It was a cold rainy Sunday I lay snuggled on my couch watching t.v. flipping between the Olympics and Sponge Bob when this commercial came on……(click on the Tomato Sneak Link Below)
I was speechless, I jumped off the couch ran to my kitchen and called my 3 and 7 year old over. Quiz time kids, I showed them a Tomato and said “What is this?” My seven year old said “tomato, are you crazy Mom?” Okay, okay, I said to the 7 year old your not allowed to answer the next question. I looked at my 3 year and showed her fresh broccoli I pulled from the fridge, “What is this?” She replied “Brocomille” (I know so cute at 3 and I took that as a correct answer)! Next I pulled out the onion, radish, lettuce and Egg Plant. The seven year old answered all correct and asked for a salad! The three year old knew all but called the egg plant, “Purple Heaven”, I’m not really sure where that came from, but I will call it closer than any answer the kids on the video above gave.
Ladies and gentleman, we have a big problem here! How old will our kids live to be if they keep consuming processed junk? It’s very hard to see so many small children over weight. Personally I believe in the 80/20 rule. 80% nutritional lifestyle and 20% exercise. Yes, I do understand some people have genetic issues (I am a nurse)but what about the remainder of the population that are scarfing down processed foods?
No I do not think parents are bad for feeding their children fast food and processed food, I think they are uneducated. I really hope Jamie Oliver’s Special on ABC MARCH 26th wakes up the world to this epidemic we have caused!
In my home I make the food choices! I shop and pay for the groceries. Yes, my children do have an occasional cookie, pretzel or chocolate milk approximately 15% of the week, the remaining 85% they have fruit, love salad, spaghetti squash is their pasta (man will they be shocked someday when they are served pasta outside our home). I have clients that tell me their kids are picky eaters, well so are mine, but if I do not bring cupcakes and frozen pizza in the house, they will eat what I serve. I am in charge not the 7 or 3 year old. Now my 17 year old has an intestinal disease and accommodating her nutritional lifestyle really made Paleo a way of life in our home a few years ago and I do not wish her disease on anyone. The typical 17 year child wants fast food. Walking around the high school with my daughter I see allot of inactive teens that are overweight. It’s up to you as the parent to guide your children, please continue to educate yourself and promote healthy eating and fitness. Have you heard the saying, “Monkey see, Monkey do!” My husband and I own a CrossFit gym daily my daughter grabs the keys to the gym and works out after school. I am so proud of her, recently her friends started joining her, my hopes are they will join a class and get involved in the future.
Whether your forced to make nutritional lifestyle changes or you want to improve your families nutritional lifestyle I beg you to reevaluate your shopping cart on grocery day. If your shopping Paleo for you and buying processed junk for the kids, what signal are you sending?
Tell me what you feed your children? I would love fun recipes or tricks you may have to keep their food interesting, I mean were up against Doritos and Go-Gurts! Talk to me!
Yours in Nutrition Prep!
Rebe
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Comments (21) »
SOOO guilty of shopping Paleo for me and buying processed junk for the kids.
Getting better at it, but still NOT where it should be.
I don’t have kiddos now so I’m not sure how I would be creative. I think I would just start them with a healthy diet and they would not really know the difference so I’m lucky I will have that head start.
But I can see how difficult it would be to have your child transition from frozen pizzas and chips to paleo. But I will remember when my mom would make something and I would say, “I don’t like it and don’t want it.” She would reply, “then, you are not hungry.” Now that I’m older, that is so true. I have found that if I’m hungry, I’ll eat anything. I would suggest stocking the fridge with paleo food and if they are hungry, they will eat it. Like I said, I have no kids so that may not be as easy as it sounds. But I like my mom’s words – If you’re hungry, you’ll eat it!
