Comments on: I’m Back! And I Learned a Thing or Two

By: admin

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:29:10 +0000

Sense of Home – last night we had the tater tots we bought while I was on strike. He took one bite then looked at me and asked why it didn’t taste like potato. Score 1 for real food! MWAH HA HA.

By: Sense of Home

Sense of Home — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:19:20 +0000

That lunchable story was great! I tried them once and that was enough for me. Funny how our tastes change when we get used to homemade food.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 06:36:51 +0000

Katiegirl I liked the comment from the strike post that it’s mom’s job to let those whines fall on deaf ears. I need to hear that more often because those whines drive me crazy!

Anne this is what I fear – that they will go crazy when they leave the house. Thank you for mentioning that study. I hadn’t heard of it but suspected as much. We only eat dessert on Fridays and don’t typically have treats around. Maybe we need more of that!

He is fine with textures though – he loves bananas which I never buy because they don’t even grow on the mainland. He is suddenly trying new things this week (just a few but that is huge!) so perhaps this strike was a good thing. Now he’s realizing that not all new food is bad, in fact he may be missing out on some good things like jello. ;p I’m so glad you are here!

By: Anne

Anne — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:53:33 +0000

So glad to see you’re back, Annette. Hang in there!

Just a thought on getting the 3.5 year old to eat. It’s probably just being a preschooler who likes to show his power (I say this as a mother to a strong-willed 3 year old!). But if it is really concerning you, it might be useful to ask your pediatrician for a referral to an occupational therapist to see if there is some strategies for getting him to get used to different textures — especially if you’re worried about his growth rate. I usually find our society’s rush to medicalize everything unnecessarily but it might give you peace of mind.

It’s so hard to know what to do with kids and eating. I grew up having free reign to drink coke and snack on mystic mint cookies whenever I wanted. My mother also always served a substantial, sit-down, balanced dinner. I never was forced to eat anything I didn’t want (mostly any kind of vegetable). When I turned into an adult and started cooking, I discovered I loved vegetables and all kinds of food! I don’t really desire junk food anymore.

My husband on the other hand was never allowed sugared cereal and had more stringent rules about finishing dinner growing up. He’s a balanced eater today, but definitely has a soda habit and likes to eat candy.

There was a fascinating Scientific American show on PBS many years ago, hosted by Alan Alda, which showed an experiment about kids’ eating habits. It found that kids whose parents restricted certain foods like ice cream tended to overeat those foods when given the opportunity. The kids whose parents didn’t restrict those foods didn’t.

I don’t have any pat answers… I just appreciate your efforts to chronicle your sustainable eating. I always come away inspired. Thanks.

By: Katiegirl

Katiegirl — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:41:44 +0000

We went through (and are still going through) the food “fights” with both stepkids of mine. We never were short order cooks. They eat what we eat, period. They don’t have to eat everything, but they at least have to try a bite of each thing. That’s the rule. They can sit there at the table for as long as it takes to try one bite. We stopped trying to bribe with dessert. Now they get dessert if they’ve made a good attempt at eating dinner. We don’t have a “clear your plate” rule because we dont’ want to force them to eat if they’re truly full.

We’ve learned that kids sometimes just don’t eat much, and they’ll eat when they’re hungry. Also, they don’t get dessert every time. Some days we just don’t have dessert.

It is SO incredibly frustrating though when they ask what’s for dinner and say, “I dont’ like that.” UGH. They’re still young (7 and 4.5) and sometimes I just want to tell them they won’t get any dinner if they don’t what I’m making! Then I just have to try to remind myself that they’re kids and this is what kids do.

By: admin

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 07:31:42 +0000

KFG – she was so lucky to grow up in your garden!
Auburn, I haven’t. It’s my 3.5 yo that won’t eat and logic doesn’t work with so explaining is wasted air. I’m going to try the cute bear and bunny shaped bento lunches again and we’ll see how that goes. My oldest loves beet kvass but will drink or eat just about anything (Lunchable Man).

