So Kelly is doing a show-us-your-life this week! And it's about my FAVORITE THING!!!
Kids And Food! I know you are SO EXCITED!!!
I've been so interested to see what the other posters are saying about how they feed their kids. Everyone is so different! I've included a link to a post I did a few months ago chronicling our typical week in food, but the basic rules are these:
1) I cook two meals a day: breakfast and dinner. (We eat small things for lunch, leftovers, salad, etc) When I think the meal might be 'challenging' (like too spicy or tough, see the link) for our kiddos, I include within the meal something that is healthy and a little more manageable. Cleaning the plate is not necessary, but trying everything is. Complaining is out and if the meal is just not at all interesting to any one person, that is fine - breakfast will be served at 6:45 the next morning as usual and they are welcome to join us then. =)
2) We avoid processed stuff as much as possible. The girls DO eat MacNCheese but it's always Annie's or Back to Nature and we nearly always put in chopped fresh broccoli. I read labels and if I don't know what a particular ingredient is, I don't buy the product. To me it just makes sense to know what, exactly, is going in our bodies. If there's something in there that I think doesn't belong (like guar gum in tea bags, for one random example), I don't buy whatever it is.
3) We have at least one veggie or fruit per meal that looks like itself. Example: I do sometimes put pureed carrots into spaghetti sauce b/c it cuts down the acid and doesn't change the flavor, but we'd have another plant alongside it. Fortunately, my two will eat that stuff w/o us having to trick them, but I wouldn't think twice about sneaking stuff in if that's what it took. =)
4) We buy organic as much as possible. Say what you want, I think it's healthier. If I have the choice between buying organic from California or buying traditionally-grown whatever from a farmer I'm actually looking at, I'll pick local every time. Meat is organic and/or pastured. Eggs are free-range. Dairy is whole-milk. HFCS may not realllly be the devil, but Tyson is. As is Purdue. And feedlots. Gross!
5) We limit salt and sugar and use sea salt and honey or maple syrup as much as possible. Dessert is usually fruit or fruit smoothies made into popsicles. I bake something chocolatey and decadent about once a month and we have that one day.
6) We don't eat out that much. It goes back to the part about my wanting to know (control issues, anyone? haha) what we're eating. And also because of budgetary concerns. We're essentially a one (military) income family so the food budget is not extravagant.
So basically, that's it. Real food for everyone! =)
Photographic Evidence
5 comments:
I agree with so many of your suggestions! My kids are good about eating their fruits and veggies. I struggle with the other foods b/c I don't feel like it is easy to eat nonprocessed foods and organic on a budget. Any tips for that?? Stopping by from Kelly's. Thanks for posting!
I'm right there with ya, grrrl! We eat pretty much the same. However, we have been cutting a few corners lately because of my schedule. We have a few favorite restaurants that are local and organic. I love that. Of course, it's almost exclusively fish, except for the burger joint which serves big island beef.
As to what the other poster said about budgeting, I find it easiest to buy and make in bulk. I freeze a lot. I buy pork sausage in bulk when it's on sale, make a huge batch of meatballs (with tons of veggies hiding in them) and freeze them. With other things, I just try to limit our portion sizes. It is hard learning to not cook too much, but when you do, it makes a difference.
Wow...I love your passion about healthy eating. I wish we could be strict like that, but our family loves to indulge on treats way too much :) But there are times when we got weeks eating on a Paleo lifestyle, meaning no processed foods and I have to say, it makes SUCH a difference in the way our bodies function. So kudos to you for sticking to this. What an awesome example you are setting for you kids.
Same boat too..... except my whole feeling on it is, Nutrition. I feel GUILTY if I feed Paisley a Quesadilla. There is NO nutrition value. And no, i don't think calcium from the cheese is THAT beneficial. :) I am lucky to have Paisley be a good fruit and veggie eater. If I do have to feed her a quesadilla for some reason, you better believe there are carrotts, cucumbers, trees (broccoli) and or fruits along side it. :)
Umm, ten days without a blog post? Is everything ok?
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