Alright, now that you have read this blog you may be saying: “This seems like a lot of work. I don’t eat that many vegetables and I’m healthy. It won’t kill my kids if they don’t eat their veggies.” You may be correct that it won’t kill your children, but it will likely shorten their lives. Here are some scary statistics.
Your child’s life expectancy is shorter than yours. Yes, read that again. Your child is not expected to live as many years as you will. The cause is childhood obesity.
"An American born in 2000 has a 1 in 3 chance of developing diabetes in his lifetime…A diagnosis of diabetes subtracts roughly twelve years from one’s life…" That’s a quote from In Defense of Food, an Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan.
So, are you motivated? I am.
Now you may say how does eating vegetables prevent obesity or diabetes. Well, if your child begins to eat more vegetables, then under normal circumstances, he will eat less of another food. If it is processed non-nutrient food he is replacing, then he is ahead of the game. Vegetables also provide many of the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that your child needs. This will make your child feel more satiated when he eats. Try it yourself. I recently have been taking on the “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan and have noticed that I feel much more satisfied by following his motto “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.” Your child will too.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Spin Doctor
Getting your kids to eat vegetables is mostly how you spin it. Last week my kids had their annual checkups. It’s not that big of a deal for my oldest kids, but my youngest doesn’t particularly care for the doctor, or the doctor’s office, or the doctor’s parking lot. Last fall, when she was about 2.5 years old, we went for flu shots. As soon as we got to the parking lot, she asked if we could go home. I thought that was unusual, and then figured out that she must remember when she was there at her 2 year old appointment and got a shot. She kept her hysteria under control until they called our name and started begging me to take her home rather than to the room. Needless to say, she got her flu shot. Then a month later we needed to go back for her 2.5 year old check up. She was so scared she started screaming as soon as we got to the examination room (yes that was us next to you). She wouldn’t let me take off her clothes. The nurse and the doctor just did the exam with her fully clothed while she screamed the whole entire time.
Fast forward 6 months, I thought there has got to be something I can do to make this check up go smoother. So I thought I would try a little “dinosaur leaves” methodology. My daughter loves super heroes and was super girl for Halloween. So I explained to her that she was going to the doctor and would get a shot. Then I asked her if she could be super girl because super girl is brave and tough. Every night we talked about the doctor’s appointment and how she’d be super girl. The shot will still hurt, but she will be brave.
At the appointment, she was great. She still wanted her brother and sister to go first, but there was no screaming. She let the doctor examine her. She got weighed. When the shot came, she was nervous, but again no screaming. She did cry when she got the shot, but I easily comforted her. She was all smiles by time she got the “treasure” from the treasure chest.
Wow, that was so much easier than the last time. It reinforced for me that it is all how you position the task at hand. If it is going to the doctor or eating vegetables, it is all how you spin it.
Fast forward 6 months, I thought there has got to be something I can do to make this check up go smoother. So I thought I would try a little “dinosaur leaves” methodology. My daughter loves super heroes and was super girl for Halloween. So I explained to her that she was going to the doctor and would get a shot. Then I asked her if she could be super girl because super girl is brave and tough. Every night we talked about the doctor’s appointment and how she’d be super girl. The shot will still hurt, but she will be brave.
At the appointment, she was great. She still wanted her brother and sister to go first, but there was no screaming. She let the doctor examine her. She got weighed. When the shot came, she was nervous, but again no screaming. She did cry when she got the shot, but I easily comforted her. She was all smiles by time she got the “treasure” from the treasure chest.
Wow, that was so much easier than the last time. It reinforced for me that it is all how you position the task at hand. If it is going to the doctor or eating vegetables, it is all how you spin it.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Carrots - the fun vegetable
One day last summer we were heading out for a morning walk. All I could find in the refrigerator for a snack was shredded carrots. What my son really wanted for his snack were raisins. I had the bright idea to hide the raisins in the middle of the shredded carrots. I told him it was a treasure hunt and he needed to find the treasure. He ended up eating all the carrots and all the raisins. I've also used this technique at dinner time. I'll let the kids know there is a special treat hidden on their plate and they need to find it. You can hide whatever you want in the carrot haystack, but the rule is they must eat their way to the treasure. They cannot just dig through the carrots for the prize.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Basic Recipes
Half the battle of serving vegetables is knowing how to cook them. As I stated in my profile, I work full time. I normally get home at 5:45 (or sometimes a little later). I like to have dinner on the table by 6:30. So that doesn’t leave a lot of time. Most of my recipes can be made in 20 minutes or less. It helps if you wash the vegetables the night before (but I know that doesn’t always happen). So here are some of my stand-bys for a quick vegetable.
