Attune Foods' Links
by Natalie Jane of Natalie’s Sentiments
Just in time for Thanksgiving, this is the first of a short series of hearing moms chime in on healthy eating, notably what it looks like to get their kids to eat healthier food. Natalie Jane writes “Natalie’s Sentiments”, a blog about her family and the things that delight her. We’re excited to share her post on “The Secret of Healthy Eating” with you!
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When I was in high school I was friends with a guy whose parents were a bit freakish about healthy eating. After being close friends for quite a while, I started to wonder why I had never been invited over to eat dinner. I was at his house all the time, just never at meal times. My friend was reluctant for some reason, but finally, one day he asked me to join them.
As long as I live I will never forget that meal. I sat down with my friend, his two siblings and his dad. Soon his mother came with the food. The meal in its entirety: one avocado, one peach, one cabbage head and a cucumber. I stared in disbelief as my friend’s mother cut up the peach, cucumber and avocado and placed them on everyone’s plates. The dad happily asked “would anyone like some cabbage?”. No one wanted a slice, so he picked up the mammoth cabbage and started to eat it like an apple.
This meal took no longer than 5 minutes to complete and then the family members were on their way. I thanked my friend’s mom for dinner, mentioning how much I liked avocados. My friend and I walked outside.
As soon as we were out of earshot I turned to my friend.
“WHAT was that?!?!?”
He smiled and shrugged. “I told you. They’re a little different in their eating. Don’t worry, all the kids go out to hamburgers or something after dinner. How does Mexican sound?”
*****
Fifteen years later, I can see how my opinions on feeding my family where affected by that night. I saw two parents who wanted to have healthy meals, but were missing the number one element to make this happen. Satisfaction. If you aren’t going to offer your family something that they enjoy, they will look for it elsewhere. When they are young, they will hoard whatever they can at a friend’s house or make poor choices in the lunch line. When they are teenagers, they will run to the nearest fast food joint. When they escape to college, hello Freshman Fifteen.
Providing healthy yet satisfying food is a fine balance, one that can’t always be maintained. Kids will be kids and candy is yummy. For me, I try to work with the 80/20 ratio. 80% really healthy foods and 20% fun foods. Now, some food I try to avoid completely. Things with trans-fats, sugar sodas and anything sold under golden arches for example. But some unhealthy food makes the rest of the healthy choices more palatable. Sure, pack school lunches with whole wheat bread, almond butter and organic jelly. Send in the carrots and the apple. But add in some chips too. No one wants to be the only one in class without something fun in their lunch.
Salmon with brown rice and veggies- You would think my kids would balk, but I make sure to add a sweet marinade with the fish, and they eat it right up. Sure, it’s a bit of sugar they probably don’t need, but it gets them their Omega fatty acids, so I don’t stress.
Ranch dressing? Full of fat! BUT they eat salad when there’s dressing. Salad! At four and 16 months. I have recently discovered the ratio of greek yogurt to mayo where they don’t notice the difference.
Chocolate chip cookies? Definitely a “sometimes food”. However, using whole wheat is a great way to add fiber. But, don’t scrimp on the butter or the real chocolate. What’s the point in having a treat if it doesn’t taste good? Kids (and adults) aren’t dumb. They know when things don’t taste good. You can’t convince them of it. The trick is making the healthy food something they want, and not stressing too much on how you go about doing that.
In short, I’m trying to teach my kids that healthy food is yummy. Eating a cabbage like an apple? Probably not the route I’ll take.
