I look at today’s eating habits and am completely surprised at the lack of nutrition knowledge and care that parents are putting into growing their children. There is a huge emphasis on nutrition during the pregnancy, what vitamins to take, feeding the newborn (even on a strict schedule) and then it goes completely to the wayside. Suddenly the kid went from drinking mother’s milk, eating fruits and vegetables to mac and cheese and chicken nuggets? What happened?
From my own experience I was mostly lucky growing up. My mom always included a fruit or vegetable with lunches and dinners and we ate whatever was served at the table as a family with no distractions. Yes, she fed us a bit of processed food like spaghetti and other noodle concoctions such as goulash growing up in the Midwest, but it was pretty minimal. My sister and I were both active and it wasn’t until she got busier with work and other activities that she started buying more processed food that we both gained weight and developed metabolic conditions. My sister developed full PCOS and I developed Estrogen Dominance, cervical cancer (luckily went away), almost PCOS, and later Fibromyalgia. Both these conditions are caused by insulin resistance which turns into leaky gut and is caused unfortunately by sugar, processed food, and industrial seed oils. Mom had no idea, although she had the good habits early on, that we would both get so metabolically sick.
So where did she go wrong? The first meal of the day was always cereal. Cereal has no nutrition and synthetic vitamins. We were lucky to get eggs, bacon and pancakes on weekends. Pancakes however are still a bad choice. You should never have sugar first thing in the morning as it sets up the body for poor metabolic health leading to insulin resistance, higher increase for diabetes and cancers. I remember mom baking a ton and always having muffins and cookies around the house. Of course you can’t have one cookie or muffin and if she made a whole batch we were eating in access for days. We call this baking and sugar “Love”, but unfortunately it leads to pain later.
People are busy and parents are trying their best. However, health is going by the wayside. Parents are choosing processed foods over real foods. Why? They think it’s convenient. The thing is real food is convenient too. It’s just as easy to grab an apple from the fridge than it is to pull out a processed snack and unwrap the package. Also, apples are more nutritious than a Go-Gurt yogurt and applesauce (all sugar no fiber.)
Fruit, vegetables, hard boiled eggs, seeds, nuts are all good snacks. So why are they choosing sugary treats, cookies, crackers, popcorn, boxed or wrapped items? Because kids love them. Of course, they love them, those processed foods are manufactured franken-foods designed to create a huge dopamine hit. The brain is automatically excited and tastebuds excited for this concoction. The problem is most of them contain no actual nutrition. Your kid is happy for a moment but they’ll be hungry in an hour and reach for the next processed food snack. There is no fiber to keep them full or vitamins for growth, protein for muscles and bone health or healthy fats for brain health.
So how do we stop this?
By understanding the WHY of what we are creating and feeding into, we can make better choices. You need to own up to your decisions and strive to make better ones. But what if my kid won’t eat the healthy stuff? It’s because your kids’ tastebuds are already so hijacked that they have a hard time tasting real foods and the difference. We need to level the playing field of real foods vs processed packaged dopamine hits. This will take a while. It is not an overnight thing. Your kid will throw a fit, they will be pissed and rant on but so what, you’re the parent. Don’t give them the option. I watched a great documentary where two parents were trying to stop their child from having seizures and tried a ketogenic approach. The kid only ate chicken nuggets and French fries for such a long time. The mom and dad wanted better health for this child and not a medication that didn’t work anyways. They offered a real meal of meat and vegetables to the child for the next two days with no choice. The child fussed, cried, threw a fit at every meal, didn't eat, and on day three the child ate. Sometimes that’s what it takes to make a change. Guess what? The kid eats what the parents feed him now, doesn’t throw a fit, and loves real grilled chicken and vegetables. It just took a few days to get him acclimated.
7 Tips and Takeaways to use in your own Parenting and Coaching:
1. Take back your authority instead of letting the child make the decisions. You are the parent, and you know what’s best for your child’s health. You want them to excel at school, do well, graduate and become productive members of society. This starts with how you feed them. You heighten the risk of cancers, metabolic conditions, obesity, ADD, ADHD, depression, and anxiety when you choose highly processed factory foods and let your kid run the show. Your intent is good, so present them food that is as well.
2. When given a chance, a child will ALWAYS choose junk and high dopamine hit food concoctions. Your kid would eat ice cream and dessert items for breakfast ALWAYS. Your kid will also choose French fries, mac and cheese, breads, pastas and other grain items because of the sugar and huge flavor hits. Just remember that these items turn to sugar in the blood stream and are addictive as well. Gluteo-morphine (a gluten based chemical) comes from wheat. It’s an addictive substance. Cheese is also addictive because of its sugar content and turns to sugar as well in the bloodstream with minimal nutrition. These quick hits die off and no nutrition is left for bones, muscles, brain and other developing organs.
3. When presented with one meal as their only option, the child WILL eat! If you are worried your child won’t eat and the only way you can get them to eat is with the processed food they always eat, then let them not eat. They should not be given other snack options to choose from later either. Just have dinners planned and prepared and eat at the table like a family. Announce that tonight’s dinner is Tacos, Spaghetti Squash, Fajitas, Stir Fry, etc. Your kid WILL eat! Even if it’s a few bites of something. If not, the kid will learn on day two or three that this is the new norm. Even if it takes a couple days to develop these new habits it’ll work and you’ll see the magic happen and behavior change.
