« finding out about food | Main | re-wired »
more food talk
By heather | March 12, 2010
If you were at all interested in the post I wrote yesterday on food, purely coincidentally Oprah did a show on it today that is a must watch. Also the documentary Food Inc. is on my to-watch list (trailer here). The takeaways are: do your own research, form your own opinions, and practice what you’re comfortable with. As with everything else, a little awareness isn’t a bad thing.
Anyway, while I aspire to feed my kids whole foods, unfortunately my kids don’t always agree. Tonight for dinner I convinced Brett to not only eat but also cook vegetarian chili (!) while Alex and I made beer bread from a Trader Joe’s mix. We all sat down at the table , we gave the kids the main dish, the bread, and water with splash of juice to drink. AAAANNNNDD….not one bite of chili made it into either kidlet. We try to give the kids a plate with a variety of things and they have to at least try everything on the plate. If they don’t, there is nothing else to eat but fruit – an apple or banana, sometimes grapes if we have them although usually the fruit is incorporated on the plate in the first place.
Emily Kate usually does pretty well, tonight being the exception for her. Alex though…well, he probably goes to bed without eating a single thing since his afternoon snack three times a week. There were even sweet potatoes in the chili and at one point in both their lives, sweet potatoes were the one food they would never turn down.
I’m so sick of all the articles in parenting magazines giving me tips that don’t work to get my kids to eat what’s on their plates, but the one thing that makes me feel better about all the failed advice is that I can’t be the only one with this problem or there wouldn’t be so many worthless magazine articles on it. So far the only thing that’s worked for me is hiding veggies in smoothies or spaghetti sauce. (Yes, I own and like Deceptively Delicious.)
So I need parents out there to tell me what you do. Am I an ogre of a parent because my kids go to bed without eating dinner? How can I become the food martyr I aspire to if my kids won’t eat thier stupid vegetables? Not to mention wasting organic food hurts much more than wasting junk food.
Topics: food | 4 Comments »
Tags:
March 12th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
From what I know and from the moms I’ve talked to, it’s a rare kid who doesn’t go through a picky spell. And the moms who say their kids haven’t been picky are lying. You probably know our stance, if they don’t eat what’s on their plate they’re not even getting other fruit. If they refuse to even try a bite they’re getting it for breakfast. You can’t win the food war, the kids aren’t going to eat if they don’t want to. But you CAN win the what-the-kids-eat battle. By having your kids at least try the food, you’re teaching them that sometimes what seems weird to them will actually end up being good (and you’re teaching them manners). As for throwing the food away, maybe save their plate with the leftovers, or don’t put as much on your plate at first and finish off their food when they’re done. Is that gross?
All that to say, don’t beat yourself up or even worry about it. This too shall pass.
Vicki’s last blog post..Trotting through Arlington
March 13th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
you are definitely not the only one. the more kids i have, the more i realize they don’t eat so hot all the time, but they are all healthy (as in not getting sick often) and they are not overweight. we just balance the crappy sugary foods with disguised exercising, and they eat fruit instead of veggies! hiding veggies is truly brilliant, though! no, not an ogre for them going to bed hungry. wish i could do that more often to myself
Kerrie McLoughlin’s last blog post..Writing Mistakes to Avoid
March 13th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
We have a very similar philosophy when it comes to dinnertime. In fact, I would say that four out of seven days of the week, the J-Dog subsists on breakfast and lunch alone. But he’s not hurting and I have faith that he will come around. I thought it would NEVER happen with the V-meister, who was also very picky at that age, but now she will eat almost anything, especially if there is dessert on the horizon. So, take heart!
rimarama’s last blog post..Why My Children Are Bilingual
March 26th, 2010 at 10:04 am
I HATE it when the magazines show you how to make incredibly elaborate scenes on your child’s plate using food. I barely have enough time to cook the food, let alone sculpting it into a replica of Lightning McQueen.
I don’t think you are an ogre. You are giving them lots of healthy choices and they are CHOOSING not to eat them. The one thing that does *sometimes* work for my kids is letting them help cook. Oh, and liberal use of condiments.
mayberry’s last blog post..Captain Obvious joins Facebook