Thinking about trying a "locavore" diet....does anyone do this?

[tinkarooni]

I have a 10 year old daughter who is on a really restricted diet for severe reflux. I have always dabbled in this a bit, I grow probably 50% of our fruits and veggies, have chickens for meat and eggs and this year pigs. I loved Barbara Kingsolvers book "Animal Vegetable Miracle" and I am inspired to make this our year to try. However I also have a 13 year old boy who eats us out of house and home.....does anybody do this? If you have kids do they give you a hard time....I already limit snacks for sure but to cut them off completely? Please give me your input....thanks,

 

[Wifezilla]

I have a 21 year old at home, but he is autistic and kind of like a 3 year old in many ways. He eats us out of house and home, but there is NO junk food in the house at all. And by junk food I also mean no bread, pasta, potatoes, etc...

Given the chance that is all he would eat and it really messes him up.

Yeah he asks for junk daily and we have to distract him. He does get "Pizza Friday" and that is very popular

As for kids in general giving you a hard time, when they pay the bills they get a say. Until then... zip it!!!

 

[freemotion]

When I was a kid we moved and work was hard to come by. We grew a garden, foraged, and gleaned the farm fields. We had dairy and meat animals.

My brother complained about the food ONCE. My father gave him and my sisters a brief but clear lecture about mom doing her best with what she had and we were to appreciate it and to NEVER complain again. Brother was sent to his room for the evening without supper. No food until breakfast. He did survive, btw. None of us dared complain ever again.

Get the kids involved in growing and preparing food (whether they want to or not.....kids would die if allowed to do whatever they want, anyways!) and they will appreciate it A LOT, but only much later in life!

 

[tinkarooni]

I guess I have several fears....one being I don't want to push the kids over to "the dark side" What I mean is I don't want them to feel so deprived in some way that they are constantly seeking out junk food where ever they go, nor do I want to turn them into adults like that either.

My kids are pretty intelligent it's not that they don't understand the benefits to eating this way, but they're kids and they are surrounded by kids. Kids who bring cheez-its, gogurt and fruit snacks and call it lunch. Uggg. My 13 year old still chooses to pack his lunch, which I'm happy about because he is definitely in the minority at school with this. He sees the other kids eat a soft pretzel and slurpee for lunch (yes they serve this in the cafeteria) and he knows that kind of lunch is terrible. I'm just not sure how far to push it....

Freemotion, you are right though, if we didn't have the luxury of choice this would be a no-brainer. I would like to do it for several reasons and saving money is one of them, but making better food choices for our bodies and our planet is the biggest one.

I'm thinking about throwing us into this the day the kids get out of school for the summer. Than we will have an entire summer of no peer pressure.

Anybody else? Open to all ideas and comments.....I always love to see what you guys have to say, I'm a big lurker...thanks.

 

[TanksHill]

My oldest is heading to junior high next fall. This is what I dread. He has taken lunch to school almost every day of his life. I know they don't have lockers everything stays in his backpack..

I am going to need to think of nutrient dense snack, lunch stuff for him as well.

tink, do you mind if I ask about your daughters reflux? Do you know what triggers it?

g

 

[freemotion]

We did get the occasional junk food, and were allowed to buy candy on occasion with our own money. We all agreed, however, even as kids, that we would rather spend the bulk of our money on something that wasn't gone in seconds! And we were not restricted from eating junk that others gave us. So all three of us are still, heading quickly into our 50's, slim adults who chose good diets. So don't worry.

The thing is, if we'd been given junk at home, we'd still have eaten all the junk we could get our hands on outside the home. Since we were not given junk at home, we ate far, far less junk, and were taught the importance of a good diet in the BEST way it can be taught....by example. Not, "Don't eat junk, here, have a soda."

Oh, and mom made sweets on occasion. Not every day, maybe once a week to once a month. Nowadays, it is sweets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and several snacks in between. No wonder the kids growing up now will have a shorter lifespan than their parents for the first time in decades.

I applaud your effort and your struggle. Be firm, mom!

 

[old fashioned]

Just to put in my .02 cents, I'd have to say not everyone's lifestyle can support going 100% junk free and kids will eat their fair share whether mom & dad approve or not. Forcing your kids to only eat healthy will only teach them to sneak junk completely defeating your purposes and could lead to eating disorders.
What you really want is for them to make healthy eating CHOICES, so make sure there are plenty available and they see their adults making healthy choices too while slowly phasing out junk from your food budget. It may take them awhile to choose fruit instead of sweets, yogurt instead of chips, etc so don't give up.
Our boys (9 & 11) go thru cycles of willingness about their food and granted, junk is at the top of their list. But we do have them eat atleast 2 bites of something. The 11yo has had a time with broccoli. At one time he would only eat the stems, then he wouldn't eat it at all and now will eat 1 or 2 pieces (with flowerhead) as long as it's swimming in butter, salt & pepper. Atleast he's eating it.

You can't always be there to be sure they'll make right choices (eating, smoking, drugs, friends, etc), but you can be their role models, talk with them about it and limit their exposure at home.

 

[patandchickens]

Why not just give them X number of things of their own choosing that can still be "on the menu", albeit in controlled quantities? (Even Kingsolver did that, each person in the family got one thing they were allowed to eat from beyond their 100-mile limit, IIRC her daughter's choice was dried fruit and her own was coffee).

In fact, I sneakily suspect that if you told them they could only change their list of "exceptions" once a month -- so that for the whole month, they were limited to (say) Doritos (limited quantity), Pepsi (limited quantity), and the stuff on the family's general menu, the attraction of Doritos and Pepsi might start to wear a bit thin towards maybe the third week of the month LOL

And of course you have no control over what they eat when they're away from you, so it is probably not worth even trying to set rules for that.

Just a thought,

Pat

 

[valmom]

I do think that saying no junk starting NOW really isn't going to work. The kids are old enough to understand why you want to do this- that it is better for the planet and them- and to enlist them in deciding what they are willing to be on board with. Get them to name their favorite one junk food and allow it once in awhile- once a week? What ever time frame works for you and them. If they earn money, they could also buy their own junk food with their money if they really want to. When they buy it themselves, they tend to eat a lot less! (at least my kids did).

Good luck!

 

[calendula]

A while back, I caught my 9-year-old son hiding in the basement eating caramel corn. I never really thought we were being that restrictive on the junkfood, so it was an eye opener. Trying to completely eliminate junkfood can backfire!