Brussels Sprouts
Trim brown leaves (kids can help pull these off) from brussels sprouts and cut an “X” in the stem of each sprout. If the sprouts are large, cut them in half or quarters. Steam for 8-10 minutes. Do not over-steam. The sprouts will become bitter. Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a pan. Sauté sprouts for 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Kale with soy and sesame
Tear leaves of kale (little helper alert) from the thick stem. Steam for 7-10 minutes. Kale should still be bright green. Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil in a sauté pan. Toss kale in sauté pan for a minute. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce and sesame seeds to Kale. Serve warm.
Kale Chips
Tear leaves of kale from the think stem. Toss kale with a tablespoon of sesame oil and soy sauce. Lay flat on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Chips can also be dehydrated.
Swiss Chard
Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet. Sauté ½ onion until it starts to caramelize (about 15 minutes). Add 1 clove of garlic minced and sauté for a minute. Chop swiss chard including stems into bite size pieces and add to skillet in batches. After the chard is slightly wilted, stir in the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/3 cup of raisins, and ¼ cup pine nuts.
Brussels Sprouts
Trim brown leaves (kids can help pull these off) from brussels sprouts and cut an “X” in the stem of each sprout. If the sprouts are large, cut them in half or quarters. Steam for 8-10 minutes. Do not over-steam. The sprouts will become bitter. Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a pan. Sauté sprouts for 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Kale with soy and sesame
Tear leaves of kale (little helper alert) from the thick stem. Steam for 7-10 minutes. Kale should still be bright green. Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil in a sauté pan. Toss kale in sauté pan for a minute. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce and sesame seeds to Kale. Serve warm.
Kale Chips
Tear leaves of kale from the think stem. Toss kale with a tablespoon of sesame oil and soy sauce. Lay flat on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Chips can also be dehydrated.
Swiss Chard
Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet. Sauté ½ onion until it starts to caramelize (about 15 minutes). Add 1 clove of garlic minced and sauté for a minute. Chop swiss chard including stems into bite size pieces and add to skillet in batches. After the chard is slightly wilted, stir in the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/3 cup of raisins, and ¼ cup pine nuts.
I'm full.
I sometimes hear this phrase 30 seconds after sitting down to dinner. My immediate reaction is, “No you are not. Eat what’s on your plate.” This can be a recipe for disaster (pun intended). One of your goals as a parent should be to let your child self-regulate his/her food intake. As long as you give your kids good healthy food options, this should not be a problem. The problem arises when your child fills up on non-healthy food/snacks and then won’t eat the healthy food you prepare for a meal. If they fill up on healthy food/snacks, you shouldn’t worry. See my post about putting veggies on the table before dinner.
When your child is a baby, pay attention to hunger and satiated signals. Don’t force more food/formula just because you don’t want to waste any. Obviously if you have direction from your pediatrician different from this advice, please listen to them. But absent that, encourage your child’s self-regulation of their food intake. If they say/indicate they are full, listen.
There will be times when your child is going through a growth spurt and will require more food than normal. There will also be times when your child is not going through a growth spurt, they will not need as much food. Don’t expect your child to eat the same amount of food each day of their life.
Word of caution: “I’m full” can also mean that your child would rather play with a toy or just get away from the dinner table. In order to avoid the I’m-full-now- but-later-I-want-my dinner routine, I tell my kids that once they get up from the dinner table there’s no coming back. You may need to enforce this rule in order for your child to know you mean business. There have been a few nights when my son has gone to bed hungry. But it only took a few and now he doesn’t play that game anymore. By the by, he didn’t die of starvation over night. Remember this when you are telling your child they can’t have their dinner. Now my son either eats at dinner time or he doesn’t. No bedtime snack (or reheating the food for later).
By encouraging your child to listen to their hunger cues, they will not be prone to overeating. They are more likely to view food as a way to satisfy their hunger rather than believe they must clear their plate so they don’t waste food.
When your child is a baby, pay attention to hunger and satiated signals. Don’t force more food/formula just because you don’t want to waste any. Obviously if you have direction from your pediatrician different from this advice, please listen to them. But absent that, encourage your child’s self-regulation of their food intake. If they say/indicate they are full, listen.
There will be times when your child is going through a growth spurt and will require more food than normal. There will also be times when your child is not going through a growth spurt, they will not need as much food. Don’t expect your child to eat the same amount of food each day of their life.
Word of caution: “I’m full” can also mean that your child would rather play with a toy or just get away from the dinner table. In order to avoid the I’m-full-now- but-later-I-want-my dinner routine, I tell my kids that once they get up from the dinner table there’s no coming back. You may need to enforce this rule in order for your child to know you mean business. There have been a few nights when my son has gone to bed hungry. But it only took a few and now he doesn’t play that game anymore. By the by, he didn’t die of starvation over night. Remember this when you are telling your child they can’t have their dinner. Now my son either eats at dinner time or he doesn’t. No bedtime snack (or reheating the food for later).
