When one is raised in a long line of addicts, one comes to recognize the symptoms.
All you think about is The Thing. You daydream about The Thing. You talk about The Thing. You get all stabby when denied The Thing. Your life revolves around The Thing. You push out other (potentially healthier) things in your life to focus on The Thing.
My name is Maggie and food is my thing.
This comes as a surprise to no one, I know. The grocery store is my favorite kind of store. I get super excited for Sunday afternoons when I plan my menus for the week. I get even more excited when picking out what dessert I’ll have that night. I spend more time looking at the online menus for upcoming dinner dates than I do in my closet trying to find the appropriate outfit. In short, my blood is 25% chocolate and this is what it looks like in my head most of the time:
I tell myself this doesn’t really matter because for the most part, I can exercise and keep my health relatively close to balanced. Now that Eggroll is here though, I am about to embark in my first Don’t Screw Her Up project as I teach her about food.
Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to talk about some books, events, and campaigns as they relate to kids eating healthy. They all share the same basic principles – keep it fun, make it a mix of healthy, new items, don’t let food be a reward or punishment, and keep the (chocolate) snacking to a minimum. Um, OK. What happens if I’m not practicing these concepts myself?!
At the minimum, I have three weeks until we start introducing solid foods into Malorie’s diet. I’m assuming for the first little while she still won’t comprehend my interactions with food. This gives me about three months to rectify 34 years of an unhealthy relationship (i.e. addiction) to food. No biggie, right?
Gulp. (Or No Gulps as the case may be…)
Parents –
I would love to hear any tricks you used to ensure your kids were willing to try different foods and/or wouldn’t turn away from the orange slices like I do.
People with Parents (I.E. Everyone Else) –
Did you parents do anything that screwed up your relationship with food?
I honestly don’t know where my chocolate addiction came from. Sure, there was candy and sweets in our house, but neither of my parents made a point to have dessert every night. If anything, I think 1. my dad could eat anything and it would metabolize fast, so he never questioned what he was giving me and 2. like every good child of the 80s, our kitchen pantry would have made it through a nuclear attack – all boxed spaghetti and canned sloppy joe mix; nary a fresh fruit or vegetable in site.
In an effort to save the inaugural Screwing Up Malorie for something more interesting like musical tastes, here are the practices I want to make habits before Malorie is truly watching:
1. Keep snacking to a minimum (no more than twice a day).
2. Stop eating emotionally. Or if I’m going to eat chocolate to celebrate (commiserate, relax, energize, sooth, entertain… I think you get the idea), take the time to stop everything else I’m doing and savor the treat and the moment.
3. Try one new ingredient or recipe per week.
Wish me luck!
This was a HUGE concern for me, but has come pretty easy. The big thing is you need to eat what you give her and that’s what has helped me. Jordyn almost always has her protein, veggie, and fruit…sometimes a carb to go with. And I always make sure my plate matches hers…I hate veggies and I eat more salads now than I ever have so it’s all a good thing for me. J has been a breeze with trying foods, so I’m not sure how to help with a child who doesn’t like everything, but I can say as she’s gotten older she’s rather anti-meat, so that’s become a bit of a challenge to ensure she’s getting her protein. She has only 1 time completely spit out food…that was when I tried to make homemade baby food:) With sweets I’m a huge believer in moderation with her. She’s definitely had chocolate…and let me tell you, once they taste it get ready for screaming when they want it. But I tell her ‘all gone’ and generally she calms down. When we all have dessert we all share it so nobody overeats, everyone just gets a few bites. We do eat out, but much less than we did pre-Jordyn. My family couldn’t afford to eat out (even at Mcdonalds) when I was growing up and I truly believe that’s what made me so fast food obsessed once I had my own money to spend. So we eat out, but we don’t overdo it. J hasn’t had Mcdonalds and I’d really like to keep it that way…we do more full service than fast food now…I’d rather teach her to go for a little better quality. Our bigger issue when she was younger was chips…her dad is chip obsessed and had to get past that because everytime she saw chips she wanted them. It took some time but she doesn’t whine about it anymore…now it’s things like crackers and pretzels. Limiting is not that hard once they start realizing what ‘all gone’ means….hopefully;)
“All gone” – what a concept. Perhaps I teach Randy to say that to me now. 🙂
I like the idea of making sure the plates match. I’ve heard from others that this could be a good diet for mom – would I be ok if baby was eating this?? Glad to hear its been an easy process for you, Heather!
Buy the biggest fruit bowl you can find and keep it full. Always. In 10 yrs when Malorie walks in the door from school she’ll grab an apple, pear, plum – not go for the chips and crackers. Sugars Schmugars – it’s fruit!! 😉
Good idea Olivia! I have the cutest basket I use for my bananas, but its relegated to a corner. Maybe it needs a more prominent place!