I have 3 very fiesty, opionionated young ladies at home. Especially since they are females and especially since I had eating disorders, I am very careful how I apporach this. We approach it all as HEALTH and not being thin or weight loss- all encompassing. They have seen me at 200lbs, they have seen me put the hours in at the gym over the last few years.I do my best to get out there with them and MOVE doing something they enjoy – playing “Just Dance” (our latest addiction) bike riding, and competeing in 5ks as a family (setting a fitness goal as a family is AWESOME!). They see our clients rock it in the garage gym and are just as excited about their PRs as we are. Since going Paleo I have made tiny changes over time in what I buy. I have also not underestimated how smart they are – when they see me use for example coconut oil, I tell them why – even my 9 year olds. They spend two weekends a month with their dad, and I cant control what they eat their but I can help them to make better choices and make suggestions. Herm & I started by eating our Paleo meals 7 months ago in front of them. They were curious. They’d ask for a bite, then later, “can I have some of that,” and finally to the point where they are REQUESTING Paleo meals for dinner! YES!! They love my guacamole beef, pony’s tex mex chili and my eggplant and sausage (I will post it soon!) and ADORE veggie fritters – espcially helping with the prep – they are fantastic at getting the darn juice outta the zuchinni!!! I find that having them help in the prep is also HUGE! They dont even realize they are eating some Paleo meals – steak or chicken with veggies, but have figured it out on their own
Rebe- that’s the #1 excuse I hear from parents: my kids are picky eaters. I always tell them that if they only served the good stuff, then the kids will have to eat or be hungry. Missing dinner is not gonna kill a kid and it’s not child abuse. This is how parents ensured their kids ate right in the old days. We should get back to it.
I have no kids but I have worked with kids ages 2-6 for 3 years (back in the day). The place was an “advanced daycare center” on a military research base (gated, barb-wire enclosed). The daycare only served organic and no sugar added foods for meals. At the time, I was about 20, I thought most of that stuff was tasteless, but when hungry, me and the kids ate it. It’s only tasteless when you grow up on sugar. We all got used to eating healthier.
As adults and parents, we have a duty to educate our children, get them to exercise (since some schools have stopped even doing that), and feed them healthy food (the schools have def stopped doing that).
I am going to go extreme now… you wouldn’t give your kid a joint. Is it just because it’s illegal? No. It’s because you know that it’s toxic to their minds & their bodies. Research the dangers of gluten. Gluten, processed foods, and sugar consumption can be linked to practically every disease. Do the research, check it out.
Will it be easy, NO. But no one ever said raising kids was easy! It’s hard damn work, it’s why I don’t have any yet.
Monique,
I was just thinking yesterday about what you said in your “extreme” comment, but it is SO true. I have people at work that make fun of me for how I eat, and we are in law enforcement, so I asked “well lemme ask you, do you smoke cigarettes or do drugs?” and of course they say no, and I asked “why, because yea it’s illegal but why else?” all around answer was CAUSE IT’S BAD FOR YOUR BODY AND CAN KILL YOU… so Ok, I said “well that’s the same exact reason why I eat this way.”
I have to admit though, I am new to this way of eating so it wasn’t that long ago that I was just as uneducated. All we can do is pass on our knowledge though and yea, start with our kids. I also don’t have them yet but my husband and I have both said that the junk food will not even be an option in our house.
Good post
-Monik
Thank you so much for this post! My husband and I have been doing CrossFit for the past year and eating Paleo for 8 months and we feel great.
We are expecting our first child and spend a lot of time talking about how we hope to instill a knowledge of health and nutrition to this child. If our child only eats Paleo, they won’t even know the terrible things they are missing. And so far, Paleo is a great way to eat during pregnancy. I feel terrific!
Great job, Mom! It is great to hear when parents take charge and feed their kids as healthy as possible. It isn’t easy, but the rewards will be reaped in their health and performance gains. Not only does paleo eating make people feel great, but it also keeps them healthy. With all the sicknesses going around and around, any boost to immunity is a life-saver.
That is so sad to see children unable to identify basic vegetables! I offer some help to families trying to incorporate more veggies in their diet on my blog, Feasting on Fitness (www.feastingonfitness.com). Hope it can help some of your readers too!
I love your blog and practical approach to paleo eating! Keep up the great posts! I’ll add you to my blogroll!
I have 2 kids, ages 8 and 10. What I have found works for us in the kitchen is to get them helping. If they get to chop veggies or put the spices in, they have ownership over the meal and they think it is “delicious!” I am of the opinion that you eat what I fix or you don’t eat. I don’t run a short order kitchen.
