I have always had difficulty with straddling the line between health and enjoyment. As I've gotten older I have learned to LOVE vegetables, but I think most of this love comes from knowing how good they are for me. It takes time to accept health over enjoyment. While I don't think food is meant to be enjoyed as it is just sustenance, it is the world we live in and frankly, there are some things that are absolutely delicious. So, as an adult I can logic and reason and take complete responsibility for my weight, however, how does one do this with children?
I was not allowed to have sugared cereal except for maybe once a year, but I also never learned portion control. There is something to be said for allowing some "forbidden fruit" so children learn to control urges. At the same time, I can't explain to my son that candy has white sugar that isn't really meant to be processed by our bodies and elevates our blood sugar and stores as fat and we have diabetes in the family and so on and so on...he's 16 months old! I understand it and sometimes it is still a difficult choice to make.
The second issue is, what is safe? It is difficult to decide what is "worth" what. Yeah, cows milk is a quick and easy source of calcium, protein and fat for my kid, but it's also a source of cow pus and blood. Beans are a wonderful and healthy source of protein and fiber, but my son will have uncomfortable gas if he eats too much.
There is enough for moms to get hung up on and drive ourselves crazy about, do we really need to be hung up on food? I'd love to feed my son whole organic foods and beef that was raised in healthy happy fields with classical music being played as they were slaughtered. The fact of the matter is, he's going to go to parties, he's going to sometimes buy a school lunch, he's going to live in the world of microwaves and potato chips...I need to teach him how to live among it.
It is 1:30 and so far Jack's food has gone like this:
- Breakfast: 4 ounces of water, 1 cup of "cheerios" (some gluten free organic fake cheerios, lightly sugared with pomegranate juice (lovely and pretentious)), a bowl of applesauce and cinnamon
- A few hours later he had a cup of half almond milk and half water
- While I was baking dessert for passover he broke into the pantry and had a handful of dried fruit (blueberries, cranberries and prunes), and I gave him a dark chocolate chip and a marshmallow to try from the brownies I was making
- Lunch: 1 cup of organic kidney beans with garlic and olive oil, diced tomatoes with olive oil and sea salt (left over from a salad), and a cup of fruit salad (grapes, blueberries, and strawberries (all lovingly organic))
- Before his nap he had a handful of goldfish
In retrospect how do I feel? Well, a few months ago or pre having a child I'd feel bad about the marshmallow and the goldfish (it's funny that the chocolate chip doesn't bother me at all)
How does Jack feel? Happy, content, and full enough to be napping right now.
The fact that my kid can have 1 chocolate chip and walk away and keep playing makes me proud...I probably shoved 10 in my mouth while baking. Should I have used flax seed oil over olive? Should I have used fresh garlic? Should I have given him home made beans instead of rinsed organic canned? Yes, probably yes to all of these things...but is my ultimate goal being met?
Are 90% of his calories coming from healthy/nutritious foods? YES
Is he learning healthy foods can be yummy? YES (he loved them more than the chocolate)
Is he learning self-control? YES, appears so
Overall, there is a fine line between sheltering and exposing. If I don't expose him, he won't know how to deal with life's obstacles?
*Jack finished the day with a dinner of wild salmon and flounder, broccoli, and banana. Oh, and a taste of the passover brownies I made (which he enjoyed but walked away from to point at the bananas and scream "nanners") In the course of a life time, does a handful of goldfish or non-organic dried garlic really matter?
I'd feel like I was not doing my civil duty if I did not include infomration on honest food labeling (which for those of you who don't know, there are plenty of misnomers on our food that are government approved).
This is a link to the Coalition for Honest Food Labeling:
