Better eating habits and kids....Need more help!!

[noobiechickenlady]

Dace, I think your decision will be a great choice. Both on how to approach it and the labels you've made. I think that chart is a great idea! Making the mental shift is really the first step.

Our saying is "This is not a resturant, you eat what is fixed, or you go hungry." My kids very, very rarely go to bed without eating. I think I can count twice in this past year. Usually only one time of having to eat the dinner they wouldn't eat the night before makes them sit up and take notice. And that is usually just a contest of wills, not that they really didn't like the food. They are still young, so that "Mommy dearest" approach might not work with your older ones.

 

[Wifezilla]

The older ones are easier actually....

"Don't like what I am serving? Get a job and buy your own food."

Done

 

[big brown horse]

I grew up with my Mom saying----Kitchen closed.....LOL-LOL
and we never starved or went hungry. Good thing too for us!

My mom said the same thing after we did the dishes, she announced that the kitchen was closed. I do the same thing too now.

I also make dinner very early around 5:30 for my daughter and myself. I know that won't work for everyone, but it fits in with us.

Last night I made homemade spaghetti sauce filled with eggplant, red bell peppers, garlic, onions and mushrooms. It was so chunky that we barely used any of the ww spaghetti underneath. That was my idea, fewer carbs and more veggies and protein. I used ground turkey that I had left over in the freezer.

We were so stuffed on the sauce and that little bit of pasta, there was no room for dessert or a snack later.

 

[big brown horse]

The older ones are easier actually....

"Don't like what I am serving? Get a job and buy your own food."

Done

Ha Ha Ha!

That is the truth about fixing different meals just for children! You eat what is on the menu!

For snaking and an occasional meal for my daughter to make on her own, aside from the big basket of fruit, this is what I do:
She has her own couple of shelves in the pantry that she can decide what to fill it with as long as she makes healthy choices. I don't eat her stuff and she stays away from mine. Kind of like a collage roommate. This way I know if I need raisins for a recipe, they will be there and not an empty box.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Very true WZ!

 

[dipence71]

The older ones are easier actually....

"Don't like what I am serving? Get a job and buy your own food."

Done

I have said that before to and boy the look I get from DD17.

I do fix allot of food I know they dislike but not real often so I always have a contingency plan for them to do.
1. fix a cold cut sandwich
2. fix grilled cheese and soup
3. fix a pizza
4. try it again you might decide you like it

Just like the other night I fixed catfish,DH and I love catfish the girls do not. So I fixed catfish and DD11 fixed grilled cheese. everyone is happy and I don't have to sacrifice what I want to please everyone else.
Now if it is just a I don't want that well that is to bad you eat what I fix or go hungry till breakfast. They usually end up eating so lesson learned there are times to compromise and times to put your foot down Lol...

 

[Wifezilla]

Can you tell who the tough parent is at our house?

Maybe my husband's nickname of "Cpt Marshmallow" is another clue

 

[FarmerChick]

yea we sure can't please everyone when we cook.

same here in this house......I want to eat what I love and hubby loves and forget the kids. They ain't gonna die without a meal...LOL
and grilled cheese and soup is a great sub meal if they don't like the big meal cooked!

the amount of "care" we give food is crazy in this lifetime. We "value" food way too much....kinda put it up there on a pedestal and that is insane. We took food from good substance and good taste of course, to just "lets go insane and eat all the junk we can"----like the fried twinkies at fairs, or corn dogs. UGH


Food needs to be put back in its place. It is not what life is about. For survival yes, but to be coveted is wild..HA HA

 

[Blackbird]

I agree, more than likely that if you don't buy it, they won't eat it.

I'm in the opposite boat though. My dad grew up poor, you ate what you had - dirt, lard sandwhiches, you know the type. So he likes to eat, a lot. And if he doesn't get to eat what he likes and is comfortable with, he has a fit. He likes his sugary/fatty/over-processed/disgusting foods. My mom and I sometimes end up eating it but whenever we try buying good food he gets mad because we've 'spent money on something we don't need' because his 'food is better' or 'just as good' and 'cheaper'. Although my mom and I have been known to go out and graze on purslane and dandelion.

I think I need Monique to visit for a month and convince otherwise.

 

[Dace]

BB...you need to go see Food Inc with your dad. Or rent it when it comes out...it will make an impact on him.

I was planning to rent it for the kids when it comes out but after seeing it. I think it is worth the splurge to take them all to the theater.