I also involve them in the shopping…picking out veggies and yummy fruits. It has given them an education about good foods as well as given them a desire to try new things. (Patty, I would love those recipes you mentioned. My mouth watered just reading about them.)
I LOVE that my girls know how to use the garlic press, mince veggies and daute whatever I have going on
Dixi – lots of yummy recipes in the archives (including these) but here you go!!
VEGGIE FRITTERS – (or Critters as we call them in my house)
Ingredients:
½ cup vegetable of choice – I like using finely chopped mushrooms or broccoli
3/4 cup grated carrot
3/4 cup grated zucchini, grated and squeezed
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond meal
salt and pepper
coconut oil for frying
Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl. Heat frying pan on medium heat and add coconut oil. Make patties about the size of your palm, and place in frying pan. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until browned and cooked inside. Makes a great side dish to any protein!!!
Tex-Mex Chili
1 TBS coconut oil
1 medium onion chopped
6 cloves garlic minced
3-5 stalks of celery chopped
1 pkg ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken)
1 TBS chili powder
1 TBS cumin
3/4 tsp sea salt
several dashes of white pepper
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 red bell pepper (green peppers make me burp!)
3/4 cup salsa (check label to make sure no added sugar/ corn syrup)
Heat oil- saute onion and garlic, add celery after 5 min. Crumble in ground meat, add spices. Cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add tomatoes, pepper, and salsa. Bring to a boil over high heat. Let simmer 10 min uncovered. This is so easy a cave man could…. oh brother. Yeah, I know. But I had to throw that into the blog at some point! Enjoy
GUACAMOLE BEEF
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds ground beef (or 1 pound ground beef and 1 pound stew meat like in my picture)
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ onion (white, yellow or red… your preference)
- 2 avocados
- Sea Salt
- Crushed red pepper
- Black pepper
- Chopped tomato or your favorite salsa
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- (Optional) Peppers. Your choice… Green Chile, Green Bell, Red bell, Hungarian, Thai. You name it, I have made this with all and it is awesome.
Directions:
1. Mince garlic and chop onion.
2. Season beef with 2 minced garlic cloves, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper and optional peppers or chiles.
3. Brown beef
4. In a large bowl combine onion, remaining 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice, avocado and chopped tomato or salsa (sugar free!).
5. Mash avocado with a fork and stir guacamole.
6. Turn off heat to beef and stir guacamole into beef.
7. Ensure that everything is mixed together well and serve!
8. Makes serving size… “a lot”. (Scientific huh?)
Feel free to play around with this recipe and make it your own. I don’t think that I have ever made this exactly the same way twice!
Unless we’re having something spicy for dinner, you get what’s served. You don’t have to eat it, but you don’t get something else.
The after school snack rule is you can have any veggie or fruit you’d like. We rarely buy junk (chips, cookies, etc.) because if it’s here, we eat it. Who needs it?
A favorite recipe, which is pretty close to paleo (without the flour, I’m guessing) is linked below. Someone let me know if it’s not.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/White-Chili-II/Detail.aspx
Megan, without the flour and the beans and peppers (nightshades) would be strict paleo. For me just scratch the flour and beans, peppers are yummy.
My family is mostly paleo at home. My girls (10, 12, 17) are pretty handy in the kitchen and since switching to paleo, they’ve learned to adapt recipes. My youngest makes chicken and fish nuggets with almond flour. My 12yo, who sweet tooth I’m still working on eliminating, makes delicious paleo cookies. I’ve mad cauliflower pizza that my husband never knew had cauliflower in it.
I pack paleo lunches as much as I can, but not being able to make sandwiches can sometimes makes things a bit of a challenge. Working on trying Oopsie Bread.