By encouraging your child to listen to their hunger cues, they will not be prone to overeating. They are more likely to view food as a way to satisfy their hunger rather than believe they must clear their plate so they don’t waste food.
Bribery - Does it work?
It may, but it will get expensive after a while. The bribery I refer to is both monetary and food consumption. I'm not great at this, yet. I think it has to do with a lifetime of dessert bribery from my parents (and myself). If I eat a meal, I can have the cookie. I can't just eat the cookies for dinner - that would be wrong. (I recently had to fess up to my doctor that I had ice cream for lunch - very embarrassing). I know that none of you have ever had that conversation in your head.
Anyway, if you tell kids if they eat their veggies, they can have dessert. It makes the vegetables the enemy and the reward for conquering them is dessert. First of all, you don't want to make dessert the reward. Just Google "Dessert as reward" and you'll get an earful (or eyeful) on why you don't want to do that. Second, you don't want to make the vegetable out as the bad guy.
What we do in our family is allow everyone to have dessert no matter how much of their dinner they eat. However, we do regulate the amount of dessert. There are no seconds. If they are still hungry after dessert, they have the option to eat more dinner or a piece of fruit.
Bribing with food causes all types of psychological food issues. Most of us probably grew up with those issues, so it is hard to see the problem. But it is there. Please don't use dessert as a reward for eating your vegetables.
Anyway, if you tell kids if they eat their veggies, they can have dessert. It makes the vegetables the enemy and the reward for conquering them is dessert. First of all, you don't want to make dessert the reward. Just Google "Dessert as reward" and you'll get an earful (or eyeful) on why you don't want to do that. Second, you don't want to make the vegetable out as the bad guy.
What we do in our family is allow everyone to have dessert no matter how much of their dinner they eat. However, we do regulate the amount of dessert. There are no seconds. If they are still hungry after dessert, they have the option to eat more dinner or a piece of fruit.
Bribing with food causes all types of psychological food issues. Most of us probably grew up with those issues, so it is hard to see the problem. But it is there. Please don't use dessert as a reward for eating your vegetables.
If all else fails, try these techniques.
You’ve tried all the other things in my blog and your kids still are not eating their vegetables. It time to pull out all the stops.
My 5-year-old and 3-year-olds love the song “Sailing, Sailing, over the bounding main…” If you Google it, you can get all the lyrics. Although we only sing/know the chorus, the kids love it. We make it a story. The spoon or fork is the boat. Because there are rough waters, the sailors are looking for shelter. Oh, look ahead; there is a cave with white rocks. Let’s go into the cave. Wait a second, this isn’t a cave, it’s a mouth and those rocks are teeth. Let’s get out of here. That’s when the mouth closes to trap the boat. I know, it is a little sinister. But it gets the kids to eat. We also pretend that the fork or spoon is a helicopter or plane with sound effects.
If that fails, I usually ask who will be the first to eat all their vegetables. Or eat the most vegetables. My kids must be very competitive because I don’t even offer a prize (being first is prize enough, or second, or third).
If that fails, I ask if their brother or sister can have their vegetables. This will only work if the brother or sister is willing to take it. It will back fire if the bro/sis doesn’t want it. Most of the times that I offer to give the vegetables to a sibling, the non-eater wants them back and gobbles them up. It goes under the theory of "I want anything my bro/sis has" OR "I won't give my bro/sis anything that they want."
Next up: should I bribe them?
My 5-year-old and 3-year-olds love the song “Sailing, Sailing, over the bounding main…” If you Google it, you can get all the lyrics. Although we only sing/know the chorus, the kids love it. We make it a story. The spoon or fork is the boat. Because there are rough waters, the sailors are looking for shelter. Oh, look ahead; there is a cave with white rocks. Let’s go into the cave. Wait a second, this isn’t a cave, it’s a mouth and those rocks are teeth. Let’s get out of here. That’s when the mouth closes to trap the boat. I know, it is a little sinister. But it gets the kids to eat. We also pretend that the fork or spoon is a helicopter or plane with sound effects.
If that fails, I usually ask who will be the first to eat all their vegetables. Or eat the most vegetables. My kids must be very competitive because I don’t even offer a prize (being first is prize enough, or second, or third).
If that fails, I ask if their brother or sister can have their vegetables. This will only work if the brother or sister is willing to take it. It will back fire if the bro/sis doesn’t want it. Most of the times that I offer to give the vegetables to a sibling, the non-eater wants them back and gobbles them up. It goes under the theory of "I want anything my bro/sis has" OR "I won't give my bro/sis anything that they want."
Next up: should I bribe them?
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