How to move kids away from so much milk and carbs

[chorner]

My 5 yr old daughter is totally addicted to milk and carbs.  We are switching over to raw milk this week, but still I think she drinks too much.  And, then is not hungry.  But, when she is hungry she most typically goes for carbs.  Yet, she continues to surprise me in turning down some of her favorite things.  So, the number of things she is willing to eat keeps getting smaller.  I don't tell her she has to eat, nor do I limit her milk.  We eat sprouted bread, oatmeal, waffles with quinoa, etc.  So, as carbs go they are healthy.  She will eat fruit and veggies, just not all that regularly.  We have a big garden and yesterday I came in with fresh broccilli and she couldn't eat it fast enough.  So, I know she likes other things, but likes the control of turning them down.

Anyone have ideas for how I can transition her away from carbs and her love of milk?  Thanks

[SundayCrepes]

My kids were drinking too much unfiltered juice so I finally just said 1 glass a day. There was a little resistance, but we got past it quickly. My daughter needed to be gluten free. For a little while I still bought gluten products, but my son would leave them laying around and my daughter would eat them. So I just stopped buying them (most of the time. At first I still randomly  bought him some that weren't easy to leave around, like frozen macaroni and cheese.) He would ask me to buy them when we were in the store and I would say, "Not today." Then randomly I'd buy them. The next several times he asked I'd say "Not today." In time he stopped asking.

Basically you need to slowly guide your daughter to the amount you think is okay with random extras. Talk about how it's not healthy. Excessive milk and juice consumption can definitely cause malnutrition. They get so full of those less than perfect foods and don't want other nutrition. Cut back on the liquids and kids will eat more.

[1love4ever]

First I am thrilled to hear that you are switching to raw milk.  She will get a lot more out of each glass than with store bought.  If she does fill up on it, at least there will be more beneficial "stuff" in there than current.

DD likes milk a lot too, but I make sure to only offer it a few times a day, and I dont pour large cups full, I get a small cup, fill it full, and when its gone if she wants more I just say You just had a whole glass, so lets wait awhile.  Just put it off, say A Little later you can have some, not right now, etc.

As far as carbs, I am a carbs person too.  Sometimes the body will crave carbs when it needs energy such as when it is sleep deprived.  Is she getting enough sleep?  Do you wake her up every morning or let her wake up on her own?  If you wake her up, maybe try putting her to bed earlier.  Maybe try getting her to nap if she does not do so already.

Between meals, set out things like carrot sticks, broccoli, fruit, etc, snack on them youself, and maybe since they are RIGHT there, available immediatly, she will grab them and eat them.  At meals, only make one carb, the rest make veggies, fruits, meats, etc.  Just dont make carbs readily available.  Maybe dont even have them in the house, or if she asks for them, say you dont have them (such as bread, say that you need to get more, etc)

[MountainMamaGC]

I leave small plates of cut up fruit and veggies out, and she just grazes on them all day. They dont really fill her up so she still has an appetite for meals. I keep hard boiled eggs handy in the fridge.

She will have camomile tea made with 1/2 cup of milk in the evening with me, and thats really it for milk. She likes that its our special tea time together. Maybe one other dairy product like yogurt or cheese, over the day.

[sunnygir1]

Yeah, I would start using a smaller cup and/or diluting the milk with water.  And, if she's asking for it all the time, I think you might just have to say no sometimes -- I mean, say, "this time I'll get you water and you can have some milk later" or whatever feels right to you.

My kids are often hungry while I'm cooking meals, and I try to resist the urge to give them a carb (chips, crackers, bread -- so easy) and instead offer them raw vegetables or fruit.  I will either just get a few things out and put them on the table, or offer them a choice between three things.  Dd is 4.5 and she will resist sometimes, but I just tell her that those are her choices if she's hungry.

At meals I give my kids a small portion of everything, and if they want more of the carb or meat, I will tell them they have to eat something else first (their choice of which thing).  That way they aren't eating a ridiculous amount of pasta or turkey hotdogs without anything else.  I figure if my dd really wants to stop eating after one hotdog to avoid vegetables, that's her choice.

I also try to make sure I prepare at least vegetables (or sometimes fruits) with every meal, and often with snacks too.  I don't put dishes of food on the table because 2yo ds will just grab everything and make a scene, so I will do a snack plate for each of them like, 2 pieces of cucumber, 2 slices of peach, 2 small slices of cheese, and 2 crackers.  I encourage them to eat something else before having more crackers or cheese, or I tell them I will get it after I finish mine -- putting it off will sometimes lead to them eating what's left on their plate.

I also try to put water out for them regularly.  We made cider and they ask for juice quite a bit, especially 2yo ds.  They also like almond milk by the glass, but I really prefer they drink water.  I dilute their juice when I give it to them, and I try to limit it as much as I can.  I just choose not to have it around most of the time to avoid the issue.  Actually, you could do that with milk.  You can put it toward the back of the fridge so it isn't the first thing she sees when she opens it, and you could actually let yourself run out for a couple days from time to time.  It might help make the switch.

[greenacresmama]

Face of veggies on plate

frozen blueberries in a hot bath for fun

carrot swords and then "oh no" I lost my sword, crunch (maybe this is a boy game)

making faces with peppercorns and and big ghost Oh in a cucumber

Broccoli little trees

Honestly I tell my son that veggies are the best food to make him big and tall. They are. I know this by studying raw food. I am not raw and I do eat lots of different food but I do consider our diet to be a lot of great veggies and fruits. I like to have a new type of fruit at breakfast with oatmeal. Not into wheat around here and light on the dairy. Dairy makes our food more fun and more of a meal before I get the hang of more vegan meals anyway. When my son goes on a kick about any thing that is out of balance I make him eat much more veggies to kind of earn that other thing..... this is totally embarrassing but being barefoot worms do happen and eating a ton of carbs and dairy keeps them around... I explain all the benefits when I hand him a food too. Like carrots, super hero eyes, etc. And broccoli, smart brains! If he is acting like a big sad pain, grumpy, I usually try to feed him extra veggies too and hand it to him with a hug. We take fish oils. Oh and Kale, sunflower seed paste, bananas and a few strawberries are a fav smoothie a couple times a week. Good luck! Most important thing I think is to keep on it! hand it to her before she is hungry and get eye to eye with her when your heart pulls you to the point of "this is too much"... my son, well he is a great little boy and very testing... He is already starting to understand that I provide his grounding and getting anything he wants all the time is "not what good moms do." "I studied and I understand the benefits of food." Etc. Hugs!