At my kiddo’s last dental visit, I was told that her adult molars were coming in w/ very, very soft enamel…so soft she already has a cavity in one and the tooth hasn’t even grown fully in yet! Two days later, I went to a paleo clinic w/ Whole 9. The acid-base balance discussion caught my attention. It’s not how much calcium we take in, it’s how much we lose. And, an acidic ph blood balance is apparently not so hot for bone and tooth development. Melissa Urban dug up this article for me from a university in Finland:
http://herkules.oulu.fi/isbn9514253620/html/x340.html
Our whole family was eating zone meals, then we went paleo. After 30 days, some dairy is coming back into the kiddo’s diet but it’s limited to a pack of milk in her lunch bag. My husband will likely go back onto whole grains as he is a hard gainer and has dropped down to 4.2% body fat. He’s too lean and not feeling great…Me, I’m sticking it out since I’m an easy gainer!
Kate, congrats on the baby and what a way to start a life, I wish I would have know what I know now back then!
Veronica- Do tell what is Oopsie Bread?
Carina- thanks for the eye opening article
Kristy thanks for adding us I will check out your site!
Have a Great Tuesday!
Rebe
This was, like most things, hard when I was forcing it. When I just dropped the pressure on my teenager, of course it just fell into place.
HOWEVER, when she wants something non-paleo, she has to make it. Pasta, rice, etc, she makes herself. She is a fantastic cook, we are thinking about next year (8th grade) applying to the Arts High School- it has visual, creative and culinary arts; she has already made up some gluten free recipes, hmmmm dunno how successful sugar free will be! Like everything else, I just have to let it go and leave up The Manager
She is 13, with an allowance and a bike- so she can hit 7-11 anytime she wants! So I just have to set the example and be happy with that. I am very proud of her, no matter what.
Thank you so much for posting the recipes. I am brand new to the site so I am just learning my way around. Thanks again! Have a great day!
I feed my kids a lot of crispy nuts for snacks. I also offer sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. I follow the nutritional guidelines of the Weston A. Price Foundation and I often cook from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook.
I do have muffins in my house but I make them from nutrient dense nut flours- usually almond flour. I use natural sweeteners, raw honey or real maple syrup, never white/brown sugar.
Although I believe a lot the problem with food in this country has to do with lack of knowledge, I also think that real, wholesome food is expensive. When parents only have $15 to feed their family of 4 dinner, they are going for fast food because it’s cheap, over the roasted chicken with vegetables.
I also believe strongly in buying meats directly from the rancher. Meat from pastured animals is MUCH healthier than the meat from animals you will find at Costco or your local grocery store.
Monik- gotta love cops (I was one for 7 years)…they have the worst excuses for why they don’t exercise or eat right. I did it, and it ain’t easy, but it is what it is. You find a way and make it work, if you want to.
This is a post near and dear to the Sweet Cheeks hearts. We feel passionately about the health of children and are saddened by how out of hand childhood obesity has gotten these days! We’re currently involved in developing a Crossfit Kids program at CF Los Angeles and our blog http://www.sweetcheekshq.com includes posts for healthy Paleo recipes aimed at children.
Hello! I stumbled across this page searching for ways to transition my picky, carb-addict 8 year old to paleo. It’s been a battle so far. I am making changes. Like once the junk that is in the house now is gone, it’s gone. I won’t be buying it anymore. My parents always told me you eat what we eat or you don’t eat, too. So, she’s going to find herself faced with that because I refuse to contribute to her becoming unhealthy. It’s comforting to know other parents are struggling with the same things. Also, thanks for posting the recipes…I can’t wait to try them out.
I just have one comment. I notice in several paleo recipes that canned tomatoes are called for. Are you talking home canned tomatoes? Because store bought canned tomatoes are one of the worst foods to buy due to BPA contamination. The acid in the tomatoes tends to leach more of the chemical from the lining than less acidic foods. I am trying to steer clear of cans altogether as much as possible, opting instead for fresh, frozen, or jars.
Glad you found us Christine! Some use canned/jarred tomatoes because it’s quick & easy and as long as you read the labels carefully, you can get a decent brand. Of course, anything canned has gone through processing. Fresh tomatoes work in any recipe, just chop them or puree them (in a food processor) to the right consistency.
Paleo has many levels, and those just starting are still trying to eliminate dairy, grains, & sugars. If you have moved into a strict or pure Paleo, then stay away from anything canned (processed) and always opt for fresh or frozen (with nothing extra added).
Congrats on keeping your kid in line and keeping her healthy (even if it’s against her will right now).
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