4. Keep your new behavior consistent. When you are choosing your child’s health vs their attitude it will take a few days and even a few weeks to make this your new normal. Just because it hasn’t worked before doesn’t mean it won’t work now. Think of this like starting a new workout or nutrition program and knowing it will take a few weeks before the weight comes off. It will take a few weeks before your child loves their new real food and then enjoys the nutrition they are getting.
5. Be the example. If you yourself were raised on processed foods, learn what it takes to get YOUR health back in check. Maybe you need to lose a few pounds or realize you’re eating poorly and have lacked the energy you used to have. By you making these changes yourself and having a focused, conscious effort on your health than you can be the best example to your growing children. Even better, take up an exercise hobby so your kids see you working hard at something and then tell them how your eating is helping to fuel your body.
6. Allow a few changes slowly. Instead of taking everything away, focus on adding IN first. Breakfast can be eggs and fruit, a protein smoothie (still sweet but with better nutrition), lunches can be a protein with two vegetable options, dinners same thing. Maybe they get one cookie or one treat per day. It shouldn’t be an all-day feeding frenzy of processed food for each meal. Snacks can be hard boiled eggs, guacamole or hummus with vegetables. The biggest thing is adding in new things as you are slowly taking away old habits. Buy less chips, crackers, cereal or use them up until they are gone and don’t buy them again. It’s that easy. If you’re an adult you probably understand the inability to control yourself in a bag of chips or have eaten more than a cookie at a time. When these items are not around or available, you wouldn’t make those choices. Keep trigger foods out of the house and don’t buy them again. It’s not even about portions, it’s more about addiction and cutting those addictive foods and cravings out.
7. Remember the nutrition focus and basics for each meal: Protein for muscles, joints, bones; Healthy fats for Brain; Fruits and Vegetables for vitamins and minerals and unprocessed grain or starchy carbohydrates for energy. In some cases with overactive children and autoimmune conditions, grains need to be cut out and stick to just the potato or sweet potatoes for better energy options besides fruit and vegetables.
Understanding the WHY and where you came from in your own nutrition knowledge you can better your own odds for longevity not only for you, but your child’s health as well.
Nutrition Basics for each meal: Tell your kids what it is and WHY!
Protein for Muscles, Joints, Bones, Organs: Non fried meats, beans, seeds and nuts. Focus the meal around protein first to build the body and fuel your little athlete if you have one. This is the biggest satiation in the meal and will make them full and happy.
Healthy Fats for Brain: Eggs, olive oil and avocado oil, avocado, salmon, seeds, nuts, butter, ghee, some cheeses, fattier meats such as grass-fed beef, bison or lamb count as well. If your kid consumes none of these healthy fats it’s time to start adding them in. Brain health is so important, and your kid will focus better and have overall better ability to learn and grow in their knowledge when given these important foods.
Vegetables and Fruits for Vitamins and Minerals: Vegetables are even more important because they contain all the nutrition but won’t spike blood sugar. For dinner don’t be afraid to coat the vegetables in butter or olive oil or avocado oil with lots of spices and seasonings so they are not bland or boring. Steamed vegetables are boring and a reason most kids won’t eat vegetables. Canned vegetables are also boring and not appealing and I remember how much I hated these as a child. It wasn’t until I was older and cooked my vegetables in olive oil (past college) and seasonings that I absolutely loved them! Remember to mention WHICH vitamins and minerals they are getting with each meal so there’s always a purpose and reason for eating them. Example: These carrots have Vitamin A and beta carotene which support your healthy eyes for better eyesight in your sports, reading and driving some day! These blueberries are full of antioxidants so you can protect yourself from cancers and a lot of health conditions. Have a purpose and a reason to eat EVERYTHING. I’ve used the phrase “Fuel yourself, not Fool yourself” before. We are fooling ourselves by just eating something because it tastes good but no knowledge of what it does to us. Arm your kids with knowledge to succeed.
Unprocessed Grains & Starches for Energy: Oatmeal can be an option for breakfast along with a protein source and doesn’t contain sugar. This can be great for energy to send your kid off to school with. Want to make it even better? Overnight oats with protein and a scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein can be so delicious. Not sweet enough? Do a squirt of stevia or truvia to add sweetness too. Hot oatmeal with melted blueberries or strawberries in the microwave can be delicious too. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are wonderful options for energy around dinner time or post kids’ games. If you’re at the restaurant order the baked potato instead of the fried potato or French fries. Those are full of industrial seed oils and not good for health and add a ton of calories you don’t want. Rice is a great post-game meal with your protein and vegetables. Stir fry can be a great option at home or going out to eat at an Asian restaurant. Love pasta? Aim for spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, butternut squashes too. Skip the processed breads, pastas, pizzas and other processed ingredients that don’t fuel your child and promote poor health conditions.
Hopefully you’ve learned a little bit of advice to take with you and implement in your own life and in your child’s life. Remember, even small changes over time can make a huge difference. You can get your child eating vegetables and real food in no time, just ease it in slowly and don’t give up. Have a purpose for everything and always keep overall health in mind, not just for your child but for yourself as well.
Great resources to check out related to kids: Documentaries: Fed Up, That Sugar Film
The books "Don't Feed the Sugar Monster", "Dinner for Busy Moms" and "Food Babe" Food babe Vani Hari is a health advocate and has lots of interesting info about what is allowed to be put in the food here in the US vs other countries.
--Riannan, @ResultswithRiannan, Certified IIN Emotional Eating Psychology and Holistic Health Coach, E-book Author, Certified Personal Trainer and Weight loss Specialist