It never fails. Every time I talk to people about my dietary lifestyle they cock their head to the side and ask, "So what do your kids eat?" Recently I really started to unpack that question. Why is the seemingly natural assumption that my children would NOT eat the same health driven whole food diet? Or, to counter, why does everyone assume children are only willing to eat crap?
Full disclosure here: I did the same thing. When I first started to be more aware of how much my diet altered my whole being, I really only changed my diet. (Even now, this feels shitty to type out.) I read all of my ingredients, tried new things, spent more on my food. I justified it by saying, oh well I'm training for blah. Or, well they wouldn't eat this anyway.
No. I was right. Of course they wouldn't. Because I never offered it to them.
So, I started swapping things out. Instead of french fries I made sweet potatoes. Instead of breaded chicken strips, I made chicken tenders. Instead of pizza every other night I made ANYTHING ELSE BUT PIZZA. Same with Macaroni and Cheese, which by the way, I never understood how that became a staple. There's not a single real ingredient in there. But, I digress.
Cereal- have you read your kids box of cereal recently? Go. Now. Turn the box over. Read every single ingredient. Now look at the sugar content. Now, don't throw the box out just yet. Just think about it. Stare at the box. Feel guilty about "Wasting Food." Then, throw the box out. Waste the $3 you spent on that sugary food like substance and realize that really what you are doing is making an informed decision about your child's health and then acting on that decision. You know, the same way you do EVERYTHING ELSE AS A PARENT. Immunizations? Gotta research that. Essential oils? Gotta read up on that first. Private school versus public school? Lets do some research. The food we feed our kids? Well, if it's been approved for sale then it must be good! Right?
Wrong.
So, I know. No one wants to be "That Parent." Those parents are obnoxious. I AM OBNOXIOUS. They're terrible! I get it. But do you know what else is terrible? Watching your child's health decline for the sake of convenience. That's terrible.
So, sit down with your kids. Make some informed choices, and then let them decide the types of things they are willing to try. They'll surprise you. (And before you chime in with BUT ITS SO EXPENSIVE! I'm gonna just direct you
HERE FIRST. )
It amazes me the foods my kid will try. Here is the last shopping list my 9 year old and 6 year old filled out:
And, lest you think they are little angels that never do any wrong, here is what else they added to said shopping list:
Yup. It says poop. I mean, they're still kids. (And poop is always funny!)
I have a whole other post coming up about getting kids eating different things and participating in the kitchen. But for now, just read the back of that cereal box. And curse me under your breath. (I hear you.)
