question for the healthy and moderative mama's - Page 2

[Vixenmama]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

One thing that works for us is that I don't buy the questionable stuff. However, if there's a coffee hour at church or someone handing out treats at school, I don't stress out over it. I figure if they're getting healthy, whole foods at home, a little unhealthiness here or there isn't going to kill them.

I totally agree. Moderation, moderation, moderation.

[Vixenmama]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

Well, I don't know if we qualify for healthy, because you can always find some sweet stuff in our house....

I loved your entire post. Very well stated and balanced.

[mamallama]

Both of my girls grow erratically--they put on weight and fill out a little, and then just when I start to feel a tiny bit concerned, overnight they'll shoot up several inches.

Both of my girls also had a distinctly chubby phase between ages 4 and 5.

I would consider our family moderate amongst our (mainly crunchy) friends. We're easily the most health conscious people in either of our familes, though.

I like the three levels of junk in the origional post--that's a helpful distinction. I don't worry so much about muffin mixes and candy canes. I don't buy food from those categories, and whatever the kids encounter out of the house is negligible.

I buy white pasta, and I make homemade muffins with sugar and white flour. I limit foods from that first category to one serving/day.

I don't think it's helpful to approach anything with a sense of deprivation, so I focus on what I think we should eat, rather than what we should avoid. For example, 5 servings of fruits & veggies every day, with two of them being dark green or bright orange. I also talk with the kids about the categories of food and the importance of each as I prepare meals and snacks.

[anarchamama]

I have a few general rules, and i grew up with food issues so I try to have rules rather than getting into struggles over individual items. I try to keep the house stocked with only healthy foods so for me and the kids if we want a treat it has to be a bit of an event going out, we can't just wander int the kitchen and eat crap. The exception is some foods (like fruit yogurts) where in moderation I think the benefits outweigh the sugar. No junk built into rituals, treats are, well, treats. They are something special that you get from grandma, or on holidays etc. My ds told my dad tonight " I love coming to your house grandpa because you give me garbage crap food to eat that I like" Also we try to modle good eating habits, I make sure we eat as much whole foods as we can, and if we do have canned foods, its organic veggie soup or something like that. Then I don't sweat it when ds turns up his nose at my lovely whole foods dinner and wants cereal or toast. As long as there is only a range of healthy choices than he is always going to be fine moderating his own intake.

[Mizelenius]

Originally Posted by rainyday

Hierarchy of crap foods: Crap food is crap food.

I respectfully disagree! Take milk. For some, it's OK if it is organic. For others, it has to be raw. For some, no milk is acceptable-- they consider it "crap."

I make most of my food from scratch (minus most bread) but I use milk, eggs, sugar, white flour, and all that. So, while we are eating things like broccoli soup made from scratch, it DOES have cream in it. Some people would think that was very unhealthy, but I know it's one of the best ways to get a lot of broccoli into my family!

I am very, very, very careful to not label any foods "bad." With 2 daughters and a 3rd on the way-- and eating disorders on the rise-- the last thing on earth I would want to do is to associate food with anything so black and white. Like I said before, we aim for variety and for adding foods to what we eat vs. avoiding. When I encourage DD to eat her veggies, I explain exactly why it is important. When she has eaten a lot of white foods, we talk about eating the rainbow, and we look for other colors to eat. We have even used our stacking rainbow as a checklist.

[Fiercemama]

I agree with the last poster. "Crap" or "junk" is relative to your existing eating habits. If you were previously eating Mickey D's and downing Sunny D, packaged muffins are probably an improvement. Its about making choices every time we eat and every time we purchase food.

Sounds to me like you are on the path to learning and making better choices yourself. It takes some time. Instead of focusing all your energies on being a nutritional gatekeeper, start teaching your kids, and they will be equipped to make their own decisions. Even if they don't, your choices won't seem so arbitrary.

We love the book "Eat Healthy, Feel Great" by Dr. Sears. Its a nutrition book aimed at kids. My daughter asks to read it all the time, and understands and uses the concepts in the book (I think we got it when she was about 3.5). She knows what food dyes and refined sugar are and what they do to her body.

I agree with pick your battles. We don't allow soda pop or hard candy. Every person and their brother is handing out candy canes to DD right now, including you know who. DD had a melt down about it the other night - more because she was totally fried than that she wanted the candy. I had to make a decision to stand firm on that one, and I know that DH feels strongly about that one too. Even through her tears, DD knew why we said no. We don't do soda pop, but have soda water or fizzy mineral water constantly.

A friend has a good rule of thumb. If any of the items on her family's hit list are within the first 4 ingredients on a package, they don't buy it. But mostly we stick to whole foods at home. Then I don't stress so much about what DD has when we are not. "Treats" are saved for after healthy meals (sometimes, not every night). If DD has picked at her dinner, its not the night for dessert.

[4evermom]

I am very health conscious but I think it is important for children to learn how to make their own food choices. The only thing that I try really hard to not have pass our lips is trans fats. If ds wants ice cream for breakfast, I'm fine with that. Usually he is hungry if he asks for candy, but perhaps too hungry to be realize food would be a better choice. So I give him a little candy and follow up with some real food which he is usually happy to eat.

If I were concerned about ds' weight, I would try to minimize foods with a high glycemic index and with high fructose corn syrup. Foods like pretzels and potatos elevate your blood sugar level even more than straight sugar. After your blood sugar spikes, it crashes and you get hungry again. And high fructose corn syrup gets immediately stored as body fat. I would also make sure he had plenty of opportunity to be active.

I talk with ds about the importance of different foods and give him the info he needs to eventually make healthful choices. I model healthful eating so the foods he sees will be things he thinks of as normal.

Keep in mind that kids gain a few pounds before growth spurts. It is especially normal (and neccessary) for pre-adolescent girls to get chubby before reaching puberty.

[ShadowMom]

Mama - I also have a ton of food issues and weight issues. It was really hard for me not to "watch" my son's weight.

I strongly recommend the book "Child of Mine" by Ellen Salyer. I don't follow all of the things in the book, but it's just EXCELLENT for helping you to get some perspective on this issue, and to realize YOU DO NOT CONTROL your child's weight, and focusing on it like we with food issues tend to do can really create some problems.

If you tell me where you live, mama, I will be happy to send you a copy, because that's how strongly I feel that at least reading it will change your whole perspective on this issue and will REALLY help you feel better about this issue.

[mavery]

I second the recommendation for "Child of Mine" - I had thought of mentioning it in my earlier post.

[mamatoady]

kristi,
wow, what a wonderful offer for a copy of the book you're talking about. *child of mine*? I'll take you up on it--I'm super broke right now or I'd buy it myself. thank you!

Let me know when you clean out your in-box and I'll send you my address
sarah

[ShadowMom]

Oops... sorry about that. It's those darn "frosted" pm's. Fire away!