At the risk of starting a food debate. A poll so we get the truth
Really, I think I need a kick in the pants. My kids used to eat so much better. Then last fall I was working 25-37 hours a week, plus taking 16 credit hours at school, DS2 wasn't sleeping, it was rough. I started using more and more shortcuts and here we are in March and I am still regularly buying PopTarts .
I have gotten lazy. Not so much because I don't want to fight it, but because it is so exhausting fighting every.single.little. thing. DS1 is in K and the kids take turns bringing snacks for the whole class. It's usually cookies, graham crackers, cupcakes if it's someone's birthday. Both sides of the family feed them crap. It is just such an exhausting battle to fight all of the time.
ETA: I choose 50/50 balance. It used to be much closer to 80/20.
Post by cabbagecabbage on Mar 7, 2015 10:59:50 GMT -5
When I'm in charge, 80/20 if we're lucky. DH is much more lax than me and close to 50/50. Having my nieces three days a week has hurt things too. They are more picky than DD and I fell into the nuggets, hot dog, mac and cheese trap easily. I wish it was 90/10. That's my ideal ratio.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Mar 7, 2015 11:01:14 GMT -5
I picked a lot of processed foods and some whole foods. I don't really know where to draw the line with processed foods. They eat cereal and milk every day for breakfast, so that is mostly processed. But they have sandwiches and fruit every day for lunch. Do you consider wheat bread processed junk? Jif peanut butter? Snacks are all pretty much junk...granola bars, goldfish, pretzels, etc. with other fruit or stuff like carrots or raisins or yogurt thrown in (but even the yogurt is yoplait greek 100 because that's what I like). Dinner is mostly whole foods, but then again I like shortcuts so I buy premade frozen meatballs, frozen (uncooked) breaded chicken tenders, etc.
Dd takes a juice box and a small carb/ sugar snack to school every day with her two servings of fruit/veggies and a sandwich because it's easy. Dinner is healthy, usually something from Skinnytaste.
Maybe you could start with one meal at a time. Instead of pop tarts, buy or make whole wheat waffles. Some weeks we buy and some weeks we make a big batch on the weekend and freeze them.
We are somewhere between 50/50 and 80/20. I went with the low end.
ETA: posted too soon. DS2 will eat anything, so it is super easy to maintain a balanced diet with him. DS1 has food texture issues and it took a lot to get him to a place that works for us.
I picked a lot of processed foods and some whole foods. I don't really know where to draw the line with processed foods. They eat cereal and milk every day for breakfast, so that is mostly processed. But they have sandwiches and fruit every day for lunch. Do you consider wheat bread processed junk? Jif peanut butter? Snacks are all pretty much junk...granola bars, goldfish, pretzels, etc. with other fruit or stuff like carrots or raisins or yogurt thrown in (but even the yogurt is yoplait greek 100 because that's what I like). Dinner is mostly whole foods, but then again I like shortcuts so I buy premade frozen meatballs, frozen (uncooked) breaded chicken tenders, etc.
That's a good point. I guess technically wheat bread and peanut butter are processed foods, but I consider them healthy. I buy an all natural PB with only salt and peanuts on the ingredients, and a good wheat bread as well.
cjcouple I definitely agree with summer being easier. All the fresh fruits and veggies make it so much easier to eat better. We do good with lunches and dinners (of course, DS1 eats school lunch most of the time and DS2 has lunch at daycare 3-4 days a week.) Breakfast is good on the days I don't work, but the days that I do are the days they have Pop-Tarts. I need to just get back in the habit of having homemade breakfast burritos and stuff in the freezer. My blender broke and that has halted the smoothie making. I think if I got a new one that would help. Both of my kids love smoothies, and you can hide all kinds of things in them.
My daughter eats what we eat. My husband has crohns which he controls fairly well with his diet. I'm pretty strict with my diet, always have been. So I picked very rarely are we eating processed foods.
For my daughters easter basket we're including a chocolate bunny, and if we're at a friends for dinner or something I'm not all "omg no we can't eat the fried chicken in gravy", but it's not something I would make here or give her regularly.
Eta: my kid is only 16 months old so we haven't really hit a picky phase yet. Not sure how much her diet will change when she's older.
My kids were so much easier when they were baby/young toddlers When DS2 hit about 20ish months he started having a big preference for what he ate. He used to gobble up any kind of vegetable. Now it's hit or miss on what he eats.
My son eats very "healthy" with a wide variety of foods and very little processed food. But it's my thing - I was once a sustainability consultant for food businesses and I'm a huge supporter of organic farming. I need to practice what I preach. It's also really easy for me to live this way because I live in California - everything you want to eat from almonds to albacore (with maybe the exception of coffee) is locally farmed or ranched and often organically.
My son loves a treat so he gets one a day. I have homemade zoku pops in the fridge made with yogurt and fruit, dark chocolate chips, hot chocolate, apple cider as options. He can pick when he wants it as long as it's before we get ready for bed (so before bath).