Tiffany enjoy SIFF! I would be if I could.
Leslie – it’s like coming home after vacation, isn’t it? I’m happy as a clam in my kitchen so long as everyone isn’t complaining. It’s like they are telling me my fingerpaintings suck.
Ellen the 25 cents per age thing is brilliant but it sounds like it still drives you crazy. I know you can make hard candy at home and flavor with fruit but it’s still sugar. At least it’s YOUR sugar, right?
Sandy that is exactly where he is – he won’t try it because it’s in his control not to and not many things are in his control at this age. Noodles and sauce together though? What a week for you!
LeAnn I love that story. You are leading them right along.
Trace that gives me hope. If only I could get him to try a protein source or veggies. He ate a pea tonight from the garden for the first time. He didn’t spit it out but he didn’t want any more. I’m taking that to mean he’ll be picking them himself soon.
Sneaux that’s funny. We regularly drank powdered milk growing up too but I remember gagging on it. I wonder how much of that was the fact that I knew about it.
Myrnie misery loves company eh? I can’t wait for him to eat veg and fruit and grain and fish, if only 1 of each kind. My consolation was that he wouldn’t eat most processed foods last week either, just a few new ones so it’s not just me. He did finally eat a hotdog but then wouldn’t eat another. Stubborn.

By: Myrnie

Myrnie — Wed, 19 May 2010 04:24:52 +0000

This is odd, but I am reassured that YOUR son is “pancake boy.” I felt like I was failing my oldest daughter- the list of processed foods (that we stopped buying a few years ago) that she will eat is practically limitless. Real food? Cucumbers, apples, berries, tomatoes, cheese, bread, tinned tuna, white rice, oatmeal with brown sugar (I’m seeing a lot of similarities here, heh)…oh what else….pancakes, waffles, french toast. She USED to eat eggs, but not since I started cooking the ones from our neighbor’s chickens. Bread can have butter or cinnamon-sugar. And on it goes. I KNOW you know, but it feels nice to know that someone else knows. And that this someone else ALSO purchases large quantities of milk. (She’ll often forgo an entire meal, and have nothing but milk.)

I’m serious about the “cooking bees” or what-have-you. There are so many tasks that are easy to quadruple a batch and share the work, so we all get it done.

Good to have you back!

By: Sneaux

Sneaux — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:32:29 +0000

My Mom was the queen of package saving. We never realized we weren’t eating store-bought food half the time. We despised powered milk, so she would just mix it up in the middle of the night when we were asleep and we never knew the difference. Good luck with Pancake Boy!

By: Trace Willans

Trace Willans — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:35:04 +0000

My daughter who is now 25 ate virtually nothing as a child her diet was, pasta with butter and cheese, cucumber, peas, corn, carrot, potato, chicken and tinned tuna. And there were plenty of fights to begin with but life became way easier when I stopped fighting with her and let her eat what she wanted too. Last time we went out to dinner with her she had Japanese Curry and I nearly died of shock. These days she eats practically everything as it is no longer a control issue. And she freely admits thats what it was all about.

By: LeAnn

LeAnn — Tue, 18 May 2010 20:05:28 +0000

2 1/2 years ago my step son brought home a lovely girl who is now my daughter in law. She had been a young single mother with almost no support and had a very difficult time the first years of her daughters life. When they arrived, her then 3 year old was part of the bargain and we have never looked back. But the little one had not eaten much food. They had lived on fast food, bagged frozen entrees from the grocery and (yes) lunchables. The little one was completely unfamiliar with home made food from scratch. In the beginning, she wouldn’t eat what I made and mom would take her out for somthing after we finished dinner. But as Mom got used to real food, she and my son began to encourage young one to eat with us. Daughter in law has learned to cook several things on her own and young one is learning to eat more and more things. She and I have become kitchen and garden buddies. Together we’ve all planted a garden and are experimenting with local food sources. We’ve just purchased 1/2 a local cow which we will share. It’s a journey not a destination.