*Breaking News - Toddlers snacks nothing more than a pile of sugar
*sarcasm
This is actually a great article for parents. The Guardian - here
It’s not exactly breaking news is it?
If you’re buying fruity snacks in a packet for your kids at the supermarket it’s probably out of:
a) convenience - I’ll tell you now that this is the biggest myth of all. Real food comes in it’s package and requires you only to chop it.
b) a treat - another lie of a connected and consumer culture. Parent tells themselves: “It’s real fruit (veg, yoghurt ... whatever) and so even though it looks like I am buying them a treat, it’s actually a healthy food. They need a treat for going to school, joining me for coffee with my friends, taking a walk in the park … etc”
I know I sound very judgemental (& I can be), and I will say that my kids are on the other end of the age spectrum to those of you with toddlers so perhaps the pressure wasn’t as bad as it is now. However, when they went to school they also came home asking for muesli bars and packets of chips. Packets that some of their friends had, BUT more often than not the parents I spoke to sent their kids along with chopped fruit, carrot sticks and dip, banana, a boiled egg and some chopped chicken to chomp on. Prior to school, very young kids get used to what you give them - though slowly, and not without complaint at times.
I saw these requests as an opportunity for educating them about ‘why they eat the way they eat’. It didn’t stop the asking or the complaining, but it has led to knowledgable teenagers who are sensible enough to know what to put in a meal.
[see my Wellbeing Toolkit #1 Building Meals for a guide to getting meals right easily]
This doesn’t mean they don’t have treats — from me — or buy junk food with their own money. What it does ensure though is that they tire of it quickly and can compare how they feel when they eat ‘homemade’ food compared to eating out.
Knowing ‘how good you feel’ eating whole food/plant based meals and ‘why you eat what you eat’ are two of the keys to long term healthy habits.
Even though they are whingeing about brain washing, I’m incredibly proud when I hear my kids say that when they are out they always eat the side salad or greens first because they can hear me telling them that it’s essential for good gut health and to stay healthy long term. WIN !!
If you take note of nothing else from this article then at least keep an image of the ‘60 Different Names for Sugar’ on your phone so that when you are perusing food in future you can identify what to avoid. As a rule of thumb any added sugars (listed in the ingredients) should be avoided, but particularly anything with a sugar in the first three ingredients. Avoiding things with an ingredient list that’s more than 3-5 ingredients altogether is best.
Other great suggestions in the article:
Build a garden - either one at school, at home or grandparents house and try food from it. When my kids were in primary school the we successfully petitioned the P&F to put in a school garden. The youngest grades loved it most, even all the worms. Some of the salad greens from here even made it to the tuck shop on occasion.
Chop whole foods up and serve them on a platter. I talk more about my love for an empty the fridge/platter dinner in my Wellbeing Toolkit #1. My kids continue to eat the most vegetables when they see it as a picnic and choose it from a central plate themselves.
Get together with friends and when you are all out together make a pact that you will all avoid packet foods where possible so the kids don’t normalise this style of eating.
Cook with your kids - In my experience they love this the most, even if it’s just to lick the bowl.