I don't say no to anything he is offered at a friends house or grandmas. I don't say no to treats from school celebrating birthdays etc. I love to bake too so it's not like we don't ever have anything unhealthy in the house. I also realize that just because it comes in a box (processed) doesn't mean it unhealthy.
I have created a monster in some sense - the kid thinks boxed Mac and cheese is gross, and can tell the difference between farmed and wild caught salmon.
Sugar etc is addicting. If you cut it out, you crave it less.
Post by fancynewbeesly on Mar 7, 2015 12:06:32 GMT -5
We are in the 50/50 camp. Unfortunately her chemo/steroids actually changes her taste buds, and foods that were delicious before to her now taste terrible and vice versa. They also make kids crave salty/spicy food. So we try. Her favorite food right now is tacos.
But for the most part except for hot dogs, she doesn't really like kid food. (very rarely will she eat mac and cheese, no to chicken nuggets, poptarts, goldfish, etc) She prefers fruits to anything. In her ideal world she would eat fruit and yogurt and some veggies all day every day.
She goes to the babysitter during the week, and she tends to feed Reese what she craves-some weeks it is only sunbutter sandwiches; other times beef stew.
We tend to not buy snacks in our house--most of her snacks are fruit, carrot sticks, yogurt, raisins.
Also Reese herself is HUGE on nutrition; she knows that junk food is unhealthy sugars and she can only have it sometimes. She knows protein at dinner keeps her full longer so that she doesn't get so hungry when she wakes up or "wiggly" (dizzy). Her favorite place to go to is the food store.
Reese also has an egg and peanut allergy; so except for Van's waffles--all waffles/pancakes/muffins are homemade and kept in the freezer.
Somewhere between 80/20 & 50/50. Some days are close to 90/10. Others are 50/50.
It also depends on what we're classifying as processed vs. whole. I don't make my own bread or pasta or waffles. I don't worry too much about ww version of pasta b/c we don't like them. The processed stuff we do buy, I do read ingredients & make what I think is the best choice. But we also have a costco sized box of eggos in the freezer b/c it's their favorite breakfast.
Overall, they are good eaters and eat a wide variety of whole, healthy foods, fruits, veggies, etc. Some of their favorite dinners are soups and stir fries w/ tons of veggies & good protein.
Now that I'm not a FTM I am less anal than I used to be. I'm sure DD1's first 2 years were better than her siblings - or rather she had to wait longer to try a treat. Based on what I see and hear from school & friends, I think they still eat healthier than many, so I'm not too worried.
Somewhere between 80/20 & 50/50. Some days are close to 90/10. Others are 50/50.
It also depends on what we're classifying as processed vs. whole. I don't make my own bread or pasta or waffles. I don't worry too much about ww version of pasta b/c we don't like them. The processed stuff we do buy, I do read ingredients & make what I think is the best choice. But we also have a costco sized box of eggos in the freezer b/c it's their favorite breakfast.
Overall, they are good eaters and eat a wide variety of whole, healthy foods, fruits, veggies, etc. Some of their favorite dinners are soups and stir fries w/ tons of veggies & good protein.
Now that I'm not a FTM I am less anal than I used to be. I'm sure DD1's first 2 years were better than her siblings - or rather she had to wait longer to try a treat. Based on what I see and hear from school & friends, I think they still eat healthier than many, so I'm not too worried.
This is where we fall as well. My kids do eat a bunch of peanut butter and like to dip raw veggies in ranch. Some days we're more 50/50, some days we're more 80/20. I am constantly trying to reduce foods I consider unhealthy and add more whole or healthy stuff. Over the last two years, I've eliminated fruit snacks, Sunny delight, most juice. I also haven't bought soda in over a year. I feel good as long as we continue to improve.
Starting with small things here and there was fairly easy and gave me motivation to get better and better. I haven't outright banned anything, just don't offer certain things and encourage others.
We do our best. Some days she eats really well and some days she doesn't. The older she gets (she's four) the pickier she gets. I try to make sure she gets a fruit or vegetable and protein with every meal. Beyond that, she eats a lot of junk. Eggos, cereal bars, fiber one fruit snacks, cheese-its, goldfish. Those aren't snacks--they usually supplement her meal. It's an eat your PBJ and bell pepper and then you can have goldfish kind of thing.
Lunch has become increasingly difficult. I basically don't know what to give her anymore. She is allergic to eggs and can only handle dairy in small doses, so yeah...some days I throw my hands up and just let her eat what makes her happy. I now know why my mom let me eat bread and butter sandwiches, lol.
My kid lives on Kraft, Little Debbie, and Sprite 5th 0 votes (0%) My kid eats a lot of processed food, occasionally whole foods 4th 3 votes (9.38%) My kid has a 50/50 balance of crap and whole food 2nd 9 votes (28.13%) My kid has an 80/20 balance 1st 16 votes (50.00%) My kid very rarely has any type of sugary, processed food 3rd 4 votes (12.50%) My kid only eats non-GMO, organic, locally sourced, raw vegetables washed with unicorn tears.
