan helped set a plate of pizza and a bowl of salad at each setting. He was excited to call the big boys (his brother and my son) to come and eat. We all sat down. I didn’t say a word to Jordan about any of the food that was in front of him. The older boys immediately started eating carrots and peppers. Jordan watching, reached out and took a carrot stick and a pepper stick and placed them on his plate next to the pizza. He then took a bite of pizza. He watched the older boys as they devoured everything hearing his big brother exclaim “ummm….this salad is really good”. Jordan picked up his fork and took a bite of his salad. He smiled! He then decided to try the carrot stick. He nibbled back and forth between the pizza, salad, and carrot stick. Finally, he got brave and picked up the red bell pepper stick, took a bite, and this time decided that he didn’t like it so much. So he went back to the carrot. At the end of our meal time, Jordan ate all of his pizza, most of the carrot stick, and his entire bowl of salad! Success! And not once did I tell him that he had to eat his veggies!

Childhood Obesity

Children in the United States are becoming increasingly overweight! This is scary. These children are at a high risk for illness in their adult lives. Parents need to understand that it is up to us to educate ourselves to learn how to nourish our own bodies. It is only then that we can pass this knowledge down to our children. The first important lesson we need to know is that food is not the enemy! The food we eat is a source of energy for our bodies to function at optimal levels. Our society tells us to go on diets and eliminate foods that we love. This almost always will backfire and create a stronger craving for that food. Putting children on a diet can be detrimental. Not only will it take the enjoyment out of eating but it can cause self esteem issues and a lifetime of negative associations with food. We need to reverse the trend that we are seeing and help our children see food in a different light. Like I said, this starts with us, the parents. Children learn what they are exposed to. We can start with baby steps. If the family feels like cheeseburgers for dinner, go to the grocery store and buy the ingredients. Make them at home. This will eliminate the trans fat that you would get from a restaurant like McDonald's. Use cheese that is not processed. Quality meat and green lettuce increase the nutrient density. Let children help wash and dry the lettuce. When children help prepare meals it increases the chance that they will eat or at least try a new food. We have to take the TIME needed to change the way we eat and make it a priority. Fast food is convenient but it also decreases our lifespan!

A little about me...

Welcome to "If you love me, don't feed me junk food". I am a nutrition student at Bastyr University dedicated to helping children and their parents change their lives through whole foods. I taught preschool for 12 years (and loved it!) but have decided to take a fork in the road down a slightly different path. Children and nutrition...such a hot topic! I am a single mom to an intelligent, athletic ten year old and I am proud to say that he eats kale! He's not perfect...absolutely will not eat green beans...but we have learned how to compromise. Bringing my own child up on whole foods has NOT been an easy task! Children are influenced by so many things in their environment. About a year ago he said to me "I just want to be like a normal kid"! His friends don't bring carrots and apples in their lunch...or BROWN bread! He has taught me that when dealing with children we need to be able to compromise and sometimes make deals! We want our children to enjoy the food their eating and not think of it as a negative experience. I have faith that although my son will not eat green beans now, eventually he will. Kids go through phases and can be very picky...it's called childhood. It's up to us (parents) to love, guide, educate, and nourish their souls in a positive direction. The purpose of this blog is to help guide parents through the obstacles of our food supply and talk about what works and what doesn't. Every child is different, every family is different.....