Yea, I don't think food has to be homemade to be healthy. Actually, I tend to make a lot of things homemade that many people would buy just because I really enjoy cooking. But not all homemade food is healthy. Plus, now there are so many options for healthy food available in the super market.
Post by Kcthepouchh8r on Mar 7, 2015 14:01:05 GMT -5
I say we are minimally processed. I try to stick to things with under five ingredients all of which I know-think oatmeal, cheddar and mozz cheese, cottage cheese. Both the kids have cereal for snack at school. Dd eats pb out of the jar; ds has it on a banana or apple slices. Otherwise they eat meats, fruits and veggies. They have treats at grandparents when they sleep over, I bake on occasion, I get ice cream once every few months.
We do convenience food at times but I try to opt for healthier alternatives. We do nitrate free chicken hot dogs from trader joes, brown rice pasta with homemade sauce, Annie's Mac and cheese, make hamburgers from scratch and freeze, make pizza with homemade sauce, homemade dough, log of mozz cheese from trader joes vs bagged stuff with additives, etc.
Post by mamaalysson on Mar 7, 2015 17:01:45 GMT -5
I went 80/20. I use the "100 Days of Real Food" standard for processed food: no more than 5 ingredients and free of ingredients that I can't identify. I stick pretty close to that. Plus DD has a dairy allergy, so once you're scrutinizing for one thing, you might as well check it all out. So, I guess I buy things that are minimally processed? I try to go for the "better" option, anyway. We almost never have sweet treats in the house - I don't love the kids' begging to eat them, and realistically I end up eating them. In summer we usually have 100% fruit pops or homemade smoothie popsicles in the freezer. I try to make sure each meal and snack has a protein and a fruit or a veggie, along with the more desirable carbs. The kids need to eat more veggies, and protein for DD is a huge challenge, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with how they eat. Like a PP, I feel like being "stricter" at home means I can relax about it when they are at birthday parties or grandma and grandpa's.
I want her to eat better but she is so picky I think "at least she is eating". I picked 80/20 BUT I need to be less lazy and sneak in more veggies and meat in her diet.
I picked 50/50, although, like PP, we do a little better than that. Reading through this thread, I am struck by how we as moms put the pressure on ourselves to "try harder" to "sneak it in". Don't get me wrong, I feel the same way, but I can't help but remember how as a kid my mom was all, "Don't like what we are eating? Here's a PB&J!" And that was EVERY night! I swear I never ate a single fruit or veggie before high school.
We are somewhere between 50/50 and 80/20. DS eats much better than DD. DD is very picky and has issues certain textures of food. She also will not eat may meat. I am hoping as she gets older she will get less picky.
We are 80/20. My kids generally eat protein veggies and fruit for their meals. I rarely buy canned foods/frozen foods/cookies. I make my own waffles and pancakes to freeze for breakfasts. They do eat cheerios, goldfish, pretzels. But I try to keep a balance. When we are at a celebration DD eats whatever is being offered etc. I let her have treats and such when appropriate. I just really try to make the smarter choice and it's ending up that my kids are good, healthy eaters.
Okay then I'm picking 80/20. We're slowing transitioning from 50/50 I would say. I used to allow a lot of convenience snacks that we're cutting out- pirates booty, crackers etc
I picked 50/50, although, like PP, we do a little better than that. Reading through this thread, I am struck by how we as moms put the pressure on ourselves to "try harder" to "sneak it in". Don't get me wrong, I feel the same way, but I can't help but remember how as a kid my mom was all, "Don't like what we are eating? Here's a PB&J!" And that was EVERY night! I swear I never ate a single fruit or veggie before high school.
We had two options: take it or leave it. And we HAD to eat whatever serving of veggies was on our plate. I am an adventurous eater and love veggies (though I really always have) and my sister is the exact opposite
The amount of money I spend on berries that get inhaled in seconds is ridiculous. Fresh fruit was more of a treat growing up.
See, that's why I just can't buy stuff that's not in season and/or on sale. Right now it's still mostly clementines, apples, pears & bananas. Strawberries are starting to come from Florida now, so the price will drop.
#meanmom won't buy berries at crazy prices in the middle of winter. Nope, sorry.
Post by justbecause on Mar 8, 2015 16:12:25 GMT -5
Berries have actually been on sale a lot this winter. 2lbs of strawberries for $3.33 isn't that bad. I don't buy them when they are not on sale. Then it's apples and bananas.
Berries have actually been on sale a lot this winter. 2lbs of strawberries for $3.33 isn't that bad. I don't buy them when they are not on sale. Then it's apples and bananas.
Our berry prices have dropped a ton in the past two weeks. I got a half flat today of organic strawberries at the farmers market for $18! We've already